Erie County Sheriff’s Office

One of the organizations that organize and sponsor these trainings is the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA). JINSA is a think tank that advocates for US-Israeli security cooperation, increased domestic military spending, and military aid to Israel, and has board members with close ties to US defense contractors. JINSA launched its Law Enforcement Exchange Program (LEEP) shortly after 9/11, and since 2002 has run annual trips to Israel for US federal, state, and local law enforcement. Over 11,000 additional American law enforcement officials have attended LEEP conferences nationwide, which bring in Israeli security officials as experts.

The Sheriff’s Office of Erie County, New York, is among the departments that have sent delegates to Israel. Patrick Gallivan served as Sheriff of Erie County Sheriff’s Office between 1998 and 2005. Sheriff Gallivan attended a training in Israel with JINSA as a delegate of their LEEP program in 2004. In November 2010, he was elected to the NY Senate as a member from the 59th District, where he still serves today.