Jared Polis, the Democratic governor of Colorado, announced on Monday that 11 nonprofit agencies—nine of which are Jewish organizations—will receive $250,000 in additional security funding through the state’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
Polis and the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management announced at the end of June the release of “immediate additional funds for organizations at an increased risk of threat or attack” following the antisemitic firebombing attack on a pro-Israel rally in Boulder, Colo., on June 1, according to the Governor’s Office.
“Hate-driven terrorist attacks based on religion and beliefs will not be tolerated, and today’s new grants will help protect some of our most at-risk communities,” Polis stated. “These security improvements will keep Coloradans safer.”
The Jewish organizations that received grant funding include multiple synagogues, Jewish day schools and the Colorado chapter of StandWithUs.
“Governor Polis is proud that Colorado was recently recognized as one of the top nine leading states in combating antisemitism by the Anti-Defamation League, but there is more work ahead to protect Coloradans and communities from hate-based violence,” Eric Maruyama, deputy press secretary for the Governor’s Office, told JNS.
Miri Kornfeld, director of StandWithUs Colorado, told JNS that the organization “deeply appreciates” Polis for being a “role model in taking threats and acts of hate against the Jewish community seriously,” and stated she hopes other governors follow his lead in adopting similar initiatives.
“We applaud him for awarding Jewish nonprofit agencies the resources to better secure their institutions during this time of rising antisemitic attacks,” she said. “The recent arson attack on a peaceful march calling attention to the 50 hostages still held in Hamas captivity in Gaza is a stark reminder that now is the time to prioritize stronger security.”
