The appointment of William Bratton as New York City’s next Police Commissioner was welcomed by Agudath Israel of America as “a reassuring step at an apprehensive moment.”

“Mr. Bratton’s previous tenure as NYPD Commissioner, as well as his years as Los Angeles’s top cop, were marked by significant declines in crime rates,” said Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, Agudath Israel’s executive vice president. “He is experienced and smart, and has an excellent track record of working closely with the Jewish community.”

That track record, the Agudath Israel leader noted, gives the community a sense of comfort in a climate where Jewish New Yorkers appear to be increasingly targeted for attack by thugs “playing” the “knockout game” — in which victims are sucker-punched in the head and knocked to the ground.

Just yesterday, Rabbi Zwiebel pointed out, the new City Councilmember -Elect from Crown Heights, Laurie Cumbo, explicitly linked the recent “Knockout” attacks on the streets of Brooklyn to African-American resentment of Jews. “Such remarks,” the Agudath Israel leader said, “which almost appear to justify violent assault against Jewish people, underscore the urgent need for the NYPD to exercise special vigilance to ensure that Jewish New Yorkers can walk the streets safely without fear of being targeted by ‘resentful’ hoodlums.

“Mayor-Elect de Blasio’s choice of a proven crime-fighter, and a proven friend of the Jewish community, to head up the NYPD, is an important step in providing such vigilance. We look forward to renewing our relationship with Mr. Bratton, and working cooperatively, b’siyata diShmaya, to help preserve the safety and security of our community.”

(YWN Desk – NYC)