(Updated at 12:30 p.m.) Last week, Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors authorized a grant that aims to help protect local Jewish organizations from hate crimes.
The Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) is applying for a $150,000 grant (page 244) from the Department of Criminal Justice Services’ Combating Hate Crime Grant Program. The funding will be used to better secure local congregations against hate crimes.
The application comes amid a notable upswing in antisemitic hate crimes nationwide. A new state report showed a rise in antisemitic harassment and vandalism — though the report also conflates opposition to the Israeli government with antisemitism.
“Generally, while the Commonwealth has not seen antisemitic assaults take place since 2018, there has been an increased frequency of antisemitic harassment and antisemitic vandalism at levels which have remained constant from 2018 to 2021,” the report said. “In 2021, 411 reported antisemitic incidents impacted residents of the Commonwealth. These incidents showed a 71% increase over the 292 reported incidents in 2020.”
The FCPD has recorded eight antisemitic incidents and crimes so far this year, according to data shared with FFXnow. That’s an increase from last year, when there was only one such incident, but it matches the number of reports from 2018 and is lower than 2020 (10 incidents) and 2017 (12 incidents).
Fairfax County releases reports on bias crimes over three-year periods. The latest report, covering 2018-2020, said there had been an uptick in “bias crimes and incidents” in recent years.
“The aggregate total of all bias crimes and incidents for 2018-2020 was 320,” the report said. “This represents a 65.8% increase over the previous 3-year total of 193 incidents encompassing the years 2015-2017.”
Anti-Black bias comprised around 40.6% of the aggregate total. The second most prevalent was a general “other ethnicity/national origin” category at around 11.3%, while anti-Jewish bias crimes represented around 6.9% of the aggregate total.
Calls for “suspicious events” represented the most frequent incident at 25% of the aggregate total. Disorderly conduct accounted for the second most common category, representing 21.6% of the aggregate total.
A staff report said the grant funding would make the following locations more secure:
- Bethlehem Lutheran Church
- Congregation Olam Tikvah
- Gesher Jewish Day School
- Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area
- Pozez Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia
- Temple Rodef Shalom
Recent Stories
Good Tuesday evening, Fairfax County. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar. đ News recap The following articles were published earlier…
Great Clips is now open in Fairfax City. The Minneapolis-based hair salon company celebrated the grand opening of its new location at 3989 Pickett Road in the Turnpike Shopping Center…
Wag N’ Wash has set a grand opening date for its Vienna store, more than a year after it took over 144 Maple Avenue West from Loyal Companion. The pet…
Reston-area residents will no longer have to trek to the Fairfax County Courthouse to access some basic court services. The Fairfax Circuit Court, which serves both the county and Fairfax…
Finding a gift for moms can be difficult. Google âMotherâs Day gifts,â and youâll scroll through endless lists of beauty products, candles and fuzzy robes. Sure, those are sweet, but sometimes itâs fun to surprise loved ones with something a little more, well, practical!
Hereâs one idea: Give her a gift certificate for a home cleaning from Well-Paid Maids. Itâs the perfect âthank you,â âI love youâ or âyouâve got thisâ for any mom. She can schedule the home cleaning at her convenience and breathe easy knowing she has one less thing to do.
Our cleaners will take care of everything, including vacuuming and mopping as well as cleaning and dusting countertops, tables, mirrors, appliances and more. Sinks, toilets, showers and appliance exteriors also get a good scrub.
Plus, when you buy a gift certificate from Well-Paid Maids, youâre supporting a living-wage cleaning company. That means cleaners get paid a starting wage of $24 an hour and get access to benefits, like 24 days of PTO and health insurance.
Owners of six Woofieâs franchises in Northern Virginia are hosting âPaws in the Park,â a pet adoption event on May 18 at 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (rain date May 19) at Wolf Trap National Park, Wolf Trap Farm Park, 1645 Trap Road, Vienna. They hope to bring awareness for local animal shelters and the need for âfureverâ families for animals.
Woofieâs will have about 20 mobile spa vans on site, offering free nail trims and Wash ân Go baths for rescued dogs and pups up for adoption, and special event pricing for families who bring their own pets for grooming (as time permits/allows).
Participating Woofieâs include Reston/Herndon, Ashburn-Leesburg, McLean, Western Loudoun, South Riding-Aldie and Fairfax. Food trucks, a DJ, local vendors, and more will be available. Ridgeside K9 and Keller Williams Realty are sponsoring the event.
Air Layering: Propagating Difficult to Root Plants
Air Layering Workshop: Propagating Difficult-to-Root Plants
Sunday, May 19, 2024
1:00-3:00pm
Pedal with Petals Family Bike Ride
Join us on Saturday, May 11th and ride into spring during our Pedal with Petals Family Bike Ride. Back for its second year, Pedal with Petals is going to be bigger than ever. This year’s event will include both an
