By Janis Siegel, JTNews Correspondent
Ten Seattle-area Jewish nonprofits have been awarded over $295,000 from the Department of Homeland Security. The agency’s Urban Areas Security Initiative Nonprofit Security Grant program will enable the organizations to do as much as they can in the coming year to shore up their emergency and security systems.
This is the second year that this grant program has been offered; however, this year’s allocation is slightly more than half of last year’s award for Washington State and a reduction from $25 million to $15 million nationwide.
Four groups applied directly to the state for the grant. The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, Congregation Ezra Bessaroth, and Temple De Hirsch Sinai will each receive $75,000, and Congregation Beth Shalom will receive $70,313.
The Federation applied for the grant money on behalf of six smaller Jewish organizations in Seattle by submitting their paperwork for them in one bundle.
They include the National Council of Jewish Women, Temple Beth El in Tacoma, Seattle Jewish Community School, Menachem Mendel Seattle Cheder, Northwest Yeshiva High School, and Camp Solomon Schecter.
To qualify, applicants needed to show they had been the target of a terrorist attack, have been threatened, or believe they are at risk due to their historic or symbolic value in the greater Seattle community. Organizations who are centers for recovery efforts were also eligible.
“The tragedy at the Jewish Federation in 2006 was a terrible reminder that we must all remain vigilant,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) in a press release issued in late July acknowledging her continued support for the Jewish community’s needs.
Congressman Dave Reichert (R-Bellevue) sent award recipients early notification via e-mail in mid-August and also expressed his commitment to funding public safety needs in the community.
“Groups such as the Jewish Federation utilize federal funding to protect their participants, staff, and others who are at risk,” said Reichert. ”With the abrupt end to the Haq trial recently, the issue still weighs on our minds and I’m pleased to see additional funding coming to our area to protect families and workers.”
Sixty at-risk urban areas were identified by DHS across the United States. Each region was categorized into two groups: high-risk and at-risk. Six were listed as Tier 1 and received over half of the $861 million Homeland Security Program budget for 2008.
The Seattle area is ranked in the second tier of at-risk communities. The Chicago area, New York, California, and Texas were among the locations ranked to be at a high-risk for a terrorist attack.
Lauren Simonds, executive director for NCJW’s Seattle section, said that her organization’s grant would go toward installing an alarms ystem as well as video surveillance for its Shalom Bayit furniture bank for survivors of domestic abuse.
“We only have one-and-a-half staff members, and so we felt it was necessary to take some extra precautions, not just because we work with survivors of domestic abuse, but because we’re a Jewish organization and a women’s organization,” Simonds said.
Temple De Hirsch Sinai, possibly the largest Reform synagogue in the Northwest, operates two facilities — the original synagogue on Capitol Hill, an historic site adjacent to the downtown Seattle core, and a newer facility in Bellevue.
The synagogue has maintained a security presence for decades, according to executive director Larry Broder, but times continue to change.
“We’ve always had a relatively high and more visible public presence, providing a place for the Seattle community and the Jewish community to gather,” he told JTNews from his office at the Seattle location. “But churches and schools have had attacks and it’s prudent for everyone to seek whatever means that are available.”
TDHS has not had any specific threats, but its historical value and the preserved architectural elements of the original building’s façade has Broder persuaded that it’s always better to be proactive.
“It’s one of the oldest and most visible congregations in Seattle,” Broder added. “That factors in to how the congregation is viewed and that raises its position in the community.”
Several groups are first-time recipients — like Congregation Ezra Bessaroth, a Sephardic Orthodox synagogue started over 100 years ago located in the Seward Park neighborhood of Seattle. Congregation officials said they needed to look out for the well-being of their members and neighbors.
“We are a fairly urban synagogue and I think all major Jewish organizations should be looking at their security,” said Reuben Owen, the synagogue’s president.
Owen, who is now retired, is new to the congregation and was the treasurer at Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation on Mercer Island last year.
“I think new eyes always provide a new perspective,” he added. “I think it’s very clear that the shooting at the Federation increased everyone’s concerns about security.”
Another first-time recipient, Congregation Beth Shalom in the Wedgwood neighborhood in North Seattle, took advantage of the available federal funds and the Federation’s offer of help in the application process.
“We don’t really have a budget for security,” said Tzachi Litov, the executive director at Beth Shalom. “I would never been able to do this by myself.”
Deborah Frockt, the director of admissions and marketing at the Seattle Jewish Community School, also in North Seattle, used the Jewish Federation’s assistance in filling out the necessary paperwork.
“We are thrilled to have received the Homeland Security money through the Federation,” she said. “We have already made some investments and upgrades to our security systems, and with the purchase of our building and we will be making even more.”