by Hudson Kamphausen
US Sen. Richard Blumenthal (left), was joined Monday by Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford President and CEO David Waren (right) and other officials and advocates in announcing a new $400 million federal grant for increasing security for religious buildings like synagogues in Connecticut. Credit: Screengrab / Blumenthal’s office
WEST HARTFORD, CT – Following a steep rise in hate crimes in the past year, many of which were directed at Jewish individuals and institutions, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal announced a $400 million increase in security funding Monday from the federal government.
According to a report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), antisemitic incidents rose 170% in Connecticut in 2023. Of those, 26% took place in schools and colleges.
The ADL recorded a total of 8,873 of anti-semitic incidents nationwide in 2023 – the highest since the organization began tracking them in 1979.
“The number of incidents is growing astronomically, and they are a testament to a virus spreading in our country – a virus of hatred, hate speech, and hate violence,” Blumenthal said at the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford in West Hartford on Monday with a group of advocates and other leaders on hand. “But we’re here also to talk about solutions, because we cannot be silent.”
According to statistics released by the FBI in October 2023, over 50% of religiously motivated hate crimes in 2022 were perpetrated against Jewish individuals.
The boost in funding will come from the Nonprofit Security Grant Center, and that money will be distributed over three years by the Department of Homeland Security, the senator said. The funding comes as additional emergency funding on top of the original $274 million that was already appropriated for the current fiscal year.
Blumenthal said the funding will go toward preventing the desecration of holy centers and religious buildings with improvements like bulletproof glass, and will also provide access to resources like police protection.
“We must protect our synagogues, our churches, our community centers,” he said, adding later: “All over Connecticut, synagogues have better protection, and they will have even better protection as a result of this supplemental money.”
Blumenthal said that in 2023 Connecticut received about $3.2 million for the protection of these religious buildings, and although it’s not clear how much funding Connecticut will receive from the $400 million outlay, he said he expected the state’s $3.2 million expenditure to be “significantly increased” following the boost.
“There’s no dismissing the importance of that $400 million, but more is needed,” he said.
Some other statistics from the 2023 ADL report include:
• 72 incidents in public areas – i.e. parks, streets, buildings, etc. (39% of incidents);
• About 24 anti-Jewish incidents in the U.S. per day;
• 1,987 incidents targeting Jewish institutions such as synagogues, Jewish community centers and Jewish schools, an increase of 237% from 589 in 2022;
• 161 incidents that were classified as assault, which was defined as incidents where a Jewish individual (or someone who was perceived to be Jewish) was targeted with physical violence accompanied by “evidence of anti-semitic animus.” This was a 45% increase compared to 2022;
• 6,535 incidents that were classified as harassment, which was defined as incidents where a Jewish individual was harassed with slurs or other stereotypes. Those increased 184%, up from 2,298 incidents in 2022;
• 2,177 incidents that were classified as vandalism, defined as cases where property was damaged along with “evidence of anti-semitic intent.” Those acts increased 69% from the 1,289 incidents reported in 2022, and;
• Swastikas, which are generally interpreted as symbols of anti-semitic hatred, were present in 1,117 of these incidents, up 41% from last year.
David Waren, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, said Monday that many cases of hate speech and violence motivated by hate are never reported.
“As dramatic as the numbers are, they’re even worse,” he said.
Waren said that the expansion of the NPSG program is crucial and that it will help to fund some of the programs that he and others have put in place to try to combat anti-semitic speech and incidents in their communities.
