Public Employee Press

New York Police Dept. celebrates 100 years of Jewish Chaplains

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly recently presided over a ceremony at One Police Plaza recognizing the centennial of Jewish chaplaincy in the New York Police Dept.

Rabbi Dr. Alvin Kass, a member of DC 37 Local 299, was appointed as the NYPD's third Jewish Chaplain in December 1966, and in 2002, Kelly named Rabbi Kass the department's first Chief Chaplain, a position he continues to hold.

The NYPD Chaplains Unit was established in 1906 with Catholic and Protestant ministers. In July 1911, 100 years ago, a rabbi was appointed as the first Jewish chaplain to counsel officers on spiritual, moral and personal matters.

The NYPD, said Kelly, reflects the city it serves "in its embrace of freedom and religious tolerance. It was in this spirit that the department's Jewish chaplaincy was established 100 years ago."