With worshippers at Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Miss., still reeling from a Jan. 10 arson attack that severely damaged the historic synagogue, Congress appears poised to provide $300 million for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program for 2026, a small boost from the funding provided in 2024 and 2025.

But that figure is lower than the allocations initially proposed by both the House and Senate, even as antisemitic events, such as the arson in Jackson, continue to rock the Jewish community. And it is significantly less than the target level of $500 million to $1 billion for the program requested by congressional advocates and Jewish groups.

Lauren Wolman, senior director of government relations and strategy at the Anti-Defamation League, said the allocation “acknowledges the very real threats facing houses of worship and other at-risk nonprofits.”

“But [the $300 million] falls far short of what is needed and represents a step back from the bipartisan funding levels previously secured in both chambers,” Wolman continued. “Demand for NSGP continues to dramatically outpace available resources, and underfunding this program leaves vulnerable communities exposed. We will continue working with Congress to secure increased funding in the next funding cycle to ensure at-risk communities have the protection they need.”

The funding, part of the Homeland Security budget, may also suffer from additional friction amid Democratic opposition to the package, linked to concerns about Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations throughout the country. It is not yet guaranteed that the package will actually pass, with key Democrats, including Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Homeland Security Subcommittee, announcing their opposition to the bill. 

The program was funded at $274.5 million in both 2024 and 2025, with an extra infusion of $400 million as part of the 2024 National Security Supplemental bill. In 2024, the $274.5 million allocation funded just 43% of applications, which totaled nearly $1 billion in funding requested. The 2025 funding still has not been distributed amid ongoing delays at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which administers the program.

The House voted last year to approve a 2026 funding bill with $335 million for the program, while Senate Republicans proposed $330 million. The final level of $300 million is just shy of the $305 million provided in 2023, the highest annual funding level ever provided for the program. That $305 million covered 42% of applications — before the post Oct. 7, 2023, global surge in antisemitism.

Jewish groups that advocate for the NSGP praised the allocation while also saying that they would continue to fight in future years for additional funding to meet the community’s full needs. Some noted that the funding boost was particularly significant at a time when DHS is overshooting budget targets and funding for many DHS grant programs is being significantly constrained.

Nathan Diament, the executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center, said that the $300 million “is not the overall number we were pushing for, but in the context of the DHS bill being more than $1 billion over their topline number, and lots of other things getting cut … we got an increase for NSGP. It’s a result we can work with.”

Diament also noted that the OU hopes that the funding for the NSGP can “go further” this year with $5 million in Justice Department grant funding earmarked to support local law enforcement in protecting religious facilities, funds he said will relieve expenses that communities have traditionally paid out of pocket to off-duty police to protect their institutions.

He also noted that if the bill fails to pass, there could be opportunities for further negotiations on the NSGP funding.

Eric Fingerhut, the CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, said that the funding boost over 2024 and 2025 “is an important step in the right direction.”

“Still, threats to the Jewish community are more frequent, visible, and normalized than ever before, and while Federations invest heavily in our communal safety, the cost for securing our community alone stands at an estimated $775 million a year. We look forward to working with Congress to use any vehicle possible to further increase funding for this life-saving program,” Fingerhut continued.

Sens. James Lankford (R-OK) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV), co-chairs of the Senate task force on combatting antisemitism, proposed that the Senate advance a package of legislation to protect religious communities, including supplemental funding for the NSGP.

Michael Masters, CEO of the Secure Community Network, said SCN is “pleased to see renewed funding for this program, alongside critical funding for law enforcement and public safety through the State Homeland Security and Urban Areas Security Initiative programs. With recent attacks on Jewish museums, events, and synagogues, these programs are vital to allowing people of faith to gather in peace.”

“Continued investment in the Nonprofit Security Grant Program — which has allowed for life-saving physical security solutions to be installed in houses of worship, schools, and community centers — is critical to the safety of the Jewish community, faith communities, and nonprofits throughout the country,” Masters continued.

Rabbi Avi Schnall, director of federal education affairs for Agudath Israel of America, said that Agudath Israel is “happy that the [NSGP continues] to be funded. We look to the future and feel as if a much greater amount needs to be allocated.”

He continued: “$300 million is an improvement from last year’s $274.5 million, but it falls very short of the $500 million ask that’s been brought up by [Senate] Minority Leader [Chuck] Schumer (D-NY) and others over the last couple of years. And we’re hopeful, as Congress resumes the negotiations for the next budget, that hopefully a significant increase will be included in that one. As hate incidents in general … increase, and particularly in the Jewish community that’s seeing an unprecedented increase in attacks, now’s the time to increase protection and prevention more than ever.”

Schnall said Agudath Israel “look[s] forward to working with Congress to ensure that future budgets [reflect] the needs of the broader community.”

The explanatory report accompanying the Homeland Security funding bill also instructs the administration to release a report within 90 days on how DHS is implementing the Trump administration’s executive order on antisemitism and the U.S. national strategy on antisemitism, formulated under the Biden administration.

The Homeland Security funding package was also paired with the 2026 defense funding package, which includes $500 million for cooperative missile defense programs with Israel, as expected under the U.S.-Israel memorandum of understanding, as well as increased funding for other cooperative programs such as $80 million for the counter-tunneling program, $75 million for counter drone and directed energy programs and $47.5 million for developing military applications of emerging technologies like AI and quantum computing.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is holding firm in his choice not to label the arson attack that targeted the governor’s mansion on Passover as antisemitic or a hate crime, saying in a Friday interview on ABC News’ “Good Morning America” that he will leave that question to the prosecutors. 

“I think that’s a question for the prosecutors to determine. They’re going to determine motive,” Shapiro said. “I recognize when you’re in these positions of power, there are people out there that want to do you harm, but I try not to be captive to the fear, and I try not to worry or think about why people want to do that harm.”

ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos pressed Shapiro on the question, noting that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called on the Department of Justice to investigate the attack as a hate crime. Shapiro stood by his statement made on Thursday that Schumer’s letter was not “helpful.”

Stephanopoulos followed up with an opportunity for Shapiro to address antisemitism by connecting the attack on the governor’s mansion to the 2018 Tree of Life shooting. 

Shapiro’s job, Stephanopoulos argued, “is to combat the kind of conditions we’re seeing to create the opportunity for situations like this. Pennsylvania is no stranger to this,” he said. “We saw the attack in the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018. How do you combat this kind of hate?”

Shapiro pivoted away from the comparison. “By speaking and acting with moral clarity,” Shapiro responded.

Rather than mentioning antisemitism in his response, Shapiro instead spoke about political violence. He talked about the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in Butler, Pa., last summer and mentioned the arrest of Luigi Mangione, the man charged with murdering the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, in Altoona, Pa. 

“I think it’s also important when you’re not dealing with a traumatic event, in Butler, in Altoona or here in Harrisburg, to be leading every day in a way that brings people together and doesn’t just continually divide us,” said Shapiro.