Synagogue receives grant for security upgrades
According to the Anti-Defamation League, antisemitic incidents were up 34% in 2021, which represents the highest number of incidents since the league began tracking them in 1979.
Cantor Michal Gray-Schaffer, spiritual leader at Congregation B’nai Abraham in Butler, takes rising antisemitism seriously and is working to keep her flock as safe as possible.
Gray-Schaffer applied for a grant through the state Nonprofit Security Grant program signed by Gov. Tom Wolf one year after the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh that claimed the lives of 11 worshippers.
Wolf on Thursday announced the churches, synagogues and nonprofit centers across the state to share $3.9 million in grant funds.
“While it’s a shame this has been necessary, I’m proud to have secured nearly $20 million over the past three years to protect Pennsylvania’s diverse and vulnerable communities from hate-driven violence,” Wolf said. “I look forward to a day when the goodness of humanity prevails.”
Congregation B’nai Abraham, the only organization in Butler County to receive a grant, will be reimbursed for up to $25,000 in security features added at the synagogue.
