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Jul 02, 2020
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Al-Jazeera Network: U.S. Police Violence Inspired By Training In Israel; Departments In Cities Where High-Profile Police Killings Take Place Have Been Trained There

#8116 | 03:03
Source: Al-Jazeera Network (Qatar)

On July 2, 2020, Al-Jazeera Network's AJ+ YouTube channel uploaded a report titled "How Israel Trains U.S Police" to its YouTube channel. In the report, Palestinian-American journalist Dena Takruri said that U.S. law enforcement treats people like they are a hostile foreign population partly because it has received training from Israel, which she said violently controls and suppresses the Palestinian people. She said that Israel has marketed itself as the global expert on counterterrorism and that U.S. law enforcement officials have been sent to train in Israel by organizations such as the ADL, JINSA, and GILEE. Takruri also said that police forces in Missouri, in New York, in Minnesota, in Georgia, and in Washington, D.C. have all received training from Israel, and that other cities and counties where high-profile police killings have taken place have, as well. Furthermore, Takruri said that Israeli surveillance methods have inspired police surveillance practices in the United States. She said this includes covert spying operations by the NYPD against Muslim communities.

Dena Takruri: "Law enforcement has become more militarized, treating the people they are supposed to serve and protect as a hostile foreign population. Part of the reason why is that, since the '90s and especially after 9/11, US law enforcement, including police departments, the FBI, CIA, and immigration officials have been trained by Israeli agents.

[...]

"So this is a state that violently controls and suppresses the rights of an occupied people, and US police are learning its tactics to use against American citizens. Thousands of law enforcement officials from all corners of the country have travelled to Israel to learn police strategies and exchange tactics. These trips became increasingly common after 9/11 as pro-Israel groups used the so-called 'War on Terror' as an opportunity to push for a closer, unconditional alliance with Israel - which had marketed itself as the world's leading counterterrorism expert.

[...]

"So who runs these exchanges? They are organized by pro-Israel groups like the Anti-Defamation League, which calls itself 'The World's Leading Anti-Hate Organization.' The trips are funded privately, as well as through grants from the Israeli and US governments - including the Justice

Department. The ADL boasts that they've trained more than 15,000 law enforcement professionals, and have sent more than 200 high-ranking US officials to Israel.

[...]

"Take Ferguson, Missouri for example. After the 2014 police killing of Michael Brown, the officers' response to protest mirrored some of the tactics used by Israeli forces against Palestinians.

[...]

"The sheriff of St. Louis County, where Ferguson is located, travelled to Israel on one of the ADL-sponsored police exchange trips.

[...]

"Throughout all of this, Palestinians have recognized the shared struggle, even tweeting support and tips to American protestors. But Ferguson is one example. Other cities and counties where officers have received Israeli training later became the sites of high-profile police killings. That includes Hennepin County, where George Floyd was killed by police, and Atlanta, where Rayshard Brooks was fatally shot by an officer. And who can forget the militarized response to protestors in Washington, D.C. after the death of George Floyd? And then there's surveillance. Israel's massive surveillance system has inspired US officials so much so that after a former police chief visited Israel in 2008, his city adopted [Israeli] techniques:"

Chief George Turner: "Our video integration center in downtown Atlanta is modelled after the command and control center I saw in Old City of Jerusalem."

Takruri: "Atlanta has installed over 10,000 surveillance cameras, which have raised serious privacy concerns. But to really get a sense of Israeli inspiration, look no further than New York City. After 9/11, the NYPD and the CIA created a sprawling covert spying operation that surveilled and infiltrated mosques and Muslim neighborhoods in the New York City area. A police official told the Associated Press that the program was modelled, in part, off of how Israelis spy on Palestinians in the West Bank."

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