WASHINGTON (JTA) — The U.S. deputy secretary of Homeland Security and the top Israeli official handling cybersecurity cosigned a statement committing to U.S-Israel cooperation in the area.
Alejandro Mayorkas and Eviatar Matania, who heads the Israel National Cyber Bureau, “signed a joint statement reaffirming the United States and Israel’s commitment to promote cooperation and information sharing on cybersecurity and cyber research and development,” said a statement by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released Friday, a day after Mayorkas returned from an Israel tour.
The statement said Mayorkas and his Israeli counterparts discussed “a range of homeland security-related issues including cybersecurity, law enforcement cooperation, immigration, and aviation security.”
Mayorkas toured Ben Gurion Airport “to view passenger and cargo security operations and to review the areas of close cooperation between DHS and the Israeli government on aviation and airport security.”
Mayorkas met during his Israel tour with top Israeli military officials handling cybersecurity, as well as Gilad Erdan, the minister of public security; Tzipi Hotovely, the deputy minister of foreign affairs; Interior Minister Silvan Shalom; and Tzachi Hanegbi, the chairman of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
