Cornell Police Chief Kathy Zoner attended the Experience Israel Training Tour in Tel Aviv, Israel, in October, becoming the first police chief of a university to do so. During her stay, Zoner and 10 other conference attendees were given an inside look at the security operations of Israel’s counterterrorism initiatives. 

Cornell Police Chief Kathy Zoner attended the Experience Israel Training Tour in Tel Aviv, Israel, in October, becoming the first police chief of a university to do so. During her stay, Zoner and 10 other conference attendees were given an inside look at the security operations of Israel’s counterterrorism initiatives. 

“It was a very neat tour with a lot of hands-on experience,” Zoner said. “I met lots of incredible people who have been through quite a bit in their years in Israel, and they did their best to give a very objective perspective of their experience for us.”

Zoner said she applied for the opportunity in Israel after hearing about the tour from a colleague. The University covered her travel expenses, she said.

According to Zoner, the training conference helped her learn how to think about security threats to communities.

“The conference’s focus on security of communities tied in nicely with our jobs here of keeping the campus safe from external threats,” Zoner said. 

Zoner said she learned a lot during her six-day trip about safety and security systems to bring back to the U.S.

After returning, Zoner held a presentation on what she learned in Israel for the Department of Homeland Security in Binghamton. Zoner will soon visit Albany, where she will meet with the Executive Committee of the National Sheriffs’ Association to present information about high quality security.

“I learned that you get out of security what you invest in it,” Zoner said. “You need to find a balance between academic freedom as well as keeping people safe. No one can thrive in a completely locked down environment but neither can people do so in a completely open environment.” 

Also on the trip were a member of a non-profit organization that supports training for first responders in recognizing terrorist threats, a commander from the Federal Protection Service, a former State Trooper who is now a criminal justice professor and a patrol officer, according to Zoner. 

Since it began in 2006, the EITT has attracted officials ranging from sheriffs to military commanders to senators, Zoner said.

After the tour, Zoner stayed in Israel for more than three weeks. During this time Zoner revisited many of the sites she had seen during the conference, she said.

“This time it was all from the perspective of a tourist rather than from behind the scenes,” Zoner said.