Dear Nonprofit Security Friends:

Congress established the Nonprofit Security Grant Program in 2004, as the first singular program to provide for the security of the Jewish community and faith-based and other at-risk nonprofit institutions.

The Jewish community led on the program’s inception because targeted attacks on synagogues and Jewish Community Centers became a security risk of national importance post-September 11 attacks.

I had already been working with Congress to develop the NSGP program in the winter of 2001, which took on new urgency in June 2002, when the FBI warned that Al-Qaida might attack Jewish targets with gas trucks, leading to widespread concern and need for heightened security in Jewish communities nationwide. (See: JTA, “Jewish vigilance high after FBI warning,” June 25, 2002; Link: https://www.jta.org/2002/06/25/lifestyle/jewish-vigilance-high-after-fbi-warning.) This incident became a unifying catalyst among Jewish communal advocates to secure enactment of NSGP legislation nearly two years later.

Since then, and too frequently, Jewish communal and other faith-based and nonprofits have been targets of foreign terrorist organizations, homegrown violent extremists, racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists, and grievance-driven malicious actors.

The Israel-Hamas war has been a particularly pivotal event that has triggered an escalation of violence in communities throughout the country and globally – and also targeting Muslim and Arab communities at home.
In May, Elias Rodriguez was charged with federal and local murder offenses in connection with the fatal shooting of two Israeli Embassy staff members outside the Jewish National Museum in Washington, D.C. Moments after the shooting, Rodriguez entered the museum, displayed a red keffiyeh and allegedly said, “I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza.” (See: U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia, “Federal Hate Crime and First-Degree Murder Charges Filed Against Alleged Killer of Israeli Embassy Staff Members,” August 7, 2025; Link: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/federal-hate-crime-and-first-degree-murder-charges-filed-against-alleged-killer-israeli.)

In June, Mohammed Sabry Soliman was charged with 12 hate crimes and murder for throwing incendiary devices at individuals participating in a pro-Israel gathering near the Boulder, Colorado, Courthouse. 82-year-old Karen Diamond, died of her injuries. When throwing one of the Molotov cocktails, Soliman reportedly shouted, “Free Palestine!” Investigators recovered a handwritten document recovered from the vehicle driven by Soliman that  included the following statements: “Zionism is our enemies untill [sic] Jerusalem is liberated and they are expelled from our land,” and further described Israel as a “cancer entity. (See: Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, “Alleged Perpetrator of Terror Attack in Colorado Charged with Hate Crimes,” June 25, 2025; Link: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/alleged-perpetrator-terror-attack-colorado-charged-hate-crimes.)

Also in June, Muhammad Shahzeb Khan was extradited to the United States from Canada, in connection with charges he attempted to enter the United States to commit a mass shooting on a Jewish community center in Brooklyn, New York. Khan allegedly planned to carry out this attack “on or around Oct. 7, 2024 — which Khan recognized as the one-year anniversary of the brutal terrorist attacks in Israel by Hamas.” (See: Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, “Pakistani National Extradited to Face Charges in Connection with Plot to Carry Out ISIS-Inspired Mass Shooting at Jewish Center in New York City,” June 10, 2025; Link: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/pakistani-national-extradited-face-charges-connection-plot-carry-out-isis-inspired-mass.)

Jewish and other religious holidays, including Chanukah and Christmas, have also occasioned terrorist threats and attacks.

In August, Mufid Fawaz Alkhader was sentenced to 10 years in prison for, in part, twice firing a shotgun while standing outside the entrance to Temple Israel in Albany, New York, during Chanukah 2023. During the incident he was allegedly “shouting ‘Free Palestine!’” It was reported that “As a result of Alkhader’s actions, Temple Israel was forced to cancel a planned concert and candle lighting ceremony to celebrate Chanukah that evening, and its congregants were afraid to return to their place of worship.” See: Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, “New York Man Sentenced for Firearm and Religious Hate Crimes Involving the Firing of Shots Outside of Temple Israel in Albany,” August 12, 2025; Link: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/new-york-man-sentenced-firearm-and-religious-hate-crimes-involving-firing-shots-outside.)

In the U.S. in 2023, the Jewish community faced an already elevated and increasing threat level even before the major spike in antisemitism that occurred (and has been sustained) after the October 7 Hamas attack on Isreal. February, March, April, May, and September 2023 each broke the prior record for the most antisemitic incidents recorded in a single month in ADL’s history. According to the ADL, February, March, April, May, and September 2023 each broke the prior record for the most antisemitic incidents recorded in a single month in ADL’s history. (See: ADL, “Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2023,” April 16, 2024; Link: https://www.adl.org/resources/report/audit-antisemitic-incidents-2023.) These elevated months coincided with the 2023 Jewish holidays of Purim, Passover, Shavuot, Rosh Hashannah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.

