Federal funds to offset 'hate tax,' protect Conn. religious institutions against rising antisemitism

HARTFORD, Conn. — When Erika Brunwasser needed help picking up her daughter from preschool, her friend was shocked to find two security guards posted outside the synagogue that housed the school.

“She thoughtfully asked how it feels as a parent to leave my child every day at a place that is targeted by hate,” Brunwasser said. “Sadly, this has become the necessity at Jewish institutions.”

In 2023, antisemitic incidents in the state rose 170%, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Brunwasser, who serves as the associate regional director of ADL Connecticut, said that of the record-breaking 184 incidents recorded in Connecticut last year, 22% targeted Jewish institutions, including 25 bomb threats to synagogues.

Against a rising tide of hate that was exacerbated by backlash over the war in Gaza, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., announced that Congress authorized an additional $400 million to the Federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program, an initiative that funds security improvements at houses of worship and other organizations that are at a “heightened risk of being the target of a terrorist attack.”

At a press conference at the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford on Monday, Brunwasser said the program “could very well be the difference between a close call and yet another tragedy.”

“No one attending synagogue or another religious institution should have to live in fear,” Brunwasser said.

With millions in new funding, Blumenthal said he expects Connecticut will see a “significant increase” from the $3.2 million that was distributed to 23 houses of worship in the state under the program last year.

Nonprofits have until midnight on June 3 to apply for an allocation for Fiscal Year 2024.

Blumenthal said the grants, which can be used to purchase security enhancements such as cameras, bulletproof windows, door locks and armed guards, will prevent and deter desecration and violence across the state.

Blumenthal said in America “the biggest threat to our internal security today is not the shoe bomber from some other continent,” but “the white supremacist or antisemitic or Islamophobic in this country.”

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