New York Gov. Kathy Hochul delivering remarks on major legislation requiring colleges and universities in the state to strengthen hate crime policies. Photo: Darren McGee/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul

Two weeks had passed since the antisemitic attack on New York City’s Central Synagogue, when New York Gov. Kathy Hochul chose to address the congregation, telling them, “If you need more money, you need more protection; I will send in state police here.”

What was easily dismissed that evening was that the Democrat governor’s endorsement of New York City’s Israel-hating mayor Zohran Mamdani last year, and her subsequent failure to directly denounce his antisemitic incitement, has accelerated a historical surge in antisemitism, one that Hochul has presided over during her first full term as governor of New York.

Still, the congregants likely left that evening feeling reassured, having heard from Hochul, who sought to exonerate her party’s appeasement of radical ideologues by revolving her remarks around investing in securing Jewish institutions.

With new data from the Jewish Federations of North America showing that Jewish communal spending on security has surpassed a record-breaking $1 billion, it’s clear that requests for additional funding to harden institutions will become a new theater of concern across Jewish communities.

The staggering statistic amounts to $225,000 per institution and reflects a 33 percent increase from $765 million in 2024.

There’s little doubt that the threats leveled against Jewish Americans necessitate bolstering security at synagogues and schools.

Jewish establishments are increasingly turning to federal and state governments to help offset some of the financial burden.

Synagogues and schools are slowly adjusting their efforts to include lobbying for expanded grant programs and encouraging lawmakers to authorize more federal funding to safeguard religious institutions.

Yet what may present as an immediate need for assistance could soon evolve into Jewish Americans occupying the regrettable space of victimhood status while being lulled into a self-created political complacency by permitting politicians to falsely frame a financial rescue as a forceful response to antisemitism.

Normalizing the steep security costs also comes at the expense of diverting resources from supporting other critical initiatives involving Israel, Iran, or the anti-Zionist curriculum creeping into K-12 education.

The policy implications of looking to the government for relief are already taking shape.

New bipartisan legislation is being considered in Congress, which aims to strengthen federal efforts to combat antisemitism.

 The Jewish American Security Act contains several laudable measures that focus on federal transparency in documenting online antisemitism and also calls for the designation of an antisemitism coordinator at the Department of Education.

At the crux of the bill is a provision that directs the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) to authorize $1 billion annually to protect synagogues and Jewish community centers, and other at-risk organizations.

The legislation has garnered the support of steady friends in the Jewish American community.

The act is also backed by some Democrats who, earlier this month, voted against withholding federal funding for universities and colleges that engage in the antisemitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement — the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act, introduced by Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ). The bill ultimately passed the House earlier this month with only 33 Democrats voting in favor.

When Democrats like Reps. Steve Cohen (TN) and Mike Quigley (IL) elect to boost a bill calling for expanding funding for synagogues but refuse to go on record as supporting bipartisan legislation that penalizes academic institutions promoting the economic boycott of the Jewish State, they are messaging that putting money towards a temporary fix for Jews in America is an easier lift than going on record as standing with Israel.

For his part, Quigley has accused the Israeli government of preventing the Palestinian people from being given “basic rights and dignity,” while California Democrat Judy Chu, who is also a cosponsor of the Jewish American Security Act, was praised by the Muslim Brotherhood-aligned Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) back in 2024 for voting against a bill that called for authorizing $17 billion in military assistance for Israel.

The exorbitant price of securing Jewish institutions is indisputable, but out of this new necessity is arising a trend whereby Democrats may use support for funding as a cudgel to drive a wedge between Zionism and Jewish identity.

Protecting a preyed-upon minority in America is a politically safe position that resists offending Israel’s detractors and telegraphs to Jewish Americans that, as long as their community remains in its vulnerable and quasi-defenseless orbit, Democrats have no qualms with acting like allies.

What elicits confusion and stokes disappointment among these same lawmakers is when a new narrative emerges that revolves around strong Jews fighting for their survival.

Unwilling to risk alienating a cohort of anti-Israel voters, many Democrats will elect to undercut, rather than uphold, Jewish self-determination.

Speaking in glowing terms about the US-Israel relationship felt fine for the overwhelming majority of liberal politicians as long as Israelis weren’t forced to break from the predetermined box of a Jew who needs saving, rather than one who is eager to defeat its enemies.

The $1 billion price tag to defend American Jewish institutions is not a sustainable answer to rising antisemitism, nor should Jewish voters mistake this increased funding for meaningful concern about antisemitism in America.

Reducing dependency on a growing expense requires looking outside the purse and into the political arena for answers.

Rabbis and community heads should speak with clarity about the positions and politicians that have led to a massive rise in anti-Jewish sentiment.

Stronger border enforcement and heftier penalties for violent antisemites will prove more durable in deterring attacks than an annual alarm upgrade.

Going to the government is an exercise that should be used sparingly, and with caution.

Jewish Americans may unknowingly be manufacturing costs to our community that no amount of money can solve.

Irit Tratt is a writer who resides in New York. Follow her on X @Irit_Tratt.