A delegation of 13 New York-area law-enforcement officials is visiting Israel this week to get a hands-on view of the security issues facing the Jewish state and to learn about fighting antisemitism and study counter-terrorism initiatives for possible use in protecting their Jewish communities.
The Israeli government program for international law-enforcement officials, which was initiated six years ago by the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs, comes at a time of surging antisemitism around the world, including in the United States, following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that triggered the nearly two-year-old war in Gaza.
Since its inception, there have been 15 such delegations of law enforcement officials from around the world, about one-third of them from the U.S., said Moshe Elert, CEO of Israel Military Industries, which is subcontracted to run the event.
The program for the U.S. law-enforcement officials, which has worked in tandem with American Jewish security officials in their communities over the last seven years, has been dubbed “Birthright for American police chiefs,” referring to the free 10-day trips to Israel offered to young Jewish Diaspora adults.
The delegation in Israel this week—the second since the war began—was made up of police commissioners and chiefs who had been in Israel on a curtailed mission that began a day before the Oct. 7 attack that ended abruptly with an evacuation the next day.
‘Have to live without fear’
“The resilience of the Israeli people just stands out,” Michel Kopy, commissioner of public safety for Rye, a city in Westchester County outside New York City, and a member of the delegation, told JNS on Wednesday.
“We are dealing with an enemy that wants to wipe us out,” he said.
Kopy added that he was grateful for “the eye-opening opportunity” to see people living under the constant threat of danger, citing the air raid siren they experienced on Tuesday following a missile attack from Yemen, which is something he intends to bring back to his community.
“We can’t cower and be afraid; we have to live our lives with this, as unfortunate as it is,” he said.
Daniel Hyman, chief of police in Ramapo in the heavily Jewish Rockland County, in Upstate New York, agreed, saying: “Seeing how resilient people are is a very important message to bring back to the U.S.”
He said the moving visit to the site of the Supernova music festival, which was attacked on Oct. 7, especially hit home since it brought to mind a similar festival his daughter went to in Pennsylvania. “We have to live our lives without fear.”
Kevin Catalina, commissioner of the Suffolk County Police Department on New York’s Long Island, said, “Learning about Jewish culture and the unique challenges facing the Israel Police and military better helps us keep our communities safe.”
During their week-long visit, which saw them crisscross the country and meet with government and security officials, they also learned about the latest in Israeli law enforcement technology.
“We view these delegations of police and security forces as an important element protecting Jewish communities abroad,” said Hodaya Shtiglitz, head of Combating Antisemitism and Community Resilience at the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs. “The meetings and joint learning strengthen community resilience, increase awareness of threats, and enable Jewish communities to be better prepared to face the challenges of antisemitism and terrorism.”
The delegation did not include members of the NYPD due to scheduling issues with the UN General Assembly currently underway in Manhattan.
“This is a phenomenal program on multiple levels,” said Mitch Silber, executive director of the Community Security Initiative, a partnership between the UJA-Federation of New York and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York that works with local law enforcement.
“Most importantly, it sensitizes senior police executives to the nature of the threat that is visiting their own Jewish communities, and they can learn this best by coming to Israel and seeing the origins of antisemitism and the nature of the terrorist threat that these communities face,” Silber said.
‘We have a problem’
Silber said this was “the most dangerous” moment that New York Jews have faced since they first came to the city in 1654.
He noted that the 2018 attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh was a “9/11 moment for the Jewish community in the United States,” which caused a change in security mindset for with more than 100 American Jewish communities now employing their own local security program.
Silber expressed grave concern about the Nov. 4 mayoral election, which is looking to be a watershed moment for the community.
“I’m planning for a day when we call the police and they don’t respond in the way they historically used to, because the mayor is in control of the police and the police commissioner,” he said.
“If the leading mayoral candidate doesn’t think that ‘Globalize the Intifada’ is a problem, then we have a problem.”
As the delegation heads back home on Friday, they are taking with them a slice of Israeli resilience in wartime.
“What we see on the news in the U.S. is not what is happening here,” said Chuck Berkowitz, vice president of security at the Community Security Service, a New York-based nonprofit that offers free training for Jewish communities nationwide. “The resilience in Israel is a whole different ball game.”
