International Conference on Counter-terrorism held in Israel

The sixth international Conference on Counter-terrorism sponsored by the Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya, Israel was held September 11-14, 2006. The conference bridged the gap between academics who study global terrorism and its impact on society, and the security professionals who work in the field to minimize terrorism’s impact. 

Attended by two members of the Institute for Biosecurity, the conference’s theme of terrorism’s global impact was expressed in this statement:

terrorism is recognized as a threat not only to international security, but to Western values.  Democratic countries, in particular, are vulnerable to manipulation by terrorists, who take their battles straight into the homes of their enemies via the media.  By attacking the home front, terrorists attempt to undermine the confidence of the populace in their governments, and to force governments to overreact, curtailing the very freedoms that make democracies strong.

On September 11, the first day of the conference, a memorial ceremony commemorating victims of the 9/11 terror attacks and victims of terrorism in Israel and throughout the world brought together academics and professionals.  Professor Amnon Rubinstein, President of IDC, and Professor Uriel Reichman, Founding President of IDC greeted the conference participants.  Mr. Michael Masson, Assistant Executive Director for Criminal Investigations for the FBI was the keynote speaker for the ceremony.  Leading into the ceremony was a day-long pre-conference series on the recent Lebanon war. Speakers included security professionals, academics and legislators who participated in passionate discussion of the rationale for the war and lessons learned.

Maj. Gen. Amos Yardin, Director of Military Intelligence for the IDF discussed the role of intelligence, particularly human intelligence, in the fight against terrorism.  He noted that while intelligence is the primary tool against terrorism in Israel, the building of the protective fence has been crucial as terrorists become more effective at countering intelligence efforts.  Dr. Boaz Ganor, founder of ICT and Deputy Dean of the School of Government, Diplomacy, and Strategy at IDC spoke of challenges to the civilized world posed by terrorism and global Jihad.  He also discussed the changes of terrorist motivations over time. 

MK Benjamin Netanyahu, former prime minister, and chairman of the Likud Party in Israel spoke of the importance of taking a hard line against the growing problem of world terrorism. The Honorable Irwin Cotler, member of the Canadian House of Commons, focused on the increasing threats of terrorism from Islamic militant fundamentalists.  Mr. Steven Emerson, the Executive Director of the US Investigative project on Terrorism, discussed the role of the media in aiding militant Islam in deceiving the public.  Rounding out the second day of meetings, the documentary film “Suicide Killers” was screened. It examined the phenomenon of suicide bombers through a series of interviews with prisoners whose bombing attempts were thwarted, as well as interviews with family members of suicide bombers.

The final two days of the conference were devoted to workshops including:  The Balkans as a Breeding Ground for Terrorists, The Challenge of Suicide Terrorism, Threat Assessment as a Tool in Counter-Terrorism, Islamic Radicalism: Challenges to the Muslim World, Terrorism and Medicine, Anonymous and Accessible Communications: A Current Terror Area, The Financing of Terrorism, Non-Conventional Terrorism: Assessment of the Threat, Iran: International Terrorism and the Nuclear Threat, Terrorism Informatics and Data Mining, International Cooperation in Counter-Terrorism, and Iran: State-Sponsored Terrorism. It was only unfortunate that the schedule did not allow attendance at all the sessions.