Prompted by recent events in the Middle East and in Michigan, Combined Jewish Philanthropies held a “Special Briefing on Communal Security” webinar on March 17, which drew an audience of 420 community members. Jeremy Yamin, CJP vice president of security and operations and leader of its Communal Security Initiative, led the online presentation.
“Incidents of Jew hatred are not just headlines,” Yamin said. “They strike very close to home, and impact our synagogues, our schools and our whole community. Terror threatens to intimidate us, to strike fear in our hearts, and weaken our resolve to engage in Jewish life with confidence and joy. We choose vibrant, proud Jewish life over victimhood and fear.”
Yamin said “the strongest way to fight back is by showing up for one another and teaming up with our allies in local law enforcement – partners that keep our community safe, strong and resilient.” He then introduced three speakers: Ted Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Field Office; Paul Tucker, Essex County district attorney; and Stephanie Viegas, senior national adviser for the Secure Community Network, a nonprofit that coordinates threat information between Jewish federations and law enforcement agencies.
Also speaking at the webinar were CJP CEO Rabbi Marc Baker and Melissa Garlick, CJP vice president and leader of its Center for Combating Antisemitism.
As previously reported, the Communal Security Initiative has, in the past year, provided more than $1 million in security grants to some 250 area Jewish institutions. In an interview with the Jewish Journal, Yamin said both the state and federal governments also grant at-risk groups funds to beef up physical security and help defray the cost of security personnel.
In March, the state announced it had given almost $5 million to 165 religious, educational and cultural institutions as part of its Commonwealth Nonprofit Security Grant and Commonwealth Nonprofit Security Personnel Grant programs.
The vast majority of organizations receiving grants were religious. Jewish groups comprised one-third of the total recipients (55 out of 165), and received about a third of the total money granted ($1,604,767 out of $4,965,774). Last year, by contrast, about a dozen fewer Jewish groups (42) received over $360,000 more grant money ($1,966,455).
Yamin suggested the state needed to balance giving money to Jewish institutions – a number of which had already received grants since the program started in 2018 – with other, non-Jewish groups that “might be at heightened risk of an incident.”
Of the Jewish recipients, the Jewish Enrichment Center of Greater Boston in Allston received the largest grant ($60,000) and Ruach Israel in Needham received the smallest ($4,600). The median grant to Jewish groups was $30,000.
Nine Jewish institutions on the North Shore and in the Merrimack Valley received grants: Haverhill’s Anshe Sholom Chabad ($31,000), Gloucester’s Chabad Cape Ann ($9,311), the Chelsea Jewish Nursing Home ($41,067), Newburyport’s Congregation Ahavas Achim ($4,717), Peabody’s Temple Ner Tamid ($30,000), Andover’s Congregation Temple Emanuel ($10,237), Marblehead’s Epstein Hillel School ($31,200), Gloucester’s Temple Ahavat Achim ($5,700), and Lawrence’s Temple Emanuel Cemetery Association ($23,339).
In October 2025, the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), through the state Office of Grants and Research, awarded one-time grants to nonprofits to protect against potential terrorist or other extremist attacks. All but three of the 24 groups were Jewish religious, educational, cultural or residential institutions, which received $2.5 million of the $3.1 million total.
The federal grants were orders of magnitude larger than the state grants. Topping the list was Newton’s Solomon Schechter Day School, which received $372,444; Somerville’s Lehrhaus Center for Jewish Life and Learning received the least, at $78,750. The median grant for the 21 Jewish institutions was about $180,000.
Four institutions received grants from both the federal and state programs: Brandeis University, in Waltham, received $187,000 and $30,000, respectively; Jewish Community Day School (JCDS), in Watertown ($200,000 and $31,050); Temple Aliyah, in Needham ($131,200 and $37,439); and Temple Beth David of Dedham-Westwood ($200,000 and $26,943).
A consortium of seven Jewish organizations – the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the Central Reform Temple of Boston, Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), Daughters of Israel Mikvah, Jewish Vocational Services, Northeastern University Hillel and The Boston Synagogue – received about $82,000 as a group.
No Jewish institutions on the North Shore or in the Merrimack Valley received any federal grant money.
CJP’s Communal Security Initiative can be contacted at ma.cjp.org.
