Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange

Robert Friedmann founded the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange in May 1992. The exchange led to the former head of Shin Bet Avi Dichter visiting Georgian police officers. Head of the Georgian Bureau of Investigation Vernon Keenan is also a regular participant of the exchange.

Georgia/Israel Delegations

GILEE has taken 15 delegations to Israel and 12 delegations from Israel to Georgia. 470 law enforcement leaders and other executives from 27 states and seven Traffic police officers are among the contacts local officers have made through the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange.

Countries other than the United States have participated in 97 GILEE programs, and that doesn't count 21 special briefings, such as Avi Dichter's 2005 appearance at Georgia Power. Hundreds of officers from Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and elsewhere have taken intensive trips to Israel under the nonstop schedule of Robert Friedmann, which some participants referred to as "Robbie time."

GILEE set the following goals set at its launch:

• To enhance cooperation between police in Israel and Georgia.
• To train senior Israeli law officials in Georgia, mostly about community policing.
• To train senior Georgia law officials in Israel, primarily about stopping terrorists and drugs.

Two events, the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, drove home the need for the cooperation and cross-training at the heart of GILEE and made its success predictable if not certain.

The same factors, along with Friedmann's connections and force of will, led to the likes of Avi Dichter and terrorism experts from the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya coming to Atlanta to speak. What may be more of a surprise is that along the way Jewish Atlanta has benefited from education Georgia police leaders have gained about Israel, Judaism and global anti-Semitism. "Until they went to Israel, they didn't realize how vulnerable Israel was and how vulnerable the Jewish community was," Friedmann said.

Affiliations

Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya