Thirty Jewish organizations in the five-county Philadelphia area were awarded a combined $1,293,401 in state funding to improve security and protect against hate crimes, Gov. Tom Wolf’s office announced.
Throughout Pennsylvania, 120 synagogues, churches, mosques, temples and nonprofit organizations received a total of $5.23 million. Fifty-eight were Jewish organizations; the total received was $2.8 million.
“This is an investment in the safety and security of the diverse communities that are the tapestry of Pennsylvania,” Wolf said in a news release. “It’s unfortunate that hate continues to surface here, hurting Pennsylvanians and tearing apart our communities. I will continue to stand with and support these communities in any way I can.”
The Nonprofit Security Grant Fund Program, which is administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, provides grants to nonprofits that “principally serve individuals, groups or institutions that are included within a bias motivation category for single-bias hate crime incidents as identified by the FBI’s Hate Crime Statistics publication.”
The money can be used for safety and security planning, safety and security equipment and technology, training, building upgrades, vulnerability and threat assessments, and other security enhancements.
These organizations received grants, according to Wolf’s office:
Bucks County
Ohev Shalom of Bucks County, $24,800
Congregation Tifereth Israel of Lower Bucks County, $21,240
Chester County
Congregation B’nai Jacob Phoenixville PA, $24,980
Kesher Israel Congregation, $40,000
Delaware County
Congregation Beth Israel of Media, $24,891
Congregation Beth El-Ner Tamid, $20,000
Montgomery County
Kaiserman Jewish Community Center, $17,980
Gan Israel Chabad, Inc., $25,000
Brotherhood Temple Brith Achim, $24,950
Congregation Adath Jeshurun, $25,000
Har Zion Temple, $75,000
Temple Sinai, $25,000
Lubavitch of Abington Inc., $25,000
Main Line Reform Temple, $150,000
Temple Adath Israel of the Main Line, $150,000
Lubavitch of Montgomery County, $55,640
The Mesivta High School of Greater Philadelphia, $50,000
Yeshivas Ohr Hachaim (DBA Mesivta Yesodei Yisroel), $75,000
Chabad Lubavitch of the Main Line, Inc., $50,250
Darchei Noam, $23,051
Reconstructing Judaism, $24,967
Caskey Torah Academy, $25,000
Philadelphia County
Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History (The Weitzman Museum), $104,000
Society Hill Synagogue, $22,500
Congregation Rodeph Shalom, $74,812
Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel, $25,000
Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia, $25,000
Federation Day Care Services d/b/a Federation Early Learning Services, $15,901
Congregation Bnai Israel Ohev Zedek, $23,439
Chabad Serving Drexel, $25,000
