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September 13, 2005
Union
of Orthodox Jewish Congregations
Commends the Federal Government
and New York State
for their Commitment
to Securing Safety
of Jewish Community
$7.3 million in funds distributed to vulnerable non-profits
Today, the Union of
Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America - the nation's largest
Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization - commended the Department
of Homeland Security, its Secretary, Michael Chertoff as well as
Governor George Pataki of New York for their commitment to
providing federal homeland security funds administered by the
state to Jewish community institutions for the purpose of
upgrading their physical security in the face of potential
terrorist threats.
Though a master list is
not available, due to security considerations, 112 out of 203
applicants received a grant of up to $75,000, announced the
State’s Division of Criminal Justice Services, which administers
the grant funding as part of the federal government’s Urban Area
Security Initiative.
Nathan Diament, public
policy director for the Union, stated: “The Jewish community is
deeply appreciative of our government’s commitment to protecting
our community's institutions. And we are thankful our federal
representatives in Washington have successfully partnered with
their counterparts at the state and local level to better serve
our community. We hope that the Congress will reauthorize the
UASI program this year and that state and local governments will
continue doing their utmost in providing funding to secure their
at-risk Jewish institutions.”
“We also thank Governor
Pataki for adding $1 million to the $6.3 million federal
allocation, in recognition of the great needs faced by NYC area
non-profits, particularly Jewish institutions.”
In New York, the UASI
consisted of New York City, Long Island and Westchester. The
program itself, earmarking $25 million nationwide to protect
vulnerable non-profits in various high risk areas was the result
of successful lobbying by a coalition that included the United
Jewish Communities, the American Red Cross and the Union.
Mark Bane, Chair of the
Union’s Institute for Public Affairs stated “We are pleased that
OU member synagogues participated in this program and that OU/IPA
staff were able to assist OU members as well as other community
institutions, including day schools and yeshivas in applying for
the grants.”
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