The arson fire that destroyed the Beth Israel synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi, last week underscored the spread of antisemitism in the United States — and the difficulty of protecting Jews and Jewish institutions. As incidents of violent antisemitism have increased, so, too, has criticism of Western governments for not doing enough to respond. The Australian government’s weak response to the mass murder on Bondi Beach exemplifies that concern.

In that context, there is much to cheer in a clearly distinct approach that’s been adopted in the U.S. In the wake of such horrific incidents as Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue shootings, Washington has intervened through the federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program, an unprecedented form of state support for religious institutions. Major grants for security infrastructure, welcomed by cash-strapped congregations, have at the same time demonstrated the complications of government support for religious institutions, even prompting some beneficiaries to have second thoughts.