Israel Is the Star at a National Security Conference in Mississippi
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Jewish Federation of NEPA Non-profit Organization 601 Jefferson Ave. U.S. POSTAGE PAID The Scranton, PA 18510 Permit # 184 Watertown, NY Change Service Requested Published by the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania VOLUME XI, NUMBER 6 MARCH 22, 2018 Israel is the star at a national security conference in Mississippi BY BEN SALES BILOXI, MS (JTA) – A homeland se- curity conference took place in a southern Mississippi town with an Air Force base At right: Mississippi and a shipbuilding yard. Among those in Gov. Phil Bryant at attendance were the commandant of the a press conference U.S. Coast Guard; a general from India, with Israeli officials the world’s second-largest country; and at the Homeland representatives from Taiwan and South Defense and Security Korea, a U.S. ally in a key trouble spot. Summit in Biloxi,MS, But Israel was the star. on March 13. (Photo The International Homeland Defense by Ben Sales) and Security Summit, organized by the state government, was held March 13 in this Gulf Coast city far from any Jewish population center, in a state the local Is- the conference, whose organizers paid They were there to expand into the U.S. migrants and weapons across the water. raeli consul visits only twice a year. But for JTA’s flight to Biloxi along with hotel market and introduce themselves to local They discussed natural disasters like representatives of 16 Israeli companies costs. “They have a tough neighborhood officials and private companies. Hurricane Katrina – its effects are still attended, along with a delegation from they live in.” One tool, Smart Shooter, promises visible here – and how climate change its Defense Ministry and arms industry. The admiration went beyond the to make guns more accurate. Another, could exacerbate future storms. They And speakers, especially Mississippi Gov. governor. Paul Zukunft, the Coast Guard Magal Security Systems, is a border talked about the area’s military presence Phil Bryant, couldn’t stop talking about it. commandant, said of Israel that “[t]here’s security sensor system that’s used on and how manufacturing equipment like Bryant credited a national security no better example of a country that finds Israel’s northern and southern frontiers. drones can boost the state. conference he spoke at in Israel in 2016 itself in the bullseye.” A panelist said “Is- A third, Beeper, is a surveillance system But the governor said there’s still plenty as the inspiration for this one. One of the rael is literally our anchor in the Middle – already deployed by the Israeli military of opportunity for Israelis to do business first pictures he showed during his speech East.” Israelis spoke on two panels, and at and by police departments in Baltimore in the state. Bryant pointed to the border was of him grinning with Prime Minister a news conference the governor invited a and Houston – that can pinpoint where tech they have developed, from sensors Benjamin Netanyahu. few Israeli officials to stand alongside him a gun is fired and instantly take video of to surveillance, as a way to secure the “If there’s anyone that knows about and some U.S. military officers. who fired the weapon. coast without a physical barrier. He has homeland security, it’s the Israelis,” he The Israeli delegation featured compa- While there are no hostile borders in made supporting Israel a priority of his said at the start of his address opening nies specializing in security technology. Mississippi, Magal has already done work administration, visiting three times since there and elsewhere in the United States he took office in 2012. securing the perimeters of prisons, power “What we can learn from the real plants and Secret Service sites. It’s played world experience, unfortunately of having a role in securing 80 percent of Israel’s someone on your border in a threatening borders, as well as some borders in Europe, manner, can be very beneficial here in the the manufacturer claims. United States of America,” the governor “I don’t think they suffer from any said at a news conference. “Israel has illegal movement on the border, “said shown the world that you can secure a Saar Koursh, CEO of Magal. “But for border with the use of technology as well us, securing Mississippi’s critical sites as the new advanced structures that we is definitely an opportunity, and besides see being used here.” that, collaborating with the industries Israel and Mississippi also share cul- doing projects out of Mississippi as tural similarities, said Lior Haiat, Israel’s well.” Israel Aerospace Industries has consul general for the region, who is based two facilities in Mississippi. in Florida. Its population of fewer than The threats discussed in Mississippi three million makes it intimate like Israel. were a far cry from those in Israel, where And the high