Four San Diego County Sheriff's Department deputies will travel to Israel on Sunday for a weeklong training seminar with that country's national police and will focus on suicide bombings, large-scale terrorist attacks and weapons of mass destruction.
This will be the first time a law enforcement agency in the county has sent officers to train with Israel Police, an agency with an international reputation of having a top-notch anti-terrorism program, sheriff's Lt. Dan Papp said Tuesday.
Papp and three other deputies -- Sgt. Gary Billick, Cpl. Al La Mons and Detective Robert Luke -- were selected to make the trip, which will be paid by private donations. All four deputies possess the expertise that are vital to the Sheriff's Department's emergency services division, a unit that oversees anti-terrorism training for some 2,500 deputies.
"We are excited and we are interested," said Papp, a veteran who oversees weapons of mass destruction training. "We probably got more questions than they (Israelis officials) can answer. I understand this is going to be an extremely busy trip."
Because budget constraints made it difficult for the department to finance the trip, private donations have funded the deputies' travel and lodging expenses, Papp said. Deputies will pay for their own meals and Israel Police officials will train them for free.
Rabbi Arthur Zuckerman, a Sheriff's Department chaplain, said members of his synagogue, Congregation Beth Am in Del Mar Heights, private Jewish citizens members of the Horizon Christian Fellowship in San Diego and the Rancho Bernardo Rotary Club donated $6,320 for the Israel trip. Zuckerman, who served two and a half years with the Israeli military, will accompany the four deputies.
Once there, the deputies will spend a majority of their time in Jerusalem, the ancient capital that has been the site of numerous suicide bombings. They will receive training on weapons used by suicide attackers, how to deal with bomb factories and how to handle a terrorist attack.
If an attack should occur during the deputies' visit, it is likely that Israeli police will allow them to go on scene to observe an actual response, Papp said.
"These are the guys that respond to suicide bombings," he said. "Next to the British, no one does it to the extent that they do. They need to do this and they need to be experts at it."
The deputies will also travel to the Lebanese border, where they will learn about border security. Israeli police will also train them on how to communicate terrorist warnings, identifying the latest devices used by terrorists and anti-terrorism planning.
Papp said the knowledge gained from Israel Police will help benefit the Sheriff's Department as well as the rest of the county. Upon their return, the deputies plan to conduct training classes for other deputies, as well as other law enforcement agencies throughout the county.
"It's a win, win situation," Zuckerman said.
Contact staff writer Ken Ma at (760) 761-4408 or kma@nctimes.com.
