IDF hosts int’l conference on emergency planning
09/04/2012 00:57
Home Front Command hosts seminar to share working models on how to manage civilian populations during times of crisis
Home front troops missile defense drill. Photo: Courtesy
The IDF Home Front Command is hosting a five-day international seminar in Tel
Aviv this week, to share working models on how to manage civilian populations
during times of crisis.
Delegates from 19 countries and the United
Nations are attending the conference, the ninth of its kind, which is being held
at the Dan Panorama hotel in Tel Aviv.
“The aim is to share our
information and experience in Israel on how to handle crises, whether caused by
war or natural disaster,” said Col.
Itai Peleg, of the Home Front
Command. “We also want to hear from participants on how they tackle the
challenges.”
The seminar includes lectures from leading national security
professionals and allowing the delegates to observe drills, Peleg
said.
During the program, the Home Front Command will present its
preparations for emergencies, plans to cope with the crises as they occur and
ways of assisting civilians afterwards.
Then, delegates will be shown how
the Home Front Command works with individuals, families, communities, cities,
emergency services and the international arena.
“This way, we cover both
the timeline and the geographic levels of operations,” Peleg said.
Peleg,
who is in the reserves, said the past 20 years have seen significant
developments in the way the Home Front Command gathers information, prepares
theories and learns from experience.
“This isn’t an agency that is at
rest. It is a dynamic learning organization, and it is going forward all the
time,” he said. “We have to realize that our surroundings
change.
Technology changes, and the threats change. We can’t stay in
place.”
One of the uniquely Israeli programs on display at the conference
is the effort by the Home Front Command to urge the general public to prepare
ahead of time for crises, through pamphlets sent to homes and media
campaigns.
“In terms of public diplomacy, we have many interesting things
to share,” said Peleg.
“These are unique activities that can be learned
by others, though each country has its own needs.”