The Charlotte Jewish News - February 2012 - Page 2
JEWISH FEDERATION NEWS
^Partnership Program Sends Firefighters to israel
^Delegation Meets with Safety Officials, Tours the Country
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By Marissa Brooks
It’s a “rare opportunity” to go
to Israel, said Fire Chief Jon
Hannan.
For nine days in early
November, Hannan, Deputy
Chief Rob Kinniburgh and Capt.
Jerry Rodgers represented the
Charlotte Fire Department on a
professional delegation to Israel.
Corey Riddley, direetor of
safety and seeurity for the
Foundation of Shalom Park,
aeeompanied the three firefight
ers. They were joined by six
firefighters from Florida and
three firefighters from
Tennessee.
“This professional delegation
oeeurred through a joint initia
tive between the Jewish
Federations of North Ameriea
and the Jewish Ageney for Israel
ealled Partnership 2Gether or
P2G,” said Raehael Levine,
Direetor of Community
Relations and Israel Affairs,
Jewish Federation of Greater
Charlotte.
“P2G pairs global Jewish
eommunities with Israeli eom-
munities building living bridges
through people-to-people eon-
neetions, sharing of ideas and
personal and professional eol-
laborations,” said Levine, 26.
This eross-eultural exehange
has happened with other disei-
plines, sueh as edueators and
poliee offieers.
This time, P2G sent a delega
tion from the Charlotte Fire
Department.
This was Hannan,
Kinniburgh, and Rodgers’ first
trip to Israel.
Hannan, 55, was looking for
ward to meeting the Israeli fire
fighters, espeeially the ones
from Hadera who had visited
Charlotte last Mareh for teehni-
eal reseue training. Hannan also
wanted to visit historie holy
sites like Jerusalem and Masada.
Rodgers, 46, said that his
wife was worried about him
going, but then she realized it
was no more dangerous than his
reseue work.
Going to Israel “was ineredi-
ble, one of the things on the
bueket list,” said Rodgers.
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The delegation spent the
first few days in Israel
bonding with the firefight
ers in Hadera, visiting their
station and seeing how they
operated.
“The (Israeli) fire serviee
is small with a huge volun
teer base,” said Kinniburgh,
50. “They have 1,700
employees and 12,000 vol
unteers.”
Hannan and Kinniburgh
explained that in Charlotte
the minimum staffing for
730,000 people is 255 fire
fighters on duty.
In Jerusalem, the mini
mum staffing for 780,000
people is 40.
“Those guys work hard.
You ean tell,” said
Kinniburgh.
Hannan explained that in
some rural areas, there were
fewer resourees to fight fire.
The Charlotteans notieed
signs on fire trueks that read
that they were sponsored by
Jewish Federations or indi
viduals from the United
States.
“They benefit from gen
erosity of the global Jewish
eommunity,” said Levine.
The delegation visited Mount
Carmel, the site of a huge fire in
2010 that had a large loss of life.
“I believe the Carmel Forest
fire woke Israel up to reeommit-
ting to firefighting,” said
Hannan.
Next, the men traveled on the
Sea of Galilee and to Jerusalem
where they met with the
Jerusalem fire department, the
poliee department, the bomb
squad and the video surveillanee
unit.
Hannan noted differenees
between building eonstruetion
in Israel and in the U.S. “It’s
stone or masonry...almost no
wood,” said Hannan. “Their
CONTENTS
From left, Deputy Chief Rob Kinniburgh,
Corey Riddley, Capt. Jerry Rodgers, and
Fire Chief Jon Hannan, of the Charlotte
Fire Department, visited the Western Wall in
Jerusalem. Photo courtesy Corey Riddley.
eonstruetion has to withstand
blasts.”
In the evening, eight of the 13
men went on a self-led tour
through Jerusalem. As firefight
ers, they are used to going into
all different kinds of neighbor
hoods.
“We are aware but not really
seared of anything,” said
Kinniburgh.
“(Israel is) a eomplieated
plaee,” said Hannan.
They were briefed to expeet
eultural differenees. Rodgers
said they were “reeeived and
weleomed so pleasantly” every
where they went, Jewish and
Arab areas alike.
“I felt safer there than in a lot
of Ameriean eities,” said
Hannan.
The delegation also went to
the Holoeaust museum, the
Dead Sea, Masada, and Tel Aviv
to visit the National Firefighting
and Reseuing Sehool.
Visiting Israel helps people
understand the dynamies.
“Everyone around you hates
you,” said Kinniburgh. “The Sea
of Galilee feeds four eountries.
You have to make agreements
with enemies to get fresh
water.”
Hannan would love to train
Israeli and Palestinian firefight
ers together. “They absolutely
should support eaeh other as
things get better,” he said.
Hannan hopes to eontinue
long-term relationships with
exehanges and teehnieal reseue
trainings.
“Southern hospitality is what
we do well,” said Kinniburgh.
From the P2G’s perspeetive,
the trip was a sueeess.
These exehanges “humanize
one’s relationship with Israel,”
said Sue Worrel, Exeeutive
Direetor of Jewish Federation of
Greater Charlotte. “They are
real people, and we have more
in eommon with them than dif
ferent.” ^
Marissa Brooks is a freelance
writer for South Charlotte News
who lives in the Arboretum area.
Have a story idea for Marissa?
Email her at mbrookspt@earth-
link.net.
Reprinted with the permis
sion of South Charlotte News, a
Charlotte Observer publication,
January 2012.
JEWISH^
FEDERATION
OF GREATER CHARLOTTE
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Federation News pp. 2-6
Levine-Sklut Judaic Library pp. 6-8
Jewish Family Services pp. 10,12
Women’s Page pp. 12,13
Schools pp. 13,15,16
Synagogues/Cong pp. 17, 20-23
Jewish Community Center pp. 18,19
Youth pp. 24, 26
Dining Out p. 25
Community News pp. 26, 27
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