Official Release # 14-22
(Chelsea, MA) November 21, 2014 – A delegation of Massachusetts Senior Federal, State, and Local Law Enforcement Executives met with several of their counterparts in the Israel National Police last week during a week-long Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Counter-Terrorism Seminar held in Israel.
The training curriculum included high-level security briefings on the operational response to terrorism, border and airport security, mall security, maintaining safety and access to holy sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, the role of advanced technology in policing, various strategies to balance security with the free flow of commerce and reducing the psychological impact of terror in Israel. The group met with the Israel National Police, Palestinian Authority Police, as well as several security experts, intelligence analysts, and high profile journalists.
ADL New England Regional Director Robert Trestan issued the following statement:
It is critical that Massachusetts police departments be able to equally prevent and respond to crime while protecting us from the threat of terrorism. The Israel national police have been on the frontline combating terror for decades and are able to share their firsthand experience in keeping the public safe despite multiple threats. The seminar is opportunity to enhance local law enforcements preparedness to prevent and respond to terrorism.
“Having an opportunity to learn about the complex issues surrounding the history, culture, and religion of Israel has been an invaluable professional experience. Being able to travel and work alongside not only the Israeli Police, but the Palestinian Authority Police allowed us to see first-hand the collaboration and spirit of cooperation that goes into ensuring enhanced safety and security for everyone in Israel,” said Chelsea Police Chief and newly elected President of the Massachusetts Major City Chief Association, Brian Kyes. “The ADL has provided a very valuable service to law enforcement here in Massachusetts by providing this unique training opportunity and we are extremely thankful to them. This has absolutely been the most satisfying professional development opportunity and experience of my 28-year law enforcement career.”
Kyes added: “We had the unique opportunity to hear the first hand account of Sergeant Major Ronit Tubul who was severely injured when a suicide bomber boarded the crowded bus that she was traveling in 2002 in which the terrorist detonated his suicide vest killing several people and severely injuring dozens more. Ronit was so badly hurt that her husband, a police officer who responded to the scene, didn’t recognize her and didn’t know where she was for at least five hours after the incident. Ronit Tubul spent several weeks in the hospital, away from her 1-year-old daughter. Ronit is now working with her husband on the Israeli National Police after recovering from her serious injuries. This was an extremely moving presentation by this unbelievably strong and courageous woman and one that I will never forget.”
The training program, now in its fifth year, is designed to help American law enforcement executives gain valuable insight and hands-on experience about the impact terrorism has on civil society and allow them to interact directly with their Israeli and Palestinian police peers. The trip also included opportunities to tour some of Israel’s most significant archaeological and religious sites, and to learn about Israeli society.
The Massachusetts Delegation consisted of Senior Law Enforcement Executives from Boston (Chief William Gross), Bedford (Chief Robert Bongiorno), Chelsea (Chief Brian Kyes), Everett (Chief Steve Mazzie), Framingham (Chief Ken Ferguson), Gloucester (Chief Len Campanello), Marblehead (Chief Robert Picariello) , Newton (Chief Howard Mintz), Wellesley (Chief Howard Mintz), Massachusetts State Police (Lt. Colonel Sharon Costine), MBTA Transit Police (Chief Ken Green), United States Marshalls Service (Marshall John Gibbons), United States Secret Service Assistance Special Agent in Charge Tom Baker), and the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office (Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian).
For Further Info Contact:
Captain Keith Houghton
(617) 466-4835
24-hr (617) 828-5722
