Senator Jackie Rosen calls for increased security funding for religious institutions in the US
In the United States, Nevada Senator Jackie Rosen called on Congress to significantly expand federal security funding for religious institutions amid a rise in antisemitic incidents. Speaking in the Senate, she said that the country’s Jewish communities are facing a wave of threats and violence during the autumn Jewish holidays.
Grant program reform
Rosen, who is a co-founder and co-chair of the Senate’s bipartisan task force on combating antisemitism, called for fully funding and reforming the Nonprofit Security Grant Program. It helps at-risk places of worship cover the costs of security guards, surveillance cameras, and reinforced doors.
The senator also recalled the bipartisan Jewish American Security Act, which she introduced together with Senator James Lankford. The initiative would nearly triple funding for the program and create a new Department of Justice grant mechanism to help state and local law enforcement protect vulnerable places of worship.
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Data on antisemitic incidents
As The Jerusalem Post reports, Rosen cited Anti-Defamation League data according to which 2025 ranked third in the number of antisemitic incidents in the United States over the entire period of observation, while the number of physical attacks on Jews reached a record level.
According to FBI data cited by the senator, Jews were the target of nearly 70% of religious hate crimes in the United States in 2025, although they make up about 2% of the country’s population. She mentioned the arson attack on a historic synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi; cases of vandalism in the communities of Austin, Albuquerque, Hot Springs, and Oak Park; as well as an attack in West Bloomfield, Michigan. According to Rosen, a man drove a car into a building housing a synagogue and a preschool there, after which he opened fire.
Rosen, who previously led Nevada’s largest Reform synagogue, noted that security costs have become the largest part of the operating budgets of many communities. According to the Jewish Federations of North America, the US Jewish community spends an average of $1 billion annually on security.
