Massachusetts Jewish leaders urge expanded nonprofit security funding, kosher food access and cemetery protections

Community leaders representing Orthodox and other Jewish organizations told the Massachusetts Special Commission on Antisemitism that day‑to‑day safety needs in the state require stepped up funding, policing coordination and accessible services.

Arielle Hellman, director of government affairs for Agudath Israel of America’s Massachusetts office, told commissioners that Orthodox Jewish residents are highly visible in public and often targeted when they wear distinctive religious clothing or travel on foot to synagogues. “Orthodox Jews reported that they have experienced antisemitic incidents,” Hellman said, citing national survey data and local examples of stabbings, school harassment and vandalism she has seen in recent years.

Why it matters: Witnesses described a pattern of…