How the #US and #Israel exchange tactics in violence and control
Two decades of Israeli-US #police cooperation includes training in #RacialProfiling and #ViolentSuppression of #protests.
By Mersiha Gadzo
Published On 12 Jun 2020
"Following the killing of #GeorgeFloyd, as US riot police fired rubber-coated bullets, #TearGas canisters, #PepperSpray and #StunGrenades at #protesters, #Palestinians shared tips on social media on how to best deal with the assaults.
Many in the Palestinian territories are well experienced with such tactics by security forces while living under a decades-long occupation by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza Strip.
According to the organisations #JewishVoiceForPeace (#JVP) and Researching the American-Israeli Alliance (#RAIA), one common theme shared between United States and Israel is the exchange of tactics and expertise in state violence, which has been ongoing for 18 years.
Months after the September 11 attacks, US law enforcement delegates attended their first official training expedition to Israel to exchange “best practices” in “counter-terrorism”.
Since then, thousands more from across the US – including agents from the FBI, CIA, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – have been schooled at these meetings in both Israel and the US, sponsored by far-right Israeli lobby organisations.
But instead of promoting effective security for communities, the programme facilitates an exchange of tactics used in police violence and control including mass surveillance, racial profiling and the suppression of protests and dissent, according to the JVP and RAIA’s 2018 report (PDF) titled Deadly Exchange, which details the extent of the cooperation.
Among the thousands of US law enforcement officers who have reportedly participated in the exchange over the years was Anoka County (North Minneapolis) Sherrif James Stuart, who travelled to Israel in December. "
#IDF #ACAB #StopCopCity #StopCopCitiesEverywhere #DemilitarizeThePolice