January 4, 2009 – New York – AJC expressed appreciation to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Congressman Gary Ackerman and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly for their visit today to Sderot and Ashkelon, two of the cities in southern Israel that have been under daily rocket attacks from Hamas.

“Mayor Bloomberg’s powerful act of solidarity with Israelis who have lived under the threat of Hamas terror is a welcome display of empathy at this critical time for Israel,” said Diane Steinman, director of AJC’s New York Chapter. “The mayor’s clear support for Israel’s responsibility to defend its citizens is deeply appreciated.”

Mayor Bloomberg told the Associated Press, “You should rest assured, if anyone in New York was being threatened, my instruction to the NYPD would be to use all the resources at their disposal to protect civilians.”