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.

As the sun went down Friday night, Mississippi’s Jewish community packed the pews of Northminster Baptist Church in Jackson to welcome Shabbat. 

Aside from the unusual location, the weekend’s schedule was typical — Friday evening prayers to bring in Shabbat, followed by a meal and oneg; a bat mitzvah service on Saturday morning; Havdalah to conclude Shabbat and Sunday school classes the next day. 

But this week, each service was also an act of defiance.

For members of Beth Israel Congregation — the only synagogue in the state’s capital city — this was their first Shabbat since an arson attack heavily damaged their place of worship. The suspected arsonist, Stephen Spencer Pittman, 19, admitted to starting the blaze on Jan. 10 due to “the building’s Jewish ties,” and referred to the institution as the “synagogue of Satan,” a historically antisemitic phrase that has been re-popularized by far-right commentator Candace Owens. 

Located in a major hub of the Civil Rights Movement, Beth Israel was bombed in 1967 by the Ku Klux Klan over the rabbi’s support for racial equality — including providing chaplain services to activists incarcerated for challenging segregated bussing in the state. 

Two Torah scrolls were destroyed in last week’s fire, and five more were damaged. A Torah that survived the Holocaust, which was kept in a glass case, was unharmed. The congregation’s library and administrative office were also destroyed. Synagogue leaders estimate it will take two or three years to rebuild. 

But throughout Shabbat services, which were also attended by Jackson Mayor John Horhn and members of various local churches in a show of solidarity, “the feeling was not sadness, it was joy,” Zach Shemper, the congregation’s president, told Jewish Insider.

“The silver lining of all of this is Jews who weren’t members or necessarily active before are coming in and saying they want to be members,” said Shemper, adding that 140 families are currently members of Beth Israel, Mississippi’s largest synagogue. “Members who left over the years are saying, ‘We want to be part of the family again.’ So the intent of the [arsonist], everything he intended to happen, it’s the exact opposite. The people here in Jackson said not only ‘we don’t mind the Jews,’ but in fact they said, ‘We want you here, what can we do to accommodate?’” 

On Thursday, the city held an interfaith prayer event at the Thalia Mara Hall in downtown Jackson, an event that had already been planned as a community gathering but was dedicated to prayers for Beth Israel as a response to the fire. 

The offer from Northminster Baptist Church to host services indefinitely follows a long-standing relationship between the two houses of worship. In the 1960s while the church was being built, Beth Israel allowed them to hold services in the synagogue. “Here we are 60 years later, they are able to return the favor,” said Shemper, adding that “multiple churches have reached out and offered their worship space as our worship space.”  

Jewish communities near and far have also been quick to step in and offer assistance. B’nai Israel in Hattiesburg — a smaller Mississippi town about 90 miles away —  loaned two Torahs and 50 prayer books. A congregant drove to Memphis to pick up 100 more siddurim from another synagogue. 

“Really, that’s all we need,” said Shemper. But Jewish communities haven’t stopped there.

A synagogue in New Orleans sponsored the Friday night oneg and sent King Cake Challah. Several other congregations have created rebuilding funds.    

On Friday, UJA-Federation of New York announced a $100,000 grant to support recovery and rebuilding. Jackson does not have its own Jewish federation. 

“I came out here to be present and responsive on behalf of Jewish Federations of North America, to meet folks on the ground and coordinate resources, including immediate security needs and to support the work ahead so that this community can move forward and Jewish life can continue,” Sheila Katz, chief Jewish life officer of JFNA, told JI. 

“We covered the cost of some of the immediate security needs here. We’ll be physically and emotionally connected with this synagogue for a long time,” said Katz, who traveled from Washington to Mississippi.

“[One] of the most impactful things to witness is how excited the synagogue leadership has been about Jews not connected to Jackson who have wanted to be helpful,” she continued. “People have offered Torahs, prayer books, food, office space in Mississippi that they offered to give for free. There’s a powerful connectedness of the Jewish people. There’s a feeling of resiliency, being called to this moment that nobody wants to be called to. They understand that Jewish life is bigger than a building.”

