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Mayor & Police Commissioner Host Holy Days Security Briefing With Jewish Leaders of NYC

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Last week Jewish leaders and elected officials joined members of the NYPD at police headquarters for a security briefing where a number of speakers shared information about NYPD plans to protect all synagogues & worshippers during the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

By: Dr. Dan Miller, Ph.D. & Joyce Vetere Milowski

The Jewish New Year begins at sundown on Sunday September 28 and ends on Tuesday evening.
Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement and is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Observers of Yom Kippur are required to fast for 24 hours to show their faith in G-d, and to pray for forgiveness for their sins to the Creator of the Universe.

It is believed that on Rosh HaShanah, people’s souls are judged, and G-d “temporarily” decides their fate for the coming year. Between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur are the Ten Days of Repentance, when people are given a chance to reflect and repent.

Speakers included Rabbi Alvin Kass, this writer’s former Rabbi (NYPD Clergy), Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, Vice President, New York Board of Rabbis, Police Commissioner James P. O’Neil, and Mayor Bill de Blasio. The program also included a musical selection by a popular musical group.

“Since its inception in the late 1970s, this longstanding tradition has fostered open lines of communication between community member,” said Police Commissioner James P. O’Neil.

Mayor de Blasio complimented the Commissioner and the NYPD for their efforts in reducing crime rates in New York City. The mayor also complimented the leaders of the Jewish communities in efforts to keep their congregants informed about what the NYPD is going to do to keep their communities and holy sanctuaries secure and safe.

Police Commissioner O’Neil reported anti-Semitic crimes in the city have risen 60% from last year until today compared to the same period in 2018. Arrests for those crimes are up 27%, according to the NYPD. O’Neill said he and the department take these spikes very seriously and reassured a group of rabbis and other leaders at NYPD headquarters that the police will be on alert during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

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