Would the freezing of federal grants impact synagogue security?
The Trump administration directive — rescinded in a subsequent memo Wednesday — left some wondering if safety funding would be cut
Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, at her first briefing on January 28. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
By Benyamin Cohen January 29, 2025
Jewish organizations and rabbis across the country can rest assured that a White House freeze on federal loans and grants is no longer imminent. A memo from the Office of Management and Budget rescinded the plan after it was blocked Tuesday by a federal judge.
The freeze, initially announced Monday by the OMB, had left many in the Jewish community worried about the long-term effects on synagogue security and other social service needs.
The federal government, through the Department of Homeland Security, allocated $454.5 million in the current fiscal year toward the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which provides funding for security upgrades at houses of worship and religious institutions. Amid a rise in antisemitism, it is the highest sum ever allocated since the program began distributing funds in 2005.
Synagogues apply for grants each year; the money can be used to fund equipment purchases, like alarms, fencing and security cameras. It does not cover the cost of hiring private security guards each Shabbat.
A call to the office of the Nonprofit Security Grant Program was not immediately returned on Tuesday morning. Congress has not yet determined how much money will be given to the program in fiscal year 2025, which begins on July 1.
Jewish organizations and rabbis react to federal funds freeze
“I have not heard that there’s any alarm being expressed,” said Rabbi Yitzchok Tendler, the executive director of Congregation Beth Jacob in Atlanta, an Orthodox synagogue with 530 member families. “I have not seen that there’s any more concern about this impacting anything more than a government shutdown or any other budgetary squabble,” he said, suggesting the pause would only last a few days.
“I assume they want to review examples of bloated government bureaucracy,” Tendler continued. “And I’m imagining that security would be one of those things that everyone would agree is important.”
“Given the new administration’s prior comments on reviewing all spending, a temporary spending pause is not a surprise,” said Michael Masters, the CEO and national director of the Secure Community Network, which helps synagogues assess their security needs and trains them on how to respond to active shooters and hostage situations. He added that he hopes it is brief, “otherwise it could have an impact on safety.”
Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, the CEO of both the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Rabbinical Assembly, said that his groups are “very concerned that the administration is choosing to pre-emptively freeze these crucial funds,” adding that “nothing prevents the government from keeping this funding in place while doing a rigorous and appropriate study of their effectiveness.”
“Since such a pause has not occurred in over 50 years, the implications are currently unclear,” the Jewish Federations of North America said in a statement. JFNA has seen its funding from the federal government increase in recent years and is slated to receive $8.4 million during the current year, according to a government website that tracks federal spending.
Other Jewish groups cited similarly high stakes for the freeze. Jewish Women International, for example, called federal grants “the lifeblood” of efforts to combat violence against women.
Diane Yentel, the chief executive of the National Council of Nonprofits, said in a statement that “this order is a potential five-alarm fire for nonprofit organizations and the people and communities they serve.”
Mark Treyger, the chief executive of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, said in a statement that the freeze “will have a devastating impact on the physical security and basic wellbeing of all New Yorkers.”
The directive from the new Trump administration put at risk hundreds of billions of dollars flowing through the American economy, including grants to state and local governments, disaster relief aid, education and transportation funding and small business loans.
“We’re very concerned about the effect across a range of areas we care about deeply: security, health care, human needs, climate and more,” the Union for Reform Judaism said in a statement. “The administration’s action will have potentially devastating effects on millions of Americans.”
Possible consequences
The pause in federal grants could also have impacted synagogues in other ways. The Environmental Protection Agency, through its Community Change Grants Program, offers monies to houses of worship for a variety of projects — including installing rooftop solar panels and electric car chargers in parking lots.
While Tendler did not foresee an immediate impact from the funding pause, he added, “If it drags on for months and it affects the timelines, maybe that’ll become a problem.”
Paul Bernstein, CEO of Prizmah, a national nonprofit that supports Jewish day schools, said many were receiving employee retention credits, which he said could be affected by the order.
“If there’s a pause on funding, it could harm schools’ ability to do what’s important,” Bernstein said.
A follow-up memo from the White House on Tuesday attempted to clarify who would be impacted, but did not mention anything about synagogues.
The pause “means no more funding for illegal DEI programs,” said Karoline Leavitt in her first outing as White House press secretary. “It means no more funding for the green new scam that has cost American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. It means no more funding for transgenderism and wokeness across our federal bureaucracy and agencies. No more funding for green New Deal social engineering policies.” She also said that “there were about to be $50 million taxpayer dollars that went out the door to fund condoms in Gaza.”
JUST IN 🔴
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) January 28, 2025
White House Reveals: $50 Million in U.S. Taxpayer Money Almost Went to Fund Condoms in Gaza! pic.twitter.com/koLKbMSmpH
She appeared to be referring to a September report by the United States Agency for International Development regarding funding of contraceptives overseas. But The Guardian reported that only “$45,680 in oral and injectable contraceptives” was sent to the region and distributed by the government of Jordan. “For the financial year 2023, the most recent for which data is available, only about $7m worth of condoms were distributed globally by USAID,” the article said, “and the vast majority of family-planning funds, 89%, were spent on programs in Africa.”
In 2019, the Trump administration spent about $40 million on sending contraceptives across the world.
JTA, Louis Keene and Jacob Kornbluh contributed to this report.
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