Counterterrorism field tripStudying counterterrorism in Israel upsets Cambridge residents
Some residents of Cambridge, Massachusetts are upset that sixteen law enforcement and emergency services officials from the city went to Israel in an Anti Defamation League-sponsored trip to observe Israeli counterterrorism methods; the trip was funded by a local businessman; in a city hall meeting residents expressed discomfort with a privately organized trip for public officials — and with the fact that these officials chose Israel as the place to study counterterrorism tactics; one local resident said that what Israel calls “counterterrorism” is “a mechanism of oppression suited to employment in a police state, a status I do not regard our city as having obtained. At least not yet”
Israel provides counterterror training to many nations // Source: militaryphotos.net
Residents from Cambridge, Massachusetts are criticizing an Anti-Defamation League-sponsored trip for public safety officials to study counterterrorism strategies in Israel. The league was founded in 1913 “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.”
Late last year, a delegation of sixteen senior law enforcement officials including Deputy Fire Chief Gerard E. Mahoney and Police Deputy Superintendent Paul Ames went to Israel with the Anti-Defamation League to observe the country’s counterterrorism strategies and tactics.
According to a letter sent to councilors by local businessman Carl Barron, he had paid for the Cambridge officials to take the trip. Barron, 94, is a fixture in the Central Square business community. In the past year, he has given campaign money to city councilors, including Denise Simmons, Tim Toomey, Leland Cheung, and David Maher.
Of the thirty-four Cambridge residents who came to speak at a Cambridge City Council meeting, twenty-five expressed disapproval of Cambridge public safety officials taking the trip. Councilor Marjorie Decker was alarmed when she found out that such a trip could have happened without the knowledge of the council, especially since a similar one took place December 2008.
“It is not the practice of the city of Cambridge to ask private organizations or individuals to pay for professional development. It’s not, and it’s inappropriate,” she said. “We have not contracted out to any organization asking them for help with counter terrorism tactics.”
Upon completion of the program in 2008, participant Weysun Dun of the FBI stated: “[The seminar] was simultaneously an eye-opening and enlightening experience […]The itinerary and seminar agenda provided the opportunity to interact with a variety of government, military, business, and civic leaders, which provided me with insight into the complexities of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and to show the human side of the political and religious situation in the region.”
When asked about the first trip to Israel at a Civic Unity Committee hearing on 22 January 2009, Police Commissioner Haas said that the trip “…was interesting, but in the end, not particularly useful. The Israel government does a number of things that he would never do in this country.”
Decker noted that the public safety officials had briefed members of the business community about their most recent trip, and still the council had not received information.
“When did the business community stop becoming a partner and usurp the power that the City Council
