“After the attack on October 7, there was a lot of anxiety around school security,” says Rabbi Baruch Rothman, Darchei Torah’s director of institutional advancement. “Parents worried about sending their children to school. We took some very visible and concrete steps to increase our security.” This alleviated the anxiety, but it came at a high financial cost.”
Reflecting on how yeshivas and Jewish day schools in New York have since ramped up their security efforts, Rothman says Darchei has taken a proactive approach to continually evolve its security measures. “The unfortunate truth is that you can never have enough security,” he says.
Darchei and other yeshivas and Jewish day schools across New York are taking a proactive approach to security, constantly reevaluating their protective measures and investing in new ones over time. “Where schools like Darchei have struggled is balancing the need for security with the budget, knowing that there’s never enough,” Rothman says.
The issue of security in yeshivas and Jewish day schools is affecting our communities like never before. Since October 7th, yeshivas and Jewish day schools in New York and other parts of the country have increased their security spending by 47%, according to a recent study by Teach Coalition’s Office of Jewish Education Policy Research (OJEPR).
Community advocates, alongside Teach NYS, are working tirelessly to resolve issues surrounding security for Jewish institutions, working with state and federal governments to expand security grant funding for yeshivas and other Jewish institutions.
These efforts led to historic results when New York legislators responded to the Jewish community’s call for action with the passage of the FY25 budget in April, increasing the NPSE program from $45 million to $70 million. In addition, the Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes (SCAHC) grant saw a $10 million increase from $25 million to $35 million.
The fact that the New York State budget doubled its security allocation for nonpublic schools is a massive win for the Jewish community, enabling Jewish schools like Darchei to offset rising expenditures to make safety a number one priority for their students.
“This funding has been life-changing for yeshivas, Jewish day schools, for everybody,” Rothman says. “It is allowing us to improve our security infrastructure, hire more security personnel and do a host of other things, granting our school the ability to make timely, critical improvements to ensure the safety of our students and staff.” Rothman is deeply appreciative of Teach NYS’s tireless advocacy efforts, and of NY legislators for prioritizing security in yeshivas and Jewish day schools.
One way that Teach NYS has committed to improving security is through Project Protect, a $1 billion initiative to advocate for state and federal funding to support security needs for yeshivas, shuls, and other vulnerable Jewish nonprofits in New York and nationwide. These funds will ensure that Jewish institutions have enough money to meet their security needs.
This initiative has the potential to galvanize decision-makers in our state to action. When legislators see the Jewish community united in asking for help in fighting against antisemitism, they respond in kind.
Teach NYS is committed to safeguarding our communities against potential threats. Going forward, Jewish communities must mobilize and continue advocating for even more security funding for yeshivas and Jewish day schools.
Learn more about Project Protect at www.projectprotect.info.
