The world's largest Jewish philanthropy protects 3,400 institutions with cameras, training, and dark-web surveillance — but not a single firearm. It also funds gun control advocacy.
This is Study 3 of 4 in the Olam Institutional Accountability Framework investigation of American Jewish organizations and firearms. Study 1 audited every Conference of Presidents member for its firearms position. Study 2 followed the $765 million. This study follows one federation's $8.6 million.
UJA-Federation of New York — the largest local philanthropy in the world — spent $8.6 million on Jewish community security in fiscal year 2025. That money flows through the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC-NY) and its Community Security Initiative (CSI). It covers 3,400 Jewish institutions across New York City, Long Island, Westchester, Rockland County, the Hudson Valley, and southwestern Connecticut.
None of it buys a gun. None of it arms a volunteer. None of it employs an armed guard. The entire $8.6 million security infrastructure is unarmed.
What $8.6 Million Buys
| Line Item | Amount |
| Enhancing Jewish Security (CSI core) | $3,132,060 |
| AI-Enhanced CCTV — Brooklyn | $1,074,000 |
| Celebrate Israel Parade security | $190,000 |
| Celebrate Israel Parade (operating) | $408,000 |
| CSI Emergency Security Fund | $250,000 |
| CSI Additional Security (Israel emergency) | $250,000 |
| East Coast Security Intel Network | $350,000 |
| Campus Affairs Director | $185,150 |
| Camp Director of Safety & Security | $105,000 |
| Long Island Jewish Community Affairs | $130,000 |
| Building Bridges with Orthodox Communities | $70,000 |
| Other JCRC grants | ~$2,400,000 |
| Total JCRC/CSI | $8,626,912 |
Source: UJA-Federation FY2025 Grants Book, JCRC-NY line items.
The money funds: threat intelligence analysts monitoring the deep and dark web. Regional security directors who conduct on-site assessments. An emergency communication system linking all 3,400 institutions in real-time. AI-enhanced CCTV surveillance in Brooklyn. Security training for synagogues, schools, camps, and offices — customized to each building, free to every Jewish institution. Coordination with NYPD and local law enforcement.
What it does not fund: weapons, armed guards, or any personnel authorized to use force.
$190,000 for One Day: The Israel Day Parade
The Israel Day on Fifth parade — renamed from the Celebrate Israel Parade in 2024 — draws 40,000+ marchers up Fifth Avenue between East 62nd and 74th Streets. JCRC-NY organizes it. UJA pays $190,000 for private security and $408,000 for parade operations.
The parade's own rules are explicit: "No weapons or representations of weapons are permitted." Marchers, spectators, and volunteer security personnel are all unarmed. The Community Security Service (CSS), which provides trained volunteer observers, carries no weapons. CSS volunteers are trained in surveillance detection, crowd management, and communication — not armed response.
Armed protection comes from the NYPD, at city expense. For the 2025 parade, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch deployed what she called "the most extensive security plan that the NYPD has ever put together" — counter-terrorism units, explosive detection canines, helicopters, drones, metal detectors at every entry point, fortified fencing, and vehicle barriers. The NYPD does not bill JCRC or UJA for this.
The $190,000 UJA line item covers what JCRC arranges on top of the NYPD operation: private security coordination, screening infrastructure, communications equipment, and event management staff. All unarmed.
The Gun Violence Paradox
UJA-Federation simultaneously funds gun violence prevention programming. The FY2025 grants book includes:
JCRC: $30,000 — "Facing the Gun Violence Epidemic: A Call to Action"
Mosholu-Montefiore Community Center: $15,000 — "Youth Campaign to Reduce Gun Violence"
UJA's advocacy arm (UJA Action) actively supports public safety legislation in New York, including the Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes program ($35 million in state funding for nonprofit security grants).
The positioning: UJA funds $8.6 million in security infrastructure where nobody carries a weapon, $45,000 in gun violence prevention programs, and advocates for public safety legislation — all while relying on law enforcement for armed protection of Jewish events and institutions.
The Question
UJA-Federation protects 3,400 institutions and 1.7 million Jews in greater New York. The Community Security Initiative is considered one of the most sophisticated antisemitism prevention efforts outside Israel.
The question is whether $8.6 million in unarmed security — cameras, training, communications, dark-web monitoring — is sufficient for a community that is the target of 54% of hate crimes in New York City. CSI detects threats, communicates alerts, and coordinates with police. It does not stop an attacker.
Whether that is prudent institutional policy or a model that leaves communities dependent on the response time of others is a question UJA's board has answered by continuing to fund the current approach.
New York State law draws the line UJA's budget reflects: under NY Penal Law § 265.01-e a congregant may not carry inside a house of worship, but a person formally designated as security by the institution may. Study 4 covers the organizations pushing against that line.
Sources
UJA-Federation FY2025 Grants Book | UJA Action | CSI | Celebrate Israel Parade | NYPD parade security briefings, 2024-2025
The Series
Study 1 — 53 Jewish Groups Back Gun Control. None Say If Jews Should Carry.
Study 2 — Jewish Security Costs: $765 Million a Year, and No One Tracks Where the Guns Are
Study 3 — UJA Spent $8.6 Million on Jewish Security. Nobody Carries a Weapon. (this study)
Study 4 — Jewish Gun Clubs Are Growing. Nobody Speaks for Them.
