Jewish leaders urge Anne Arundel Co. to fund security grants for faith groups, nonprofits

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. (WBFF) — With the rise of antisemitism and hate crimes, leaders in the Jewish Federation of Annapolis & the Chesapeake are calling on Anne Arundel County to establish and fund a security grant program. However, County Executive Steuart Pittman said it wouldn’t be part of the next budget proposal.

The proposed grant program would be available to faith-based organizations and other non-profits at a high risk of hate crimes and violence.

“This is not just for Jewish organizations. This is for churches, mosques, synagogues, the gay community, which has certainly been at risk,” Jody Goldsmith, the president of the Jewish Federation of Annapolis & the Chesapeake, said.

ALSO READ | 2 Jewish men stabbed in London is an act of terrorism, police say

While there are federal and state grants available, Goldsmith said there are still significant security gaps that institutions cannot always cover.

“A lot of these religious institutions have preschools, and the preschools are not necessarily on the same schedules, obviously, as the other services and things that the religious organizations are under and so they need, they need security guards,” Goldsmith said. “They need the camera coverage. They need everything else everyone else needs, so that the parents can feel good that their kids are secure.”

Jody Goldsmith, president of the Jewish Federation of Annapolis & the Chesapeake (WBFF)

Goldsmith also emphasized the continuous need for security guards on site who can respond to situations or threats immediately.

“Although the county police are excellent, very supportive, we have nothing negative to say about the county police. They can’t be here instantly,” he added. “And the city police, by the way, we’re right now in the city of Annapolis, the city police are excellent, but they can’t be here right away. We need guards who are on site to help.”

And that has been shown, whether it’s in Michigan, it’s been shown in various sites that you need the guards on site to protect the congregants, to protect the children, to protect the community.”

Other counties have similar programs in place. Montgomery County awarded $1.7 Million in FY26 for nonprofit security grants to help nonprofit and religious groups with safety needs. $1.2 million was awarded to more than 90 organizations across the county. The County Council supported an additional $500,000 to provide additional staffing support to current grant recipients experiencing heightened needs amid escalating hostilities in the Middle East.

Similarly, Howard and Prince George’s counties have also previously funded similar security grants.

A Howard County spokesperson told FOX45 News that the county had a one-time Nonprofit and Faith-Based Security Grant program that ended after FY25. There were 28 nonprofits supported with grant funding that fiscal year, the spokesperson added.

ALSO READ | Baltimore Jewish community says synagogue attack echoes past violence, won’t break faith

Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman addressed the proposal in his weekly letter saying the budget can’t fund everything.

“I took the proposal seriously. Antisemitism is a national epidemic, as is hate against African Americans, Muslims, immigrants, and the LGBTQ+ community. All of these groups have enhanced security measures in the last year and a half. Montgomery County has a $1.7 million safety grant program, and Howard County and Prince George’s County had much smaller programs in previous budgets. None, in my view, come close to meeting the needs, and while some have said that even a small program sends a signal that we care, I believe that a small grant program that rejects most applicants leaves too many feeling rejected,” Pittman said in the letter.

Our county’s strategy is delivered through our new Hate Crimes Prevention Program within our Office of Equity and Human Rights and with our Police Department. The former provides public education, prevention, and victim services. Police does free security assessments at facilities, makes recommendations to federal grant programs, and regularly waives special event fees when deploying officers for these organizations. It’s ongoing work that is done in close collaboration with the leaders of the impacted organizations,” the letter continued to say.

“I was pretty disgusted with his response. I thought it was very short sighted,” Goldsmith said.

“It is the right for everyone in this country to practice their religion, and it is the responsibility of the government to ensure and help the citizens that they can practice their religion free from security threats,” Goldsmith added.