OWS and Israelification of American Domestic Security

On December 2, 2011, Al-Akhbar English published a research piece by American Jewish author, writer and blogger, Max Blumenthal. In the article, entitled ‘From Occupation to Occupy: Israelification of American Domestic Security’ – Max claims that the high-handed tactics used by American security forces against the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement and American Muslims, were taught to them by Israel Occupation Force (IOF) officers.

“The Israelification of America’s security apparatus, recently unleashed in full force against the Occupy Wall Street Movement, has taken place at every level of law enforcement, and in areas that have yet to be exposed. The phenomenon has been documented in bits and pieces, through occasional news reports that typically highlight Israel’s national security prowess without examining the problematic nature of working with a country accused of grave human rights abuses. But it has never been the subject of a national discussion. And collaboration between American and Israeli cops is just the tip of the iceberg.

Having been schooled in Israeli tactics perfected during a 63 year experience of controlling, dispossessing, and occupying an indigenous population, local police forces have adapted them to monitor Muslim and immigrant neighborhoods in US cities. Meanwhile, former Israeli military officers have been hired to spearhead security operations at American airports and suburban shopping malls, leading to a wave of disturbing incidents of racial profiling, intimidation, and FBI interrogations of innocent, unsuspecting people. The New York Police Department’s disclosure that it deployed “counter-terror” measures against Occupy protesters encamped in downtown Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park is just the latest example of the so-called War on Terror creeping into every day life. Revelations like these have raised serious questions about the extent to which Israeli-inspired tactics are being used to suppress the Occupy movement,” wrote Max.

The ADL claims to have trained over 45,000 American law enforcement officials through its Law Enforcement and Society program, which “draws on the history of the Holocaust to provide law enforcement professionals with an increased understanding of…their role as protectors of the Constitution,” the group’s website stated. All new FBI agents and intelligence analysts are required to attend the ADL program, which is incorporated into three FBI training programs. According to official FBI recruitment material, “all new special agents must visit the US Holocaust Memorial Museum to see firsthand what can happen when law enforcement fails to protect individuals.”

Avi Dichter, former chief of Israel domestic security, the terrorist Shin Bet and current member of Knesset, is the architect of US-Israel security cooperation. He is a close friend of former head of DHS, Israel-Firster Michael Chertoff and FBI director Robbert Mueller who described Dichter as his mentor in anti-terror tactics. Last year, DHS secretary Napolitano signed a memorandum with Israeli minister Israel Katz to boost security cooperation between the two countries.

Under the leadership of Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, ties between the NYPD and Israel have deepened by the day. The NYPD set up a secret “Demographics Unit” designed to spy on and monitor Muslim communities around the city. Lt. Col. Richard Wheeler, commander Maryland Transit Administration, Mark M. Deluca, chief of police Duxbery, detective Maliki Stone of NYCPD, detective Frank Kosciow, David Vaughn, security adviser US Army Reserve, Chuck Daenzer of DHS, Michel Bjelajac, Atlanta Police Dept., Tim Greene, deputy chief, Jordan international police training center, Sgt. Brain Haggerty of Southbridge MA Police Dept., Troy Arida, US Capitol Police, Llewellyn James Edwards of Bermuda Police, etc. are a few of officers who received training at Israel’s Security Solutions International (SSI) – and their letters of appreciation appear on SSI website.

“Given the amount of training the NYPD and so many other police forces have received from Israel’s military-intelligence apparatus, and the profuse levels of gratitude American police chiefs have expressed to their Israeli mentors, it is worth asking how much Israeli instruction has influenced the way the police have attempted to suppress the Occupy movement, and how much it will inform police repression of future upsurges of street protest. But already, the Israelification of American law enforcement appears to have intensified police hostility towards the civilian population, blurring the lines between protesters, common criminals, and terrorists. As Dichter said, they are all just “crimiterrorists”,” wrote Max.

On December 9, 2003, UK daily The Gurdian had reported that Israeli army sent urban warfare specialists to Fort Bragg in North Carolina, the home of US special forces, and according to two sources, Israeli military “consultants” had also visited US occupied Iraq.

When it comes to controlling peaceful protests against governments, Israeli Zionazi tacticts against Palestinian youth have become ‘model’ for the dictators and law enforcement agencies around the world. Israeli military official have trained domestic security services in United Kingdom, India, Malaysia, Algeria, Burma, Nigeria, Indinesia, Afghanistan and several other countries.