Alabama-Israel Task Force (AITF) Helps Israel Leadership Institute (ILI) Launch New Emergency Preparedness Disaster Response (EPDR) Initiative in Kiryat Shmona, Israel

May 27, 2017 (Huntsville, AL) - Thanks to generous support from individuals and congregations from the Jewish and Christian communities across Alabama and special contributions from Calvary Assembly in Decatur and the Rock Family Worship Center in Huntsville, the Alabama-Israel Task Force (AITF) has met its initial goal to help the Israel Leadership Institute (ILI) launch a new Emergency Preparedness Disaster Response (EPDR) initiative.

The ILI Board of Directors announced the first Emergency Preparedness Disaster Response (EPDR) training in Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel near the Golan Heights and on the Israeli-Lebanon border. Last year the mayor had identified a need for EPDR training in the community. It is a location similar to Sderot in the south, being a border community and vulnerable to shelling by Hezbollah from Lebanon and Syria. In addition there have been local challenges containing wild fires. The training will have 20-30 participants and last for 18 months. The benefits to Israel and the local community are immeasurable, and represent a tangible investment in the Israeli leaders of tomorrow.

ILI Board Member, Retired Colonel Gideon Bar-On, will lead the EPDR training. He has previously served as the commander of the Home Front Command Search and Rescue Unit (SAR). The SAR provides efforts globally (Kenya Embassy Bombing, Sinai bombings, and other terrorist attacks abroad) as well as within Israel. He is well qualified to develop the curriculum and to teach the local leaders and community how best to respond to the events he has dedicated his life to.

The Israel Leadership Institute (ILI) is one of Israel’s most advanced and creative leadership schools. The ILI’s leadership and board of directors include some of Israel’s most distinguished leaders across a variety of disciplines. The ILI is based in Sderot, on the Israeli-Gaza border. Its choice of location, in one of the most dangerous places in Israel, has gained the ILI an outstanding reputation and has made Sderot an “epicenter” of leadership development in Israel.

The Alabama Israel Task Force (AITF) seeks to provide a bridge and catalyst for broader cooperative efforts and help cultivate an even stronger and expanding state-to-state relationship between Alabama and Israel for the mutual benefit of their people. For more on the Task Force visit www.AITF-Web.org, facebook.com/AlabamaIsraelTaskForce or @_AITF_ on Twitter.

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Press Release (PDF)