County seeks funds to combat hate crimes

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has authorized the Police Department to seek state funds to protect religious organizations from hate crimes.

The FCPD is applying for a $139,250 grant from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services’ Combating Hate Crimes Grant Program.

The program is aimed at minimizing bias-motivated incidents at organizations that may be at risk based on race, religious conviction, color, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or national origin. It is open to localities that have established a partnership with one or more institutions or nonprofit organizations at risk of being targets of hate crimes.

Funding for Fairfax County will be used to improve security at the Pozez Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia on Little River Turnpike, Little River United Church of Christ in Annandale, Gesher Jewish Day School in Fairfax, and Temple B’nai Shalom in Fairfax Station.

.The police department hopes deterring and detecting threats and attacks will reduce or eliminate damage from a hate crime.

The sign on the Pozez JCC was vandalized during the night of Nov. 17. In a message to the community, the JCC reports the vandals posted images of the incident on social media, including Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. The police investigation so far points to this being an isolated incident with no credible threat to the community.

Related story: Jewish community center and church attacked with racist, antisemitic graffiti

In August, vandals destroyed a Black Lives Matter banner and another urging people to reject racism at the Little River United Church of Christ.

The JCC was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti in 2018 and both the JCC and the church were attacked with antisemitic and racist graffiti and signs in 2017.

Antisemitic incidents have been soaring in the United States in recent years. The FBI reports there were 1,122 anti-Jewish hate crime incidents last year, the highest number ever recorded and a 37 percent increase from the previous year.

There were a total of 11,634 hate crime incidents in 2022, the highest number ever recorded, according to the FBI. In 2022, the top three bias categories were race/ethnicity/ancestry, religion, and sexual orientation.

In congressional testimony, FBI Director Christopher Wray said antisemitic incidents are reaching “historic levels.” He said Jews make up just 2.4 percent of the U.S. population but account for about 60 percent of all religious-based hate crimes.

The Fairfax County Police Department reports there were 130 bias crimes and incidents in 2020, up from 74 in 2018.