Israeli expert says heightened intelligence boosts security
Israel is known around the world for its fierce security and vigilant anti-terrorism measures. But could a Boston Marathon bombing happen at a marathon in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem?
There’s no foolproof method to stop someone from detonating a backpack bomb at a high-profile marathon, but there can be heightened intelligence to alert police and security that a terrorist plans to use a sports event to create mass chaos and maim innocent people, said Israeli security expert Ami Baran, joint chief partner and chief operating officer of Megiddo Shield Group in Israel.
Baran shared his thoughts on 2013’s Boston Marathon bombing with the Las Vegas Review-Journal after he talked for an hour on “Sporting Events Security — The View from Israel” at an International Tourism Safety Conference at the Sands Expo and Convention Center on Wednesday.
“We have to have our eyes and ears out there,” Baran said after his talk before about 150 international tourism officials.
The 53-year-old Chicago-born Baran moved to Israel at age 13, and later worked as a lawyer, prosecutor and a police major.
Baran’s talk is part of a three-day tourism safety conference being held in Las Vegas as part of the International Security Conference West event at the Sands Expo, said Ray Suppe, president of the International Tourism Safety Association. Suppe is also security director for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Israel knows all too well about sports security issues because the Jewish nation still remembers the 1972 Munich Olympics when Palestinian terrorists killed 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team.
During his talk, Baran outlined a somber history of terrorist acts at major sports events, ranging from those Munich Olympics killings on Sept. 5, 1972, to the July 27, 1996, Centennial Park bombing at the Atlanta Olympics to the April 15 Boston Marathon bombing.
Baran raised the issue of sacrificing personal freedoms in the United States to enact security measures at entrances of sports venues.
But he told the audience, “Where I come from, it’s the norm.”
Baran, himself a former javelin-throwing athlete and fast-pitch softball pitcher in Israel, didn’t offer advice or tips to crack down on potential terrorism at American sports events. Instead, he explained how it’s done in Israel.
In Israel, he said, the mindset is “anything can happen.”
A national Israeli police force led by a single chief with 26,979 officers is in charge of overseeing security at sports events, such as the Maccabiah Games, which are the Jewish Olympics attracting 6,000 Jewish athletes from around the world every four years, Baran said. Also, the number of spectators at the Maccabiah Games can range from 30,000 to 50,000, he said.
Police from districts around Israel oversee security at Maccabiah-connected sports venues that are scattered around the country, he said.
After his talk, Baran said Israel can help other countries with sports security issues in a spirit of cooperation.
But he added, “We don’t have answers for every country.”
Contact reporter Alan Snel at asnel@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5273. Follow @BicycleManSnel on twitter.
