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Gov. Cuomo Heads To Israel To Strengthen Ties With Jewish Community

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is on his way to Israel, where he is hoping to strengthen economic ties between New York and the United States ally.

"To those people who want to destroy our relationship with the Jewish community, I say we're going to make our relationship stronger and we're going to fortify the bonds," Cuomo said Saturday.

Before his departure, Cuomo took part in a round table discussion with Jewish leaders at the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan. He said New York will not stand for the recent surge in anti-Semitic acts.

As WCBS 880's Mike Smeltz reports, those acts have taken many forms -- from the desecration of Jewish cemeteries to bomb threats against Jewish institutions.

Cuomo said that state law enforcement are focused on finding whoever is behind the threats.

"We have posted rewards for information leading to the arrest. We have a special state police investigation team," he said.

On Friday, a man in Missouri was arrested for allegedly threatening several Jewish institutions across the country, including the Anti-Defamation League headquarters in New York. He's been charged with only a small fraction of the dozens of recent threats and anti-Semitic acts that have bubbled up in the past few months.

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