The Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce held a high level meeting with with Port Authority leadership in the hopes of remedying a concern that has recently come to the fore regarding conduct toward Jewish passengers in NYC area airports. Accounts by several Jewish passengers of their experiences at NYC airports describe what, in their telling, were incidences of mistreatment and discrimination by Government employees.
Officials from the highest levels of Port Authority leadership were present at the meeting, along with managers of all three major NYC area airports. These included John Essig, TSA Federal Security Director for JFK Airport; Charles Everett, Director of Aviation Port Authority New York & New Jersey; Teresa Rizzuto, General Manager, JFK International Airport, Anthony Vero, Deputy General Manager, LGA, PANYNJ; Sarah McKeon, P.E., CM, General Manager, NJ Airports Newark, New Jersey; and Jenny Davis, Chief of Intergovernmental Affairs at the Port Authority.
All expressed their commitment to building greater trust and understanding and more effective lines of communication with the Jewish community, using the Chamber as a vehicle to ensure that everyone is working towards the common goal of protecting the public while treating each individual with tolerance and respect. The Chamber is an affiliated partner of the Port Authority and works directly with heads of the Port Authority and NYC airports to ensure that outstanding incidents and concerns are dealt with in a time-effective manner.
The Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce is grateful for officials’ quick and decisive actions to address the community’s concerns. “We thank the Port Authority and its leadership for their commitment to work closely together with the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce and the Jewish Community, making sure we have a smooth and sensible experience in all NYC area Airports,” says Duvi Honig, founder and CEO of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce.”
The Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce is a voice for the Jewish community and the business world, both at home and abroad. The Chamber prides itself in its approach of building bridges in industry and government to foster solutions through collaboration.