percentage of soldiers and militant groups aim missiles across a veterans makes military service a famil- border, terrorists try to infiltrate from the iar and appreciated part of life, as it is in barely self-governing territory next door Israel, where there’s a mandatory draft. and at least one regional rival threatens “It’s very similar because Mississippi annihilation. is a very small place where work is very Instead, discussion focused on the centralized,” Haiat said. “The governor Gulf Coast’s maritime economy. Panel- knows all of the key players personally, ists talked about boats ferrying drugs, and he personally opens the door for Israeli companies.” In his closing speech at the conference, Bryant said: “Should there come a day Federation when there will be a threat, and it will, we will have friends around the world. From our families to yours, We are preparing ourselves in the event on Facebook that that terror attack does occur.” The Jewish Federation of Northeast- have a happy and healthy ern Pennsylvania now has a page on Passover! Facebook to let community members Candle lighting know about upcoming events and keep March 23 ........................................... 7 pm connected. March 30 ..................................... 7:08 pm March 31 ............................after 8:10 pm INSIDE THIS ISSUE April 5 ...........................................7:14 pm April 6 ...........................................7:15 pm New cancer study Passover On the silver screen April 13 ......................................... 7:23 pm A new four-city study for cancer A look at Moroccan Passover Two documentaries look at the PLUS risk in Ashkenazi Jews is intended traditions; nine little-known lives of playwright Arthur Miller Opinion .......................................................2 to be a model for genetic testing. holiday facts; recipes; and more. and violinist Itzhak Perlman. Passover Greetings .................................6 Story on page 5 Stories on page 6-7, 9-11 Stories on pages 12-13 D’var Torah ...............................................8 2 THE REPORTER ■ MARCH 22, 2018 A MATTER OF OPINION Make the Iraqi Jewish Archive a gateway between Arabs and Jews BY DAVID A. DANGOOR That they were confiscated by Iraqi Iraq is still in our blood and in our bones. people and government of Iraq viewed (JNS) – I launched what is now an dictator Saddam Hussein’s Intelligence It’s like a distant bell ringing in the back people of different faiths. There would internationally acclaimed documentary Agency and left in a basement until of our heads, always reminding us where need to be a genuine desire to welcome last year, titled “Remember Baghdad,” discovery by the U.S. Army during the we came from. them, treat them with care and con- which chronicles the history of the Jews Iraq war should not nullify the nature of For those, like for me, Baghdad is the sideration, and respect their national of Iraq until the community’s destruction this stolen property. formation of our identity. aspirations – something now common in recent decades. It’s already been seen Secondly, while we are indeed To be a Jew is sometimes to be a in many parts of the world. by many thousands of people, from Jews indebted to the United States for res- bridge to the past, but I believe that we If this were to be achieved, it would and non-Jews around the world to senior cuing and restoring the archive, which can also serve as bridges to the future. matter less where the archive resided Iraqi diplomats. would undoubtedly because we would So it is with great interest that I read have been left to rot have access to it. otherwise, it’s not In the Iraq where I was raised, Jew, Christian, Muslim, Sunni Perhaps an agree- the article “Iraqi-Jewish archive triggers or Shia worked, learned, sang and danced together. We lived ‘traumatic memories,’” published on Al American property. ment could be for- However, the an- side by side in peace and harmony. mulated whereby Jazeera a few weeks ago. While in part, I believe that while the Jewish community there is no more, it nicely encapsulates issues like the swer to what hap- the archive would pens next should perhaps the Iraqi Jewish Archive can serve as a new conduit also be on display history and sensitivity surrounding the between peoples, nations and religions. Iraqi Jewish Archive and Iraqi Jewry’s lie in not whose at various locations, feelings toward our former homeland, property it is, but With ISIS finally expelled from Iraq, this could be an auspicious allowing this col- it missed some vital elements. where would it be time for Jews of Iraqi origins to rebuild ties with our former lection of artifacts First, and perhaps importantly, it best preserved and country, and for the leaders of the Republic of Iraq to provide to educate and in- should be recognized that the archive provide access for gestures of reconciliation to its Diaspora Jewish community.