Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly welcomed approximately 200 religious leaders and Jewish community representatives at the NYPD pre-Pesach meeting held Wednesday at Police Headquarters ahead of the Pesach week beginning April 8. The annual event previewed security preparations for the coming Pesach season and Birchas Hachama, or Blessing of the Sun, as well as provided attendees with an intelligence briefing on the status of terrorist groups in the Western world.

“We know of no plan to target Jewish sites in New York City, but we remain vigilant,” Commissioner Kelly said. “As in years past, we’ll dedicate additional resources to precincts with large Jewish communities, including foot posts, visits by officers to synagogues, anti-crime units and Community Affairs outreach.”

In addition, some houses of worship will be patrolled by NYPD Hercules teams of heavily armed officers deployed specifically to deter terrorist activity.

Following a sermon by Chief Chaplain Rabbi Dr. Alan Kass, Director of Intelligence Analysis Mitch Silber presented an NYPD Intelligence Division Terrorist Threat Update.

“Al Qaeda still poses a significant threat to the City of New York because its leaders are still around and ideology proliferates on the Internet,” Silber said. “The NYPD is fully aware of other threats, including Hezbollah and Al Qaeda affiliates, and actively considers these as part of ongoing efforts to protect the city.”

Last November detectives from the NYPD International Liaison program traveled to Mumbai, India to meet with police officials and study the crime scenes from the multi-target terrorist siege in which two prominent Brooklyn rabbis were among those killed.

(Eli Gefen – YWN)