“Jewish life in the south in a small town has always been resilient,” said Katz. 

Abram Orlansky, a 41-year-old lawyer who was born and raised in Jackson and grew up attending Beth Israel, where he remains a member and sends his kids to Hebrew school, echoed a sense of resilience that comes with growing up Jewish in the Bible Belt. 

Orlansky’s son was the last person to be bar mitzvahed in the now-damaged building, last May. 

“We are a smaller congregation than we used to be,” said Orlansky, noting that about 215 families belonged to the Reform congregation when his parents joined in the ‘80s. “[But] community-wide, I’m seeing resilience. Nothing could have energized Jewish life in Jackson more than this has.”

“The main takeaway for our community is that this fellow was trying to snuff out Judaism in Jackson and he has by far had the opposite impact. He wanted us to feel like the other, but the embrace we feel from the wider community speaks to how welcome we really are.” 

The suspect in an arson attack that destroyed Mississippi’s largest synagogue early Saturday morning confessed to targeting the building because of its “Jewish ties,” the FBI announced on Monday. 

In an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Mississippi more than 48 hours after the attack, the FBI said the suspect, Stephen Spencer Pittman, 19, admitted to starting the blaze at Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Miss., due to “the building’s Jewish ties.” In an interview with the Jackson Fire Department, he referred to the institution as the “synagogue of Satan,” a historically antisemitic phrase that has been re-popularized by far-right commentator Candace Owens. 

Pittman appeared in court Monday to face arson charges, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which made no mention of hate crime charges. If convicted, Pittman faces a minimum penalty of 5 years and a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s field office in Jackson told Jewish Insider on Monday that no press conference providing further details is planned. 

According to the affidavit, Pittman told investigators he stopped at a gas station on his way to the synagogue to purchase the gasoline used in the fire. At the station, he removed his license plate. He broke into a window of the synagogue shortly after 3 a.m. on Saturday using an ax, doused the inside in gas and used a torch lighter to start the fire. No congregants were injured in the blaze.

According to the complaint, Pittman also admitted to committing arson in text messages to his father, who told authorities.  

Pittman texted a photo of the synagogue, accompanied by messages that said, “There’s a furnace in the back,” “BTW my plate is off,” “Hoodie is on” and, “And they have the best cameras.”

Pittman posted a link on what appears to be his Instagram account to One Purpose, a website with the description, “Scripture-backed fitness. Brotherhood accountability. Life-expectancy-maxxing.” The top of the site has the Hebrew four-letter name for God and the words “Build Your Temple for His Glory.” 

In one recent Instagram post, Pittman shared a list of foods suggested for a “Christian Diet/Testosterone Optimization” which included the Hebrew words for “butter” and “olive oil” under “only God-made fats.” 

Pittman primarily posted about baseball, but one day before the attack shared a repost of a “Jew in Backyard” cartoon in which a character with horns and a large nose, wearing a Star of David, is holding two moneybags. “A Jew in our backyard. I can’t believe my Jewcrow didn’t work,” a woman says, pointing to a waiter with a sign asking for tips.

Beth Israel is the only synagogue in Jackson, the state’s capital and most populous city. The historic building also houses the offices of the Institute of Southern Jewish Life, which supports Jewish life in the region.   

Located in a major hub of the Civil Rights Movement, Beth Israel was bombed in 1967 by the Ku Klux Klan over the rabbi’s support for racial justice — including providing chaplain services to activists incarcerated for challenging segregated bussing in the state. 

Two Torah scrolls were destroyed in the fire, and five more were damaged. A Torah that survived the Holocaust, which was kept in a glass case, was unharmed. The congregation’s library and administrative office were ruined, and the congregation has canceled services indefinitely. 

A suspect is under arrest for an act of arson that significantly damaged Mississippi’s largest synagogue early Saturday morning, authorities reported. 

