TRENTON – Senator Jim Beach (D-Burlington, Camden) released the following statement after Governor Christie’s announcement to make $1 million in grants available for non-profit organizations and religious institutions determined to be at high risk of terrorist attack in nine New Jersey counties, including Burlington and Camden:
“Recent threats on Jewish Community Centers and other religious institutions across the country and in our region have caused a lot of fear and anxiety within our communities, and the lack of federal dollars going to South Jersey for ‘target hardening’ has left the region especially vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
“We know that denouncing acts of anti-Semitism and hate in New Jersey does not go far enough. I welcome the governor’s announcement today and applaud his action to make funds available to synagogues and other nonprofits and religious institutions to pay for the installation of security systems that will help them prevent and protect against any acts of terrorism. I have been fighting for this type of funding for South Jersey, and am pleased to finally see a good step in the right direction.
“We must all continue to stand firmly in protecting our residents and the very values our nation was built upon.”