American Jews (illustrative)
American Jews (illustrative)Thinkstock

Religious Jewish schools in New York City are prime beneficiaries of a special $20 million budget for "school security." This is the result of a City Council vote earlier this month – sparking the latest wave of a decades-long controversy over public funding for private and parochial school. 

City schools with at least 300 students – such as Talmudei Torah, as well as Islamic and Catholic schools - will be guarded by taxpayer-funded security guards, as of some ten weeks from now. One-third of the approximately 300 schools covered by the plan are Jewish. 

The campaign for the new law, led by Brooklyn councilman David Greenfield (Boro Park), initially proposed a budget of over $50 million. When Mayor Bill de Blasio said that was too much, the budget was reduced by just over 60%. 

Greenfield said that he introduced the legislation when he saw that security in non-public schools was significantly less than in public schools. The attack in San Bernardino was "another reminder how the world has changed in the last few years that terrorism is on the rise."

Parochial schools in New York City already have their textbooks, computer supplies, certain special education programs, and school buses paid for by the city. Some voices have been raised against the addition of "security" to this list – although others feel that security should actually replace other items on the list. 

Just ten days ago, all public schools in Los Angeles were abruptly closed when officials received a district-wide bomb threat. NYC schools also received a similar threat, but did not close its schools. The threat was later assessed to have been a hoax.