{"id":78910,"date":"2017-03-18T05:38:18","date_gmt":"2017-03-18T09:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=78910"},"modified":"2017-03-17T13:19:45","modified_gmt":"2017-03-17T17:19:45","slug":"threats-against-religious-cultural-institutions-prompts-bi-partisan-letter-to-dhs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=78910","title":{"rendered":"Threats against religious, cultural institutions prompts bi-partisan letter to DHS"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Kirsten Gillibrand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since the beginning of 2017, there were over 100 threats made against Jewish centers and schools
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Increased funding to <\/em>Nonprofit Security Grant Program would cover security costs in key areas including prevention and rapid response<\/em><\/p>\n

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today led a bipartisan letter signed by 18 Senators to the Department of Homeland Security urging Secretary John Kelly to increase federal funds programmed to the Nonprofit Security Grant Program for Fiscal Year 2018 and fully fund the program at $50 million. The Senators cited recent threats to Jewish Community Centers and cultural and religious institutions across the country for the need for increased funding. The funds would help cover costs to support efforts to build and sustain core capabilities across prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery to meet growing threats.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Yorkers shouldn\u2019t have to live or worship in fear,\u201d said Senator Gillibrand. \u201cHate crimes and threats are on the rise and we can\u2019t stand idly by and do nothing or pretend it\u2019s not happening. Now more than ever we need to make sure our places of worship and community centers have the right resources to protect themselves. I\u2019m asking the Trump administration to take these threats seriously and dedicate more federal dollars to protecting religious and community centers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt a time when children are being evacuated from daycare centers in response to repeated bomb threats and Mosques are deliberately being set on fire, we must ensure that all organizations that face these threats have the support they need.\u00a0 It is simply unacceptable to not act,\u201d the Senators wrote in their joint letter. \u201cSince the beginning of 2017 there have been over 100 threats made against Jewish centers and schools. The recent increase in religiously motivated threats and attacks have shown the importance of providing institutions with the tools to meet these threats.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe appreciate Senator Gillibrand\u2019s leadership in crafting bipartisan support for \u200eadditional resources\u00a0to protect our community. The recent spate of bomb threats and other acts of anti-Semitism underscore the threat to the very institutions that the non-profit security grant program was designed to safeguard. Given the increase in threats, the support for increasing the funds for the program is essential,\u201d said William Daroff, Senior Vice President, The Jewish Federations of North America.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe commend Senator Gillibrand for her leadership on this issue at this critical time.\u00a0The Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which the OU is proud to have helped create a decade ago, has been essential in addressing the security needs of our community\u2019s schools, synagogues and JCCs.\u00a0With the wave of threats our community now confronts \u2013 and the attendant increased costs of keeping our citizens safe \u2013 Sen. Gillibrand\u2019s bipartisan effort to boost the funding level for the NSGP could not be more important,\u201d said Nathan Diament, Executive Director for Public Policy for the Orthodox Union.<\/p>\n

Senator Gillibrand was joined by Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA), Al Franken (D-MN), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) , Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jeffrey A. Merkley (D-OR), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Gary C. Peters (D-MI), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Richard J. Durbin (D-IL).<\/p>\n

In December, Gillibrand pushed for additional federal anti-terror funding in the Fiscal Year 2017 Homeland Security appropriations bill for the Urban Area Security Initiative Non-Profit Security Grant Program to help safeguard nonprofit facilities and places of worship from potential threats.<\/p>\n

The full text of the Senators\u2019 joint letter is included here<\/a> and below:<\/p>\n

March 9, 2017<\/em><\/p>\n

John F. Kelly,\u00a0Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security,\u00a0U.S. Department of Homeland Security,\u00a0Washington, DC 20528<\/em><\/p>\n

Dear Secretary Kelly:<\/em><\/p>\n

As you develop President Trump\u2019s budget, we would like to request that you increase the amount of money programmed to address the wave of threats to Jewish Community Centers and\u00a0cultural and religious institutions across the country. Synagogues, <\/em>mosques and cultural centers are confronted with increasing levels of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, bigotry, and hate and it <\/em>is therefore imperative that the amount of funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program for Fiscal Year 2018 be fully funded at $50 million to meet these increased threats.<\/em><\/p>\n

The NSGP provides funding support for target hardening and other physical security enhancements to nonprofit organizations that are at high risk of a terrorist attack. These costs support efforts to build and sustain core capabilities across the Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery mission areas all of which are key to achieve the National Preparedness Goal.<\/em><\/p>\n

At a time when children are being evacuated from daycare centers in response to repeated bomb threats and Mosques are deliberately being set on fire, we must ensure that all organizations that face these threats have the support they need.\u00a0 It is simply unacceptable to not act. Since the beginning of <\/em>2017 there have been over 100 threats made against Jewish centers and schools. The recent increase in religiously motivated threats and attacks have shown the importance of providing institutions with the tools to meet these threats.<\/em><\/p>\n

Recent threats or assaults across the United States<\/u><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n