About one-third of $4,965,000 in security funding that Massachusetts gave to 167 nonprofits in the state went to Jewish organizations, including synagogues, according to a JNS analysis.
Of the listed nonprofits, 55 (about 33%) were Jewish, and they received $1,606,876 (about 32%) of the funding, which came from the Commonwealth Nonprofit Security Grant Program and the Commonwealth Nonprofit Security Personnel Grant Program.
In addition to the 55, Brandeis University, which states that it is “animated by a set of values that are rooted in Jewish history and experience,” received $30,000 from the state.
“Hate and violence have no place in Massachusetts,” stated Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat.
“Organizations that serve our communities should never have to worry about their safety,” she satated. “These grants will help nonprofits strengthen security so people can safely gather, practice their faith and access the services they rely on.”
Last July, Massachusetts said that anti-Jewish hate crimes in the commonwealth had increased by 20.5% in 2024 and that for the first time in nearly 35 years, there were more recorded anti-Jewish than anti-black hate crimes in Massachusetts.
The 55 Jewish institutions included a dozen schools: Gann Academy (Waltham), Lander-Grinspoon Academy (Northampton), Maimonides School (Brookline), New England Hebrew Academy (Brookline), Striar Hebrew Academy (Sharon), Bais Yaakov of Boston (Brighton), Jewish Community Day School (Watertown), MetroWest Jewish Day School (Framingham), Arthur J. Epstein Hillel School (Marblehead) and Rashi School (Dedham).
There were also two Chabad schools: Shaloh School Oholei Torah (Brighton) and Shaloh School Oholei Torah of Stoughton.
Chabad centers in Brookline, Cambridge, Duxbury, Gloucester, Haverhill, Newton and Watertown were included, as were synagogues in Andover, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Dedham-Westwood, Framingham, Gloucester, Greenfield, Hingham, Needham, Newburyport, Lawrence, Newton, North Adams, Orleans, Peabody, Sharon, Somerville, Springfield, Westborough.
Granted nonprofits also included Jewish Community Centers in Holbrook, Newton, Sharon, Springfield and Worcester, as well as Chelsea Jewish Nursing Home, Hebrew SeniorLife (Boston), Jewish Enrichment Center of Greater Boston (Allston), Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts (Worcester), Kerem Shalom (Concord), Ruach Israel (Needham) and Union for Reform Judaism (Great Barrington).
