The Jewish high holidays this year coincided with national remembrance of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and Eric D. Fingerhut, chief executive of the Jewish Federations of North America, used an op-ed to urge Congress to act to strengthen security for houses of worship. Fingerhut called on lawmakers to pass and fully fund the Jewish American Security Act, saying the measure would expand and stabilize the federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) that helps religious and community institutions improve physical security and threat preparedness.
Fingerhut framed the appeal against a backdrop of recent attacks and rising antisemitic incidents. In the op-ed he recounted violent episodes in 2025 that he said underscored the need for federal support: the May 2025 murders of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky after an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington; the June 2025 death of Karen Diamond from injuries after a man firebombed a walk for hostages in Boulder, Colorado; an arson attack on historic Beth Israel in Jackson, Mississippi, in January 2025; and a March 2025 incident in West Bloomfield, Michigan, in which a man drove a vehicle into Temple Israel and struck a guard before being stopped while about 140 preschool children were inside, Fingerhut wrote.
He cited the FBI’s most recent data, saying that in 2025 anti-Jewish hate crimes accounted for 69 percent of all religiously motivated hate crimes in the United States, even though Jewish Americans make up about 2 percent of the population. Fingerhut also said Jewish communities now spend more than $1 billion annually on security measures, and that nearly 6,000 institutions applied for almost $1 billion in NSGP grants in the most recent year with complete data — but that the program funded fewer than half of applicants, leaving more congregations and community centers without federal help.
“The first responsibility of government is to protect its people in their places of worship and community,” Fingerhut wrote, arguing that need has grown in ways “beyond what any of us wished to imagine.” He credited the NSGP with funding cameras, doors, lighting and training at houses of worship across the country and thanked members of both parties who have supported the program, while warning that demand continues to outpace available funding.
Fingerhut recommended two specific actions for Congress. First, he urged lawmakers to pass the Jewish American Security Act, a bipartisan bill introduced in May by Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and led in the House by Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.). According to Fingerhut’s description, the bill would authorize the NSGP at $1 billion per year and include provisions to strengthen civil rights protections for students and accountability for online platforms that spread hate.
Second, Fingerhut said Congress should fund the authorization. Drawing on his experience as a former member of the House of Representatives, he warned that authorization alone does not provide money to communities and called on appropriators to deliver the full $1 billion annually and to simplify and speed the grant process so small congregations can access funds more easily.
Fingerhut noted a surge in Jewish engagement following Oct. 7, 2023, with synagogues, day schools and camps expanding and attendance rising, and he said communities draw hope even as they seek greater protection. He closed the op-ed with a holiday appeal for safety, writing that on Yom Kippur communities pray “to be inscribed in the Book of Life” and expressing the wish that the coming year bring safety to every community of faith in America.
Eric D. Fingerhut is the CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America and served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio in 1993–94, according to the op-ed.
