A week ahead of the High Holidays, when more Jews gather in synagogues than any other time of year, new Jewish Federations of North America data shows that the community’s spending on security has hit a record high, surpassing $1 billion a year ($1.015b). 

 

This data reflects the cost of rising levels of Antisemitism across the country, and comes as leaders call for the urgent passage of the Jewish American Security Act that would fully fund the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) at $1 billion. 

 

“The fact that Jewish communal spending has shot up 33% is a measure of how much more dangerous life has become for Jewish Americans, and sadly we know that we need even more investment to protect ourselves against the rising level of threat,” said Eric D. Fingerhut, President and CEO of The Jewish Federations of North America. “We are grateful for the partnership of Congress and this Administration, but the need has outpaced the resources. Passing the Jewish American Security Act and fully funding the Nonprofit Security Grant Program at $1 billion is the single most important step lawmakers can take to keep Jewish Americans and all faith communities safe.”

 

The new study finds that the average spend across over 4,500 Jewish communal institutions amounts to roughly $225,000 per institution. This represents a 33% increase compared to the previous estimate of $765 million in 2024. These institutions include Jewish community centers, synagogues, schools, summer camps, and other Jewish nonprofit institutions. 

 

This analysis does not include privately owned businesses including 1,600+ kosher restaurants, some 500 kosher markets and groceries, and the Judaica shops and Jewish bookstores found in Jewish neighborhoods across North America.

 
By far, the largest share of the cost is devoted to security personnel, including both guards and security directors. The Jewish American Security Act would address this significant cost by allowing a greater share of NSGP funding to go towards personnel. An additional $150 million in spending is relating to security technology and building hardening, including both new installation and maintenance of existing systems. 

 

Despite the increased spending, events of recent years have proven that further security investments are still needed. Antisemitic threats and violence are rising, and Jewish Americans are having to increase their spending on security just to practice their faith without fear of violence. The latest FBI Hate Crime data unveils that anti-Jewish hate crimes accounted for 64% of all religiously motivated hate crimes in 2025, despite being just 2% of the U.S. population. The same FBI report revealed that in 2025 American Jews were the most-targeted religious group and the second-most targeted for hate crimes of any kind.

 

By Jewish Federation of North America estimates, the total spend currently devoted to security would be enough to send 44,000 kids to Jewish Day School, cover the costs of every child attending Jewish summer camp, or fund every Birthright Trip for a decade. 

 

“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 added.