Israel Under Terrorism

The following article originally was published on March 31 by Grand Junction's Free Press. See also Part I and Part II.

For Israelis, risk of terrorist attacks alters everyday life

by Linn and Ari Armstrong

This article, written from Linn's perspective, is the third and final in a series based on Linn's February trip to Israel as part of the Ultimate Counter Terrorism Mission. Additional notes and photographs from the trip will be published at FreeColorado.com within a week or two.

Security in Israel is tight. When we were entering a restaurant, a guard approached my group, searched our purses and bags, and asked us to open our coats so that he could make sure we weren't wearing any extra belts.

Those not used to such measures might be surprised or uneasy to see guards carrying Uzi submachine guns, yet such guards and searches are the norm. Before any business can open its doors, it must have a business license. The license requires a security plan, which means many businesses will have an armed guard checking all bags and purses.

I had barely gotten past the guard when my cell phone rang. It was my wife Sharon, home in the States, with worry in her voice. She told me that a suicide bomber (known as a missile man to the locals) had detonated, killing two women. I assured her that the attack was many miles from where we were, and we were in no danger.

Everyone in Israel has a cell phone and the phones are always ringing. A general's phone may ring while he's giving a briefing; a bus driver will answer his phone while driving. Answering one's cell phone is not a sign of disrespect or a lack of courtesy. It is a way to assure worried family members and loved ones. Nearly everyone in Israel is directly or indirectly involved with the police or military. Everyone in Israel is fighting terrorism.

The man in charge of Israel's largest airport -- Ben Gurion International Airport -- had recently returned from the U.S. after reviewing the security of some of its airports, including Denver International. As gracious as our host was, he couldn't help but grimace when I asked him to rate the security of DIA. He politely refused to answer this question for reasons of politics as well as security. Many of the law enforcement personnel in our travel group agreed with our host when he suggested that, in the U.S., we are better prepared for picking up the pieces than for prevention.

Hebrew University is located at Mount Scopus in the eastern part of Jerusalem, between the predominantly Jewish West Jerusalem and various Arab villages. On July 31, 2002, a Palestinian construction worker exploded a bomb in the university's crowded cafeteria. A tree that was partially blown over by the blast is now part of a memorial for the students killed by the terrorist.

Today a sophisticated security fence surrounds the University. Everyone is required to enter the facility and pass through security, which includes metal detectors and bag checks similar to airport security. This is part of the idea in Israel of being proactive.

Entering the Jerusalem Central Bus Station is very much like entering any airport security system in the U.S. Security personnel profile the passengers as they do at airports. The major difference is that there are hundreds of bus stops in the inner city of Jerusalem. Both uniformed and undercover officers guard the busses and bus stops.

Some of the buses that travel dangerous routes are literally armored vehicles. These buses remind me of the old Clint Eastwood movie Gauntlet where the bus has to travel through sniper fire and bombs.

At least Eastwood did not have to worry about terrorists boarding the bus hoping to take it into Egypt to create an international incident. Such an event took place on Bus Line 300. Alon Stivi related this story because his father, a former paratrooper, was on board. Thinking quickly, the bus driver hit the brakes and opened the emergency doors, allowing Stivi's father to escape. The intelligence that his father provided allowed an Israeli commando unit trained in bus assaults to take the bus back with no additional Israeli casualties. This is one reason why Stivi's training of law enforcement in bus assaults has such an element of realism.

Healers also must prepare for terrorism. Prior to my trip, a terrorist, determined to detonate, was headed to the maternity ward of the Hadassa Hospital. Fortunately, he was intercepted before he reached his destination. Hadassa Hospital, which prides itself in providing services for Jews, Arabs, and Christians alike, stocks supplies to last for months, and it prepares for the potential of mass casualties.

In Israel, the struggle against terrorism affects everyone, every day. We would do well to remember the precarious situation of Israel, our ally, and the risk to ourselves if we continue to close our eyes to the state sponsors of terror in the Middle East.

Israel and the Law

The following article originally was published on March 17 by Grand Junction's Free Press. Read also Part I from March 3.