The December 14, deadly mass casualty attack targeting Chanukah celebrants in Sydney, Australia, has placed US cities on alert. For instance, the New York Policy Department issued a post-incident assessment that found “there have been at least 48 major incidents targeting synagogues and Jewish community events worldwide, since the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led mass casualty attacks against Israel.” They further assessed that the December 14 attack “and its perpetrators will likely be praised and exploited by a variety of violent extremists to justify or incite similar acts of terrorism against the Jewish community.” (Source: NYPD Shield Post-Attack Assessment, “Mass Casualty Terrorist Attack Targets Hannukah Celebration on Australia’s Bondi Beach,” December 14, 2025.)

2025 has been particularly violent and NYPD’s assessment includes advice that tracks long-standing recommendations: Jewish communal and other faith-based and nonprofit institutions should employ access denial and target hardening measures, tabletop exercises, and emergency protocol/response drills. These are the very investments FEMA’s Nonprofit Security Grant Programs support.

With wave after wave of antisemitic attacks and hate crimes that have occurred in 2025, Congress will return for the second session of the 119th Congress on January 5, 2026, with a number of unfinished nonprofit security measures to consider, including:

– The FY 2026 NSGP program funding. New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are seeking $500 million. This would constitute a $225.5 million increase above the $274.5 million appropriated level in 2025.

– The “Pray Safe Act” (H.R. 5645). New York Representatives Grace Meng (D-NY-6), Michael Lawler (R-NY-17), and Daniel Goldman (D-NY-10) are leading on this bipartisan bill, which would establish a federal clearinghouse through which faith-based organizations, houses of worship, and other nonprofits can access information on safety and security best practices, available federal grant programs, and training opportunities.

[I note that in 2019, another deadly Chanukah attack took place in Rep. Lawler’s district, had served to amplify calls from community members and leaders around the country to increase federal funding and actions to protect at-risk nonprofit organizations. (See: JTA, “After a machete stabbing on Hanukkah, Monsey’s Orthodox Jews are defiant but searching for answers,” December 29, 2919; Link: https://www.jta.org/2019/12/29/united-states/after-a-machete-stabbing-on-hanukkah-monseys-orthodox-jews-are-defiant-but-searching-for-answers.)]

– The “DHS Grants Accountability Act” (H.R.6507). New York Representative Timothy Kennedy (D-NY-26) is the author of this bill, which would ensure greater accountability, predictability, and transparency at FEMA over its administration of the State and local preparedness (including NSGP), transit, and port security grant programs.

Of the more than 11 thousand hate crimes (with close to 14 thousand victims) reported by the FBI in 2024, religious bias crimes in 2024 represented 23.5% of all hate crimes reported. Although Jews only make up around 2 percent of the U.S. population, anti-Jewish hate crimes comprised 16 percent of all reported hate crimes and nearly 70 percent of all reported religion-based hate crimes in 2024, slightly higher than the prior year.

In 2025 (as recorded between December 31, 2024 and December 15, 2025), the FBI reports hate crime incidents having occurred against every category of Religion, including Anti-Jewish, Anti-Islamic (Muslim), Anti-Catholic, Anti-Protestant, Anti-Sikh, Anti-Hindu, Anti-Buddhist, Anti-Mormon, Anti-Jehovah’s Witness, Anti-Eastern Orthodox, Anti-Multi-Religious Group, Anti-Other Christian, and Anti-Atheist/Agnostic. Incidents have occurred nationwide. (Source FBI Crime Data Explorer Link: https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/explorer/crime/hate-crime.)

While issues of Jewish communal security are a particular concern for New York (hence the above leadership on the issue), the risks are high, nationally, for Jews and for the faith-based communities and the nonprofit sector at large. This is why over the years, NSGP and related legislation to improve the program and nonprofit security, generally, have been supported in both the House and the Senate, by Members of Congress from across the political spectrum, representing city, urban, and rural communities.

The nation’s law enforcement and counterterrorism experts cannot predict where, when, and how the next terrorist attack targeting a faith-based or communal institution will occur. (Source: DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis, “Homeland Security Assessment 2025,” October 2, 2024; Link: https://www.dhs.gov/publication/homeland-threat-assessment.)

This is why at-risk faith-based and communal institutions must have access to resources to prepare themselves against likely continued threats. Therefore, it is imperative that the NSGP program, and legislative initiatives to strengthen the program and nonprofit security resources, are available to adequately serve ALL communities. These efforts should be broadly supported by the greater faith-based community and nonprofit sector at large.

When Congress resumes legislative activities in January, I urge ALL OF YOU to reach out to your Members of Congress to seek their support for the above bulleted initiatives, and to call on your state and national advocates, associations, and fellow community partners to do the same.

Thank you for your consideration.

I wish you a safe and happy holiday season.

Best,

Rob Goldberg
Principal
Goldberg & Associates LLC
In partnership with Sphere State
To access content page: https://spherestate.com/resilience/security-for-nonprofits-blog/
To inquire about subscription plans: info@spherestate.com