Israel advises France on riot control
Original article: www.ejpress.org/article/4811
Updated: 22/Dec/2005 16:57
Israel’s Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra and Police Inspector General Moshe Karadi met with their French counterparts last week to discuss methods of preventing riots and law enforcement. France experienced lengthy and violent rioting in the Paris suburbs in November and the Israeli officers shared their experiences of dealing with riots during the disengagement from Gaza with the Frenchmen. The two sets of officials also discussed a money-laundering investigation against Russian-Israeli billionaire Arkady Gaidamak, the Jersualem Post reported. Asstistant Commander Ya’acov Nehemia, head of the Israeli police’s Special Forces, was specifically requested to be part of the meetings because of his knowledge of crowd and riot control techniques. Speaking of the experience in Gaza, one senior officer told the Jerusalem Post, "We have experience in controlling riots and maintaining public order from the Palestinian intifada and the disengagement from the Gaza Strip.” "Karadi and Nehemia are also there to advise the French on how to effectively quell massive riots like there were in France in November," he said. Arrest warrant for Gaidamak In addition to riot control, the talks focused on enhancing the level of cooperation between Israel and France with regard to international crime fighting, including the investigation into Russian billionaire Arkady Gaidamak. The Arkady Gaidamak investigation is an important talking point between the two nations. The Israeli authorities recently brought Gaidamak in for questioning over a banking money-laundering scheme. France, on the other hand, has issued an arrest warrant for Gaidamak for his involvement in an international arms scandal involving ex-French President Francois Mitterand’s son. Israeli police suspect the money under investigation in the Hapoelim Bank in Israel could be connected to the French investigations and will share information pertinent to each case. Gaidamak, who lives in Israel and recently bought the Betar Jerusalem football team, has long claimed his innocence on the investigations. "Show me somebody who will tell you that the origins of the money are not clean," he said. "Show me what I did wrong." Gaidamak has recently shown his interest in entering the Israeli political scene and there are those who believe that the investigations and high profile interest in his bank accounts may be related to his political aspirations.