Did You Hear?

Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh would like to thank Mayor Ed Gainey, City Controller Rachael Heisler and City Council for their unwavering support of the Jewish community and their condemnation of vandalism as a form of protest.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is angered and disgusted by the acts of antisemitic graffiti and vandalism on our office building, Chabad of Squirrel Hill and at several Jewish homes this morning.

On Tuesday, July 23, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) security grant opened offering a possibility of $10M in grants to secure houses of worship and nonprofits that are vulnerable to hate crimes and terrorist attacks.

As we approach back to school, student safety is paramount. Please consider joining our free Countering Active Threat and Defensive Tactics Training on Thursday, July 25 from 6-9 PM at the JCC in Squirrel Hill led by Dave Wright from Wright’s Gym. This event is geared towards college and/or high school students but is open to all.

Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is thrilled to announce a $250,000 early childhood security grant from The Tepper Foundation through Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), helping to protect one of our most vulnerable populations during a time when antisemitism is spreading across the nation. Funders intend for grant to help in hiring security personnel to protect pre-schools, day camps and after-school programs, as well as supporting other faith communities’ security needs.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh announced that the community has so far raised an impressive $13.6 million towards the $14.5 million campaign goal, and more than $8 million of these funds will support local and overseas organizations for unrestricted operations in 2024-2025.

Tree of Life Synagogue received an on-line hoax bomb threat on July 2nd. The hoax threat is in line with other hoax threats that we have seen targeting Jewish organizations across the country. FBI and Pittsburgh Police are investigating.

Through state grant funding, we will now be able to install the BluePoint Emergency Alert System in 13 more Jewish locations. The installation will take several months to complete. When finalized, there will be 33 Jewish locations online with BluePoint.