Recent attacks in Europe have fuelled a rise in measures to improve civilian safety. Scouting for models to implement, politicians, security experts and the media increasingly look to Israel as a well-organised security state. Within the country, the security industry prides itself on its experience navigating a ‘permanent conflict’ supported by the international arms trade. But what exactly is the structure and function of the Israeli security model? What lessons can Europe learn, and what would be the consequences of adopting it?
With Pini Schiff (former head of security at Ben Gurion airport, Tel Aviv), Meir Ben-Ishay (former head of Israeli Police and Border Control), Jan Jambon (Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Security and Home Affairs), Yael Berda (sociologist at The Hebrew University, Jerusalem), Mena Bacharach (former Sergeant General of the Israel Security Agency, now security consultant for EM Improvement Ltd).