Israel Police gets its first Muslim Lt.-Cmdr.

Meanwhile, Israel Fire and Rescue Service begins largest ever recruitment drive.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Israel’s first Muslim policeman to be promoted to the rank of lieutenant-commander, the equivalent of majorgeneral in the IDF, will take up his new position this week.
Jamal Hakrush, currently acting head of the Coast Police district that runs from Hadera to Rosh Hanikra, will be promoted to the post of deputy head of Traffic Police and will receive his new rank, after Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch approved the appointment of 11 new lieutenant- commanders.
Meanwhile, changes are under way within the long neglected Israel Fire and Rescue Service.
The Fire Service launched a recruitment drive at its academy in Rishon Lezion, aimed at filling 300 new firefighting jobs, and 3,381 people have applied, Fire Service spokesman Yoram Levi said on Wednesday. Of those, 1,100 passed through the first phase of tests, involving physical fitness exams and climbing a 15-meter fire ladder.
Levi said most of the recruits would be sent to fire stations in the periphery that have long suffered from understaffed crews. The recruitment drive follows a decision by the Public Security Ministry to expand the Fire Service’s staff, following years of neglect and a lack of resources. “this is the largest recruitment drive in the history of the Fire Service,” Levi said.