A delegation of 13 senior police officials from the New York area returned to the U.S. on Friday fresh off an intensive week in Israel designed to increase their counterterrorism training and understanding of antisemitism.

Organized by Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora and Combating Antisemitism, along with U.S. Jewish security groups Community Security Initiative and Community Security Service, the trip included a tour of Mabat 2000, the visual surveillance system deployed by Israel Police and visits to the Nova music festival massacre site and several kibbutzim attacked on Oct. 7, 2023. 

“These are all things that these police commissioners will all relate to,” said Mitch Silber, executive director of CSI. 

“This trip has enhanced my understanding of Jewish culture, enabled me to observe firsthand the challenges Israeli law enforcement faces and will help us better protect the Jewish community and the county as a whole,” Kevin Catalina, the police commissioner of Suffolk County on Long Island, told Jewish Insider. “The knowledge and experience gained during this trip will no doubt prove invaluable.” 

Silber reflected on a tour of Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust museum and memorial — describing it as one of the most meaningful parts of the trip. 

“You’ve got American police chiefs from the greater New York area walking through Yad Vashem, hearing about the origins of the Nazi regime and how the Holocaust happened.”

“The goal is to bring New York-area law enforcement and local security partners to Israel for training on antisemitism, how Israel encounters terrorism and [to learn about] the Arab-Israeli conflict,” Silber told JI. “How do you sensitize a police department that’s probably not particularly Jewish and to understand, why is it that they need to have a police car outside of a sukkah? What even is Sukkot? What is Yom Kippur? By helping them to understand the Jewish experience and why Jews seem to be disproportionately the target.”

The delegation was made up of senior police executives, chiefs and commissioners from Long Island, Westchester and Rockland counties and Connecticut. Many were returning to the Jewish state for their second time — following a similar trip that ran in early October 2023, but was cut short due to the Oct. 7 attacks. 

“I was on the CSI/CSS trip that experienced Oct. 7 in Ashdod and had to be evacuated,” Mike Kopy, public safety commissioner of Rye, N.Y., told JI. “Even as we headed to the airport that day I saw the resilience of ordinary Israelis as they headed to their bases. I thought it was important to return now in order to better understand the current situation and take what we have learned about antisemitism and counterterrorism home to New York to better protect our Jewish community and residents.” 

This trip also provided a firsthand glimpse into some of the challenges Israel Police confront. On Monday, six Israelis were killed when two terrorists opened fire at a bus stop in Jerusalem. 

At the time of the shooting, “we were on our way to the Israel National Police Jerusalem command center,” said Silber. “We met with senior Jerusalem police officials to learn how you police a multiethnic, multireligious city like Jerusalem.” 

According to data from early 2025, Jews were the target of 62% of all hate crimes in New York City. “Why is that?” Silber said. “Some of the lectures we’ve gotten are about the history of Jewish people in European countries and the trend of at some point a government deciding it’s not worthwhile protecting those communities and those communities have to move. It all depends on whether law enforcement wants to protect them or not.”