Having requested $7.5 million to improve security, among other things, the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg received $1.5 million in funding from the state senate for 2023-24. In 2022, it received $5 million for the same reasons.
The money is for “facility improvements, remediation and related costs to expand, preserve and secure the museum’s environment, and resources for students, teachers, scholars, descendants and visitors.”
Per the museum’s appropriations request, it has also received $500,000 from the state and $350,000 each from the county, Pinellas, and the city, St. Petersburg, where the museum is located, in addition to $100,000 from private donors.
There has reportedly been a surge in antisemitism in the state.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, on a trip to Jerusalem last week, signed a bill that increases penalties for religious and ethnic harassment.