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City Officer Studies Security In Israel

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By VALERIE KALFRIN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 28, 2008

TAMPA - TAMPA - Seeing concrete barriers that protect motorists from flying bullets was a new experience for Tampa police Maj. John Bennett.

Bennett, who is helping to plan security for the Super Bowl in January, returned this week from a five-day tour in Israel to review security strategies. "It was very enlightening," he said Friday.

The Anti-Defamation League organizes the annual trip for law enforcement personnel from across the United States. About 18 visitors participated this year, Bennett said. The city's only cost was Bennett's airfare to and from New York, where the trip originated, he said.

Israel's geography, history, tensions, demographics and religious tourism make it a unique study for law enforcement officers, Bennett said.

"It's like a 1,300-year-old domestic argument," he said. "There's a lot of relationships that interact on a regular basis. ... It's just a very delicate balance."

Bennett said he visited Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, plus Hebron in the West Bank. He shuttled between police and military vehicles and heard briefings from the Israeli army, field lieutenants and a police chief in Hebron.

The coordination between federal, state and local officials is admirable and worth trying to mimic in the Bay area, he said, noting, "Of course, they're about the size of New Jersey."

Bennett said he also was intrigued by the mingling of Jews, Muslims and Christians. "You would feel tension, but ... it wasn't offensive; it was just recognized," he said. "They're very passionate about protecting their people, and they're also very sensitive to the diversity in their area."

There were many sites and procedures that are difficult to translate to life in the United States, however.

"The things that drive their security systems, we don't see in this country," Bennett said. "We don't have checkpoints and fences everywhere you go, and of course, we hope to never get to that point."

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800 or vkalfrin@tampatrib.com.

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