Following Poway shooting, Newsom supports giving California religious institutions $15 million for added security

(Image credit: Sandy Huffaker/AFP/Getty Images)

published 30 April 2019

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Monday said he will revise the state budget in order to allocate $15 million to the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which helps organizations in the state that have been threatened, including places of worship, pay for security guards, reinforced doors and gates, alarms, and lighting.

He made the announcement in the wake of Saturday's deadly shooting at Chabad of Poway, which left one woman dead and three people, including the synagogue's rabbi and an 8-year-old girl, injured. Earlier this month, the California Legislative Jewish Caucus requested $15 million for the program, which only gave out $500,000 last year, the Los Angeles Times reports. In addition to religious institutions, the program assists women's health groups, LGBTQ organizations, and private and nonprofit schools.

"We all must call out hate — against any and all communities — and act to defend those targeted for their religious beliefs, who they love, or how they identify," Newsom said. "An attack against any community is an attack against our entire state — who we are and what we stand for." The Anti-Defamation League says that in 2017, there were 1,986 anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S., with only New York having more occurrences than California.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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