Paul Singer Image by Getty

By Ari Feldman November 6, 2018

Jewish billionaire Paul Singer’s foundation plans to donate $1 million to security upgrades at New York City synagogues in the wake of last month’s massacre in a Pittsburgh synagogue, the New York Post reported.

The funds will cover safety reviews, security camera installation, security barriers and other security additions, depending on the synagogue’s location and size.

“The tragedy in Pittsburgh was a painful reminder of the need to revisit our community’s security needs,” Singer told the Post. “This is an urgent project.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The money will go to the UJA-Federation of New York, which will oversee the disbursements. It will help seed a fund that the Federation is planning that will be earmarked for synagogue security.

It’s not clear how far $1 million can go in supporting year-round security programs, especially at some of the major synagogues in the New York City area. The rabbi for Beth Tfiloh, the largest Modern Orthodox synagogue in the country, located in a suburb outside Baltimore, told the Forward the congregation spends $250,000 annually on security.

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aefeldman

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount