A mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue had left 11 people dead and several others injured. (Photo by CNN)
Every time each of us enters a synagogue or Jewish institution in our state, whether it’s in the Baltimore area or the Washington suburbs, we are reminded of how much our lives have changed as Jews over the past few years.
There, at the front entrance and often in various other places, is security. An armed guard, or perhaps two, watching the doors, patrolling the hallways, protecting against threats. Cameras monitoring and recording. Reinforced doors, parking lot fencing, sometimes even bulletproof glass or gun-detection devices in key entryways.
It’s not how either of us grew up as Jews in the 1970s at our home synagogues in the North Shore suburbs of Chicago and New York City. Unfortunately, in today’s times and amid today’s antisemitism, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
The ugly reality is that security has become one of the necessities of synagogues, worship and Jewish life. And it’s expensive. That’s why the decision by the Moore-Miller administration to double the money in Maryland’s budget for security grants to organizations at risk of hate crimes is so critical.
This is important not just to the fiscal future of our synagogues and our Jewish institutions, but also for every group in our state that has encountered hate due to race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability. The grants speak to one of the most fundamental obligations of government – the protection of its citizens.
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The threats are real. All of us can recite the high-profile incidents of the past few years – the 11 congregants killed at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh; the fatal attack at the Chabad synagogue in Poway, California; the gunman who took people hostage during a Shabbat service in Colleyville, Texas.
Here in Maryland, we are fortunate not to have experienced such tragedies so far. But we have seen Jews being assaulted and anti-Jewish graffiti and swastikas on our synagogues and institutions. Outdoor signs expressing support for peace in Israel have been vandalized in front of our synagogues, and Israeli flags have been slashed and stolen. Numerous bomb threats have been made against our JCCs and other institutions.
After each incident, our communities study what happened and reevaluate the security of our institutions. Frequently, that has resulted in more investment in security – an extra armed guard for certain times of the day, or perhaps construction to make a lobby more secure from intruders. These institutions are the places where social services are delivered, children are educated, people gather in prayer, and community events are attended by thousands each year.
In the past few years, many of our synagogues and schools have added new security fees, on top of membership dues or tuition charges, to help pay for the increased needs. It’s almost like a tax on Jewish prayer, because of the unique threats we face.
Data in Maryland and nationally show that Jews are the target of the vast majority of hate crimes motivated by faith. Maryland experienced a 211% year-over-year increase in reported antisemitic incidents, according to the most recent statistics from the Anti-Defamation League. The FBI reported a record number of hate crime incidents across the country in data released this past fall, including the highest number of anti-Jewish incidents since it began collecting data in 1991.
For nearly two decades, the federal government has offered a program of security grants for nonprofit organizations at risk of hate and other threats. This program has brought tens of millions of dollars to Maryland synagogues, mosques, religious schools, JCCs and other faith-based institutions over the years, and we are grateful for the steadfast support of Maryland’s U.S. senators and members of Congress to keep increasing funding as the threats have increased.
Several years ago, Maryland added its own program. This year, $5 million was available in security grant funding to institutions at risk of hate crimes. But amid the increasing hate and antisemitism we are seeing in our state and our nation – especially after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the terrorist group Hamas – that $5 million fund received applications totaling more than $22 million.
We know that doubling the security grant fund from $5 million to $10 million, as the Moore-Miller administration has proposed, is not easy given the fiscal realities of our state. We know that many hard choices are being made across all areas of state spending.
But this investment in the safety of our religious communities – to help ensure we can be safe when we pray, when we learn, when we live our faiths – will make such a difference. Thank you to Gov. Moore and Lt. Gov. Miller for your commitment, and we urge the support of the General Assembly for these funds as the budget moves forward.