One of America’s leading experts on Homeland Security, Jerome Hauer, in reaching out to establish a relationship with the New York Orthodox Community, will meet with leaders of local synagogues, day schools/yeshivas and other institutions in his new role as Commissioner of the New York State Department of Homeland Security. The Orthodox Jewish Community is the first organized community Commissioner Hauer has met with since taking office.

The Orthodox Union is one of the leaders in efforts to increase government involvement in providing financial relief to yeshivas and synagogues across New York State. As the Orthodox’s community’s largest umbrella organization, the Orthodox Union is proud to partner with Commissioner Hauer in educating our institutions about the security resources, training and expertise available to them from the State of New York.

The Institute For Public Affairs of the OU has been deeply involved in obtaining Homeland Security grants for Jewish institutions on both a federal and state level for a number of years and is proud to be recognized as a conduit for the Department of Homeland Security to build the necessary relationships with our community institutions.

Mr. Hauer is expected to discuss the following with the Jewish leaders:

· What he sees as community deficiencies in homeland security;

· What funding opportunities exist for Jewish institutions;

· What the Homeland Security Department can offer institutions in terms of training and expertise.

According to Orthodox Union President Dr. Simcha Katz, “Mr. Hauer has taken a keen interest in our issues and will be making a special trip from Albany to come to the OU offices in order to properly build relationships with our institutions and to provide his guidance as to what resources and assistance he can direct from his agency toward our individual institutions directly.”

“For Commissioner Hauer to take a full day only six weeks after being confirmed by the Senate to come from Albany specifically to build a relationship with the Jewish community and to ensure our protection speaks volumes to the character of a man who is already internationally recognized as one of the foremost security experts in the world. The Orthodox Union recognizes this unique opportunity and hopes this is the beginning of a long-lasting and productive relationship,” said Michael Cohen, New York State Director of Political Affairs for the OU/IPA.

Mr. Hauer has served in a wide variety of Homeland Security positions, including Deputy Director and Special Assistant to the Executive Director of New York City’s Emergency Medical Services Department; Director of the Department of Emergency Management for the State of Indiana; Director of the New York City Office of Emergency Management; Managing Director of the Crisis and Consequence Management Group at Kroll Associates; Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and CEO of the Hauer Group, a consulting firm in the field of emergency management.

(YWN Desk – NYC)