Local law enforcement arrested a suspect whom they believe purposefully set fire to Beth Israel Congregation shortly after 3 a.m. Saturday, Jackson Mayor John Horhn confirmed. The suspect’s name and motive have not been disclosed.

Beth Israel Congregation is the only synagogue in Jackson, the state’s capital and most populous city. The historic building also houses the offices of the Institute of Southern Jewish Life, which supports Jewish life in the region.   

Located in a major hub of the Civil Rights Movement, Beth Israel was bombed in 1967 by the Ku Klux Klan over the rabbi’s support for racial justice — including providing chaplain services to activists incarcerated for challenging segregated bussing in the state. 

No congregants were injured in Saturday’s blaze. Two Torah scrolls were destroyed in the fire, and five more were damaged. A Torah that survived the Holocaust, which was kept in a glass case, was unharmed. The congregation’s library and administrative office were ruined, and the congregation has canceled services indefinitely. 

“We have already had outreach from other houses of worship in the Jackson area and greatly appreciate their support in this very difficult time,” the synagogue president, Zach Shemper, said in a statement. About 3,000 Jews live in Mississippi, comprising 0.1% of its 3 million residents. The southern state is home to around a dozen synagogues.  

While police and the FBI have not yet determined the suspect’s motive, the arson comes as antisemitic hate crimes in the U.S. reached a record high in 2024 since the FBI started tracking data in 1991. 

The incident drew condemnation from elected officials and Jewish leaders. 

“Acts of antisemitism, racism and religious hatred are attacks on Jackson as a whole and will be treated as threats to our residents’ safety and freedom to worship,” Horhn said in a statement. “Targeting people because of their faith, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation is morally wrong, un-American and incompatible with the values of this city.”

“I would hope that all Mississippians and all Jacksonians would commit themselves toward moving beyond such behavior and activity and find a way where we can all get together and get along,” continued Horhn, who said he remembers the 1967 attack, which occurred when he was 12.  

“Our hearts are with the members of Beth Israel Congregation. We stand together with them as do all the caring people of Mississippi. We denounce violence and find attacks on places of worship especially despicable,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) said in a statement. 

“Regardless of the findings of the investigation, this is what it means to be Jewish in America right now: antisemitic violence and attacks on synagogues and Jews are so common that they barely register beyond local news, and the people most often naming it, mourning it, and sounding the alarm are Jews themselves,” Sheila Katz, chief Jewish life officer at Jewish Federations of North America, wrote on social media. 

“It also means this: the Jewish community in Mississippi will come together. They will support one another and be supported by Jews they don’t know around the country and the world. They will rebuild. They will continue to celebrate Jewish holidays and live Jewish life with joy,” Katz continued.

“Waking to the news of an arson attack on a Mississippi synagogue feels all too familiar. This description is chilling. We stand with the Jackson community,” said Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee.  

“Grateful that law enforcement has apprehended a suspect,” Deutch continued. “Glad the Mayor has spoken out. Now will you touch base with your Jewish friends, neighbors and co-workers?  Let them know that you understand this attack in Jackson is an attack on them as well. Tell them you stand with the Jewish community. It will mean more than you know.” 

“The fact that this historic synagogue … has once again been targeted is particularly painful and disturbing. We will continue to monitor the situation closely,” said Lindsay Baach Friedmann, regional director of Anti-Defamation League South Central.  

Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, called on leaders “to speak out, stand with the Jewish community in meaningful ways, and work to build strong coalitions and advance holistic approaches to counter hate, violence, and extremism wherever it exists. This crisis threatens Jews, all communities, and our democracy — and until it’s treated with the seriousness and urgency it deserves, none of us will be safe,” she said.

“Domestic terrorism against Jews never happens in a vacuum,” Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), a staunch ally of the Jewish community, said in a statement. “Instead of extinguishing the fires of antisemitism, American politics is often guilty of fanning the flames.”

Deborah Lipstadt, the former State Department special antisemitism envoy, called the arson attack “another step in the globalization of the intifada.”