NEW YORK (JTA) — Palestinian-style suicide bombings will someday strike New York, two New York security officials said.
The security chief of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Louis Anemone, and the security chief of the Port Authority, Joseph Morris, made the prediction after a five-day trip to Israel, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The two men were in Israel to learn about counter-terrorism programs. New York’s police commissioner, Ray Kelly, said a suicide bombing is not inevitable, but said everything should be done to prevent an attack.
Wiesenthal Center protests Syrian book
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — The Simon Wiesenthal Center asked the United Nations to denounce an anti-Semitic book written by Syria’s defense minister.
The book, which is in its eighth edition and has become a best-seller in the Arab world, accuses Jews of murdering Christians and using their blood to bake matzah for Passover.
“The United States and the Security Council should not sit by idly while one of its member states flaunts the charter of the United Nations and allows a senior minister to promote anti-Semitism on a grand scale,” Rabbi Marvin Hier, the center’s dean, wrote in a letter to the United Nations.
U.S.-Israeli programs get funds from Bush
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Bush signed a defense spending bill Wednesday that includes extensive funding for joint U.S.-Israeli programs.
Congress appropriated $136 million for the Arrow anti-missile defense program, as well as $18.5 million for the Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser, which intercepts rockets. The Litening II Targeting Pod, which enables aircraft to fly and target at night and in bad conditions, received $48 million.
The Bradley Reactive Armor Tiles program, which protects tanks by exploding outward when hit, got $25 million.