Israel trip sheds light on law under terror

by Linn and Ari Armstrong
March 17, 2008

This article, written from Linn's perspective, is the second in a series based on Linn's February trip to Israel as part of the Ultimate Counter Terrorism Mission.

During my trip to Israel I observed the nation's concern with law, the legality of its military operations, and the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians.

One of the organizations that has had success countering terrorism is the Shurat HaDin Israel Law center (IsraelLawCenter.org), a non-profit, independent body unaffiliated with the Israeli government or any political party. One main function of Shurat HaDin is to take the perpetrators and supporters of Islamic terror to court to strip them of their resources in order to compensate victims.

Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, sometimes known as the "warrior for justice" (and who was very pregnant when I met her) directs the organization. Darshan-Leitner has assisted hundreds of Israeli terror victims in filing civil suits against Palestinian terrorist groups and their financial patrons. She said, "My clients are innocent people who were made to suffer, and this is the only way they have to fight back."

Darshan-Leitner also represents Palestinian clients, usually when they are accused of collaborating with Israel. She applied to the Palestinian Minister of Justice for permission to represent some of these clients in West Bank courts. She said in Striking Back magazine that she heard back only after the suspects had been convicted and executed.

One of the cases that Darshan-Leitner passionately related involved three Israeli army reservists who took a wrong turn and an ended up in the city of Ramallah. The three reservists went to a police station for help. The station was surrounded, and the police did nothing to protect the men. The reservists were dragged out and hanged by the mob. Shurat HaDin filed a lawsuit against the Palestinian Authority for about $15 million.

Another interesting individual was Brigadier General Shaul Gordon, who is currently providing legal advice on matters of administration and operation for the Israeli Police. Gordon also spent over fifteen years in the army, had a private law practice for five years, and is the former Chief Justice of the military Court of Appeals for Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip. As a judge in 2002, Gordon heard over 3,500 administrative detention cases involving suspected terrorists.

Israel has a legal system for those who commit or are suspected of committing terrorist acts. Israel faces difficult questions regarding the legal treatment of suspected terrorists: how does a country advance a rights-respecting democracy and at the same time protect itself from terrorists seeking to destroy it and its institutions?

The conflicts in the Middle East can seem intractable, as Gordon indicated in a story. Leonid Brezhnev, Jimmy Carter, and Menachem Begin are all standing before God, and God tells them that they can each ask one question. Brezhnev asks if he will see the end of Communism. God answers, "Yes my son, you will, but not in your administration." Carter asks if he will see the end of the cold war. God answers, "Yes, my son, you will, but not in your administration." Begin asks if he will see the end of the Arab-Israel conflict. God answers, "Yes, my son, you will." But then God hesitates and adds, "But not in my administration."

The military base Machane Ofer sits ten minutes from Jerusalem. This is the base where terrorist detainees are taken and security trials of Hamas terrorists are held. Judge Menachm Liberman took time out of busy schedule to show us around the military courts and brief us about a pending a trial of a suspected terrorist.

Haim Ben-Ami briefed us about the interrogation tactics of the Shabak, or General Security Service. Ben-Ami, an intense figure, discussed the techniques, methods, strategies, and legal challenges to law enforcement and intelligence forces' struggle to lawfully extract information about terrorist activities.

Ben-Ami began by noting that he himself had been the victim of a terrorist attack; a hand grenade was thrown into a vehicle in which he was riding. He then tapped a table with his artificial leg. He said, "You need to balance the human rights of a terrorist versus the human rights of the twenty or thirty victims." He also noted that, in fighting terrorism, one must separate how one deals with criminals and terrorists.

Some American critics of Israel deride the tiny nation for taking the steps it does to preserve itself and its people in a region where many of Israel's neighbors would as soon see the nation utterly destroyed. Most Americans do not know friends and family members who have been blown up by terrorist bombs. Yet Americans should remember the destructive force of terrorism the next time the U.S. government is tempted to coddle state sponsors of terror in the Middle East.

