Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order in response to the explosion of antisemitic hate across the nation and the world.
On Tuesday, he wrote: “I hereby issue this Executive Directive to combat the increasing incidents and threats of antisemitism and anti-religious and ethnic-based bigotry and violence in the Commonwealth.”
It named nine steps—the first being to designate a “chief coordinating officer” to oversee a “situation room” to focus on protecting houses of worship. Another directive pushes to expedite $2.7 million in security grants for those facing religious or ethnic bigotry.
The governor also directed the Virginia Fusion Center to “maintain a heightened state of alert.”
Five points in the plan focused on the role of educational institutions. These included instructions for schools to submit updated safety instructions for protecting Jewish and Muslim students.
JNS contacted Youngkin’s office for comment regarding the directive’s broad scope of applying to all religions and ethnicities but did not receive a response.