Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Napolitano Meets With Federation on Security

Janet Napolitano, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, met with leaders of the New York Jewish federation to discuss security for nonprofits in the wake of substantial funding cuts.

“DHS recognizes the important role the nonprofit community has in our homeland security efforts,” Napolitano said in a statement after meeting at the White House with the UJA-Federation delegation. “We work closely with nonprofit organizations throughout the country – including the faith-based community – to share information, offer training, conduct risk assessments and provide resources to give the nonprofit sector the tools to address threats and help keep communities safe.”

Napolitano discussed the recent slash in funding for such programs, from $19 million last year to $10 million this year. The bulk of nonprofits receiving the money are Jewish.

“DHS sustained funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program despite significant overall cuts to grants in order to support target hardening and physical security enhancements at nonprofit organizations that are at high risk of terrorist attack,” she said in the statement, adding that nonprofits would now also be able to apply for funds through a different program run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

William Daroff, the director of the Washington office of the Jewish Federations of North America, said his group appreciated Napolitano’s “continuing recognition that since Sept. 11th, nonprofits generally, and Jewish communal institutions specifically, have been victims of an alarming number of threats and attacks.

Daroff said his group would continue to seek “adequate” funding for the programs.

Other groups lobbying for Homeland Security funding for security for nonprofits are the Orthodox Union and Agudath Israel of America.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.