World News
American Jewish Institutions Spend More Than $1 Billion a Year on Security
Security costs have risen 33% since 2024, with more than 4,500 synagogues, schools, community centers and other Jewish institutions spending an average of roughly $225,000 each year.
IllustrationAmerican Jewish institutions are now spending more than $1 billion a year on security, according to new data released by the Jewish Federations of North America ahead of Rosh Hashanah.
The organization estimates annual security spending at approximately $1.015 billion across more than 4,500 synagogues, Jewish schools, community centers, summer camps and other nonprofit institutions. That amounts to an average of roughly $225,000 per institution.
The figure represents a 33% increase from the organization’s previous estimate of $765 million in 2024.
The largest share of the cost goes toward security personnel, including guards and security directors. Another approximately $150 million is spent on security technology and strengthening buildings, including cameras, access-control systems and other protective measures.
The estimate does not include privately owned Jewish businesses, including more than 1,600 kosher restaurants, around 500 kosher markets and grocery stores, or Judaica stores and Jewish bookstores. The total amount spent protecting Jewish institutions and businesses is therefore likely higher.
“The fact that Jewish communal spending has shot up 33% is a measure of how much more dangerous life has become for Jewish Americans,” JFNA President and CEO Eric Fingerhut said.
JFNA cited the latest FBI hate-crime data, which found that anti-Jewish offenses accounted for 64% of all religiously motivated hate crimes in the United States in 2025, despite Jews making up roughly 2% of the population.
The organization is urging Congress to pass the Jewish American Security Act and increase funding for the federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program to $1 billion. The proposed legislation would also allow a greater share of federal security funding to be spent on personnel.
JFNA estimated that the amount Jewish institutions currently spend on security could instead pay for 44,000 children to attend Jewish day school, cover summer camp for every Jewish child in the country, or fund a decade of Birthright Israel trips.
“Every dollar our community spends on guards and cameras is a dollar not spent on Jewish education, on caring for our elderly, on taking care of those in need,” Fingerhut said.
