(NEWS) First Israel Homeland Security International Conference

"31 October – 3 November 2010: Israel will share its experience and knowledge in counterterrorist activities and homeland security with 700 delegates from around the world.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomes the initiative to hold the first international conference on Homeland Security in Israel. The conference was organized by the Export Institute, in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, the Ministry for Public Security, Israeli Airports Authority and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Foreign Ministry welcomes the hundreds of delegates who have come to Israel from abroad, including ministers, inspectors general and other senior officials. The conference is taking place at the Dan Panorama Hotel in Tel Aviv.



Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon will address the delegates on the first morning of the conference (Nov. 1). He will speak about the need for global cooperation in the fight against violence and crime and the necessity to make technological advancements available for ensuring civilian security.

At the conference, Israel’s significant contributions to international counterterrorism activities, homeland security and protection, as well as the vast body of knowledge that Israel has amassed in this field, will be presented. Israel is eager to share its experience and know-how with its partners around the world in order to increase global cooperation in battling crime and violence and achieving a better life.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes with satisfaction that among the 700 delegates expected to participate in the conference can be found ministers of the interior and homeland security of various states as well as a long list of other distinguished guests. The Ministry is confident that the conference will lead to accelerated cooperation among the participants and will contribute to the security of civilians and public institutions in the participating countries.



Summary of DFM Ayalon’s address to the Conference this morning:

Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon spoke this morning at the Homeland Security Conference in Tel Aviv. He stressed the importance and relevance of the conference in light of the terrorist threats of the last few days. In his opinion, the key to effective combating of terror is unified action on the part of all the elements and states interested in making peace.

Ayalon said that the conference should contribute to boosting cooperation between states in the areas of information exchange, technology, intelligence, and operative capabilities in confronting global terror. According to Ayalon, terrorism not only harms states; it also strives to disrupt the existing world order and to spread fear. No country is immune from terror. The way to combat terrorism and defeat it is to be one step ahead [of the terrorists] and to combine forces. Israel, as a country on the front lines of the struggle against terror, feels an obligation to share its experience and expertise with other countries in the world. At the same time, Israel also learns from the knowledge and experience of others.

DFM Ayalon presented the technological and scientific cooperation between the US and Israel as a model that should be expanded to additional states, and called on the delegates of all the countries represented at the conference, including senior ministers, to establish bilateral trusts based on these principles." (source)