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Magen Yehuda in the news
Soldiers Respond to ‘Terrorists in School’ Drill
Security teams in Beit El in the Binyamin region held a drill this week that mimicked a large-scale terrorist infiltration targeting local schools.
“The ‘incident’ started with firebombs and rock throwing. From there it progressed to two terrorists in Bnei Tzvi [high school], there were about eight wounded there. Then we got a report about an incident in the girls’ high school,” a local security commander described the drill.
There would eight “wounded” in the girls’ high school, too, he said, and the fake terrorists were taken out.
Local security teams, MDA paramedics, firefighters, IDF soldiers and police all took part in the drill.
“There is no doubt that Beit El is now much more prepared,” trainer Ehud Deriban toldArutz Sheva.
The town’s security team “knows how to work as a single force on the tactical level… it knows how to send forces in to the scene of an attack in a controlled way,” he explained.
Deriban thanked the Magen Yehuda organization, a group dedicated to improving security in Israeli communities by helping to fund training exercises.
Article and video on Arutz Sheva Hebrew site www.inn.co.il): http://www.inn.co.il/News/News.aspx/258512
Magen Yehuda: Saving Jewish Lives
By Susie Benzaquen
Living in Israel, Jews are often denied the peace of mind that comes with a sense of security. As they go about their daily lives – taking their children to school, going to work, shopping for their families – they need to be constantly aware of their surroundings and recognize potential threats. A knapsack left unattended, a stranger lingering too long, or a truck running off course can all lead to potential catastrophe.
While the Israeli army holds the ultimate responsibility to protect and defend the people of Israel, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) cannot be everywhere at every moment. In an effort to foster that sense of security that citizens deserve, the IDF has initiated the formation of Community First Response Teams to assist them. A Community First Response Team, also known as “Kitat Konenut,” is a group of trained individuals from the community available to respond to a security threat at a moment’s notice. Because these volunteers actually live in the communities they serve, they have firsthand, intimate knowledge of the area that they are assigned to protect.
Who are these dedicated volunteers? During their daily lives they may be school teachers, rabbis, contractors, electricians, doctors, attorneys, students, or accountants. They may be Israeli-born army reservists or olim chadashim (new immigrants). What all of them have in common, however, is dedication to the safety of their communities and to the entire country.
Unfortunately, the IDF has limited funding available to train these volunteers. Outsourcing the training sessions is necessary to ensure the teams are equipped with up-to-date knowledge and the practical skills required so they can effectively protect and defend their communities.
Magen Yehuda was created for just that purpose. At the helm is Ehud Dribben, chief of operations, with over 20 years experience in the field of defense and security. Dribben’s background as an IDF officer in an elite unit and as the developer of counter-terrorist protocol for the IDF make him ideally suited to the role. He has worked extensively with the Israeli police, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is still an active reservist in the IDF.
Under his personal direction, Magen Yehuda staff step in to fill the training gaps as they provide professional instruction to Community First Response Teams all over Israel. Whether it is a community on the northern border, a small city in the south or a yishuv in Yehuda or Shomron, Magen Yehuda is there to create and help implement security protocol. Magen Yehuda works in collaboration with the IDF and each community’s head of security to create individualized plans and coordinate security efforts with the ultimate goal of saving lives and preserving the daily quality of life for all citizens of Israel.
During one recent training session provided by Magen Yehuda for the community of Itamar, the volunteers received many hours of intensive night training including real life simulation exercises. Dave S., an American oleh who is a former U.S. Marine, expressed his gratitude for the training provided by Magen Yehuda. “On almost a daily basis we are faced with some type of incident here, [so] proper training of our volunteers is imperative to keep our families protected,” he said. “Compared to the elite army units who are provided with daily drills and training in order to deal with these types of situations and only encounter such situations maybe once or twice a year, Community First Response Teams in some areas face daily occurrences and are only allotted a few days per year of training by the army.” Hopefully, teams like Dave’s will never have to put their training into serious action, but should the need arise, they will be prepared.
Magen Yehuda is proud to be partnering with the One Israel Fund in an effort to secure funding for critical training, equipment, and special training facilities. Both of these non-proþts share a common goal: the protection of Jews within their Homeland. As Marc Prowiser, security projects director of the One Israel Fund who served as chief army security coordinator in Judea and Samaria from 1996-2006, explained, “One of the reasons I chose to work closely with Magen Yehuda is that their main objective is the safety of all Jews.”
For more information about Magen Yehuda’s activities and to make a donation,
please visit www. magenyehuda.net, e-mail info@magenyehuda.net, or call (972) 0 54-2192197 / 0-73-7873780.