Israel 101 for Cops

"Police officers in NSW will take part in a seminar where they will be taught about the threat of terrorism faced by Jews and Israel, the history of Zionism and the Jewish community's connection to the Holy Land. The course, which will be run for the first time next month, is being conducted by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (JBD) and the Communal Security Group (CSG) for members of the police force's anti-terrorism unit. JBD chief executive Vic Alhadeff said that the police had requested the seminar. 'It's to inform them and assist them in their work when they are dealing with issues that come up, and full credit to them for this initiative in approaching us', Alhadeff said. 'This is testament to the close and strong working relationship between the NSW Jewish community, through the CSG, and the NSW Police. Informing them on these issues can only be a positive in terms of the way the police deal with situations going forward', he said." (Israel 101 course for police, The Australian Jewish News, 28/10/11)

So Vic was just sitting at his desk twiddling his thumbs one day when, quite out of the blue, he got a call from the NSW Police: 'Constable Plod 'ere. We wanna learn all about the threat of terrorism faced by Jews and Israel, and while we're at it, the history of Zionism and the Jewish community's connection to the Holy Land, OK?' Right.

Frankly, I'm getting a little worried about Vic's memory. Why should this call from PC Plod have been so completely unexpected? After all hadn't Vic written in The Australian Jewish News only last month: "Our response to BDS forms part of a coordinated strategy... endorsed by counterparts abroad and Israel's Foreign Ministry. That response has included... engagement with civil society and politicians, patronage of boycotted outlets, cooperation with police, shop owners and centre managers, and exposure of the motives behind the BDS movement." (See my 15/9/11 post Wielding Zionism's Big Stick in the Senate.) And hadn't his mate in the NSW Legislative Council, Walt Secord, lectured the government thus: "With the BDS gaining support, the NSW Government and the Police Minister must ensure that companies with an Israeli connection are protected and are not unfairly treated." (See my 27/6/11 post An Israeli-Occupied Mind.) Not to mention the plods who once dropped in at Leichhardt Council's library just to say hi. (See my 26/5/08 post A Tale of Two Exhibitions.)

On the other hand, he did acknowledge the close and strong relationship between the NSW Jewish community, through its CSG, and the NSW Police, did he not?

Seriously though, whatever the genesis of Israel 101, it sure raises some issues:

1)Informing them on these issues can only be a positive in terms of the way the police deal with situations going forward, he said. Situations? What kind of situations, Vic? BDS situations? How will a Zionist-indoctrinated NSW police force deal with BDS situations? More aggressively perhaps? Watch this space.

2) Will the constabulary be provided with such priceless propaganda as the Board of Deputies glossy 2008 booklet: The Arab-Israel Conflict & the Peace Process: An Overview? If so, they'll be getting such cutting-edge codswallop as this, on the touchstone issue of the Palestinian Nakba of 1948:

"Obviously many, if not most, of the refugees fled... simply to avoid the dangers of remaining in a war zone. However, Arab sources accuse the Jewish forces of a concerted terror campaign aimed at removing the Arab population. An Israeli response is to point to documented Arab calls for the inhabitants of the area to leave their homes and make way for an Arab invasion, and to a serious effort by Israel to persuade the Arab population to remain. The issue is still the subject of intense historical controversy, since the events took place in the heat of war, and most of the historical conclusions are politically motivated. Both of the conflicting descriptions of the events probably have an element of the truth, depending on the exigencies of full-scale war. For example, the Jewish leadership in the mixed city of Haifa made a point of attempting to persuade the Arab population to remain in place, a call which was resolutely rejected in order to clear the way for the expected bombardment and invasion of the city*. On the other hand some of those who occupied strategically critical areas in the centre of the country between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem were displaced, and others fled as a consequence of the highly coloured reports in the Arab media. In particular, lurid tales are still told about the deaths of the inhabitants of the village of Deir Yassin, which the Irgun insisted occurred unintentionally in the course of a battle to secure the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road. Essentially, however, the Arab exodus was a result of the fact that the war of 1947-1949 took place, in the sense that if there had been no invasion and a peaceful partition had been completed then it is unlikely that any substantial emigration would have occurred." (Causes of the exodus, pp 23-24)

3) If Vic Alhadeff ever becomes NSW Police Commissioner will the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies become the NSW Jewish Board of Deputy Sheriffs?

[* On Haifa in particular see my 7/5/08 post Bend It Like Benny.]