Linn Armstrong is a local political activist and firearms instructor with the Grand Valley Training Club. His son, Ari, edits FreeColorado.com from the Denver area.

Linn's Trip to Israel, Part I

The Following article originally appeared on the March 3, 2008, in Grand Junction's Free Press, under the title, "Terror from another perspective."

Israel trip offers lessons on countering terror

by Linn and Ari Armstrong

This was not your typical tourist trip; it was called the Ultimate Counter Terrorism Mission. Your elder author joined over twenty other Americans February 3-10 to travel to Israel. The group consisted of law enforcement and trainers, producers of anti-terrorism equipment, and those with a deep interest in counter terrorism. This column, written from Linn's perspective, is the first of several about the trip.

To set the stage we need to go back fifteen years in Grand Junction. I had been training civilians for several years in the NRA basic pistol and personnel protection courses. These are excellent classes and serve the community very well. Not only had thousands of individuals benefited from the training but dozens of instructors came from this pool of people. From this pool of instructors several Training Counselors arose who are able to train instructors.

With so many well-trained people in the area, several began to express the desire for more advanced training. In conducting a lot of research and interviewing a number of instructors with impressive qualifications, one name kept popping up: Alon Stivi. Stivi has since conducted various training exercises in and around the Grand Valley.

Stivi is a leading expert on security, violence prevention, counter-terrorism, and travel safety. He has served as an advisor to federal, state, and local government agencies, including the U.S. military and law enforcement. He is the U.S. Master Instructor of the Hisardut Israeli Survival System. Stivi also contributes to the magazine Counter Terrorism.

It was in this magazine that I saw an advertisement for the Counter Terrorism Mission to Israel. Thus began my quest to learn many of the facets of counter terrorism that Israel has to engage in for its own survival.

Although I have done a fair amount of travel over the years I had never had the opportunity to travel Israeli airlines El Al. This presented an opportunity to see first hand the different philosophy between the U.S. and Israel on terrorism.

Most of us are familiar with the process of checking aboard an airplane. I would like to relate an incident that took place in Denver last year. I carry a first-aid kit in my carry-on bag and have carried the same kit for years around the world. This means that it has been subject to dozens and dozens of security checks.

Before my flight out of Denver my bag was pulled and I was asked to open it. Sure enough, my deadly scissors were discovered. They were slightly over two inches long with rounded tips. The lady at the machine did not have the authority to decide on the deadliness of these instruments of destruction. She had to call her supervisor to help with what was approaching a national security issue. The supervisor had to make this life-or-death decision.

The decision was that the scissors were too dangerous. I was asked if I would like to mail this cheap pair of scissors back home at a cost of seven or eight dollars. I responded, "Let's just throw them away." But I couldn't just throw them away; you have to sign a form to throw them away.

I always carry a rather large, stout, pointy ball-point pen with me when I travel. I took this pen from my pocket with a flourish to sign the form and said, "We can't allow these deadly scissors on board." The security agent threw me an unpleasant glare.

El Al's process is different. The first thing that they do is profile people who are going to board the plane. This profile is based on how you answer a number of questions. The Israelis are trained to note both the physical reactions you exhibit and the accuracy of your answers. You are probably profiled several times. You then take your check-in luggage to a big machine that x-rays and sniffs for bombs. If something suspicious is spotted in your bags, you are asked to open the bag. Assuming the bag checks out, you then pick up your ticket, turn in your checked luggage, and proceed through security. Perhaps the U.S. could pick up a few pointers on this process.

Israel's approach to security is built on the onion model, layer after layer. I was reminded of meeting a young couple a few years ago that had immigrated to the U.S. from Israel a few months before. I found the husband to be very interesting; he was a mathematical genius (as well as a world-champion juggler). Now he works in Silicone Valley as a mathematician. Anyway, I asked his wife about the biggest change she had noticed when coming to the U.S. She replied, "going to a shopping mall and not having my bags and purse searched when I entered."

Fortunately, for us terrorism is usually a long way away. Will we keep it that way?