It was only about a year ago that Modi'in, a city of some 70,000 residents situated between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, landed on the terror map. The Shin Bet uncovered and averted a plot by a group of terrorists based in Hebron to blow up a Modi'in synagogue. They had planned to carry out other attacks, including kidnapping an American citizen. The terror cell was headed by a man who was familiar with the area because he had been employed at a

The terror cell was headed by a man who was familiar with the area because he had been employed at a building site across the road from the synagogue.

building site across the road from the synagogue.


Mayor Moshe Spector frequently touts Modi'in as the fastest growing city (in terms of housing units) in the world after Las Vegas, Nevada. Today Modi'in boasts two train stations, and a huge mall with 130 retail stores, eateries and a movie theater. Modi'in is the first and only completely planned city in Israel and is slated to become its fourth largest at some point, with a projected population of 250,000. To feed this insatiable need for growth there is a constant demand for unskilled labor.


Contractors claim they have to use Arab and foreign labor because Jews will not work for the pitiful salaries that they pay. Contractors fail to mention that paying higher salaries would cut into their already comfortable profit margins. They turn a blind eye to the use of illegal workers because of an acute shortage in legal workers. Arab workers from the territories who are permitted to work within the Green Line have permits that restrict their presence to daylight hours. However, due to the lengthy process of crossing checkpoints day in and day out, and the expense in commuting from places like Jenin and Hebron, they try to stay in the projects that they are building during the course of the work week.


The city of Modi'in also has an ancient history. It is the city where a band of brothers known as the Maccabees rose up and defeated the Syrian Greek army. And so, Modi'in played a prominent role in the miracle of the Hanukkah story. This past January, another miracle occurred in Modi'in when a local resident survived being stabbed in the neck while walking her four year old daughter to nursery school, only receiving superficial injuries. The attacker, an Arab laborer without a work permit, came within less than of an inch of ending this mother's life.


Terror groups affiliated with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah, Hamas and an alphabet soup of other organizations either recruit such Arab laborers to gather intelligence or to carry out attacks.


There is a common saying that all politics is local. The same can be said for the war on terror. While various leaders from Israel, the PA, the United States, Egypt, and a host of other countries pontificate on "shelf agreements" and so called truces with Hamas, it is the local security forces that are left to face the "facts on the ground."


The Israeli police force, in addition to its role in crime prevention, is also responsible for security within the Green Line. There is arguably no other police force in the world that is tasked with as much of a duty in preventing both terror attacks and crime. Israeli police are undermanned and have one of the lowest ratios of police-to-citizens in the Western world. The police force is supplemented by over 70,000 volunteers, many of whom have varying degrees of police powers while on duty.


Since moving to Israel almost four years ago from Baltimore, I have served as a volunteer police officer. When I applied, the police appreciated that I had "experience" because I had volunteered with the Northwest Citizens Patrol (NWCP) in Baltimore. However, as a member of the NWCP, I didn't drive a patrol car, carry handcuffs or carry a semi-automatic rifle.

There continue to be many warnings about possible terror attacks.



The city of Modi'in lacks a police station or at least a permanent building. Our police station consists of a series of trailers that have been converted into offices and storage space. Like many things in what is know as the City of the Future, we are told that a real station will eventually be built. It is here, on a comfortable summer's night, that I find myself and a couple of other paunchy, balding volunteers gathered with members of the SWAT team and a large number of undercover cops. From time to time, I have participated in what are termed "special operations," but tonight things are different. I have never been involved in an operation with the SWAT team and the atmosphere is far more serious and professional than usual. We drink some form of coffee out of plastic cups while waiting to be briefed on our mission.


Despite the various peace talks that are going on, there continue to be many warnings about possible terror attacks. The presence of the SWAT team indicates that someone has determined that there is a need for a little bit more firepower and experience than the usual group of police officers and volunteers that periodically raid sites where illegal workers tend to spend the night. We are told that our role will be strictly supportive.


After our briefing, the SWAT team suits up. They are an impressive and intimidating looking bunch. I certainly wouldn't want to get woken up by them in the middle of the night. The actual mission will not last long and we should be finished within an hour or so. We spend far more time waiting around than we do in the field carrying out our mission.


When the appointed time comes, close to midnight, we rush to our cars and depart for a rendezvous point from which we will then proceed to our target. I drive the patrol car and we're last in a line of vehicles. The adrenaline begins to pump as we set off. It is just a minute or so until we get to the building, jump out of our vehicles and throw magazines into our weapons. We take a perimeter position and shine our flashlights looking for illegal workers.


We watch and wait as the SWAT team methodically enters the building and does their work. There is a hush that settles over the area interrupted by the periodic cackle of our radios. One of the other volunteers becomes frustrated as he has stayed up late and so far it doesn't appear that we will accomplish anything. He curses the police for their faulty intelligence and wasting his time. The crackle of the radio summons us into the building. The SWAT team has found a large number of illegal workers. We assist in doing some additional searches and then it is time to bring everyone back to the station.

The SWAT team packs up and heads off for another mission. The volunteers head for bed.

The illegal laborers are locked up and wait to be questioned. The SWAT team packs up and heads off for another mission. The volunteers head for bed. Our bit part in the war on terror is over for now. The police officers are headed for another long night trying to catch some car thieves.


There is a baffling disconnect between those who tell the Israeli people that we have a "partner" in Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority. The PA has only managed to steal and siphon billions of dollars in aid which was intended to help its citizens and improve their quality of life. The PA could have invested in their own infrastructure, which would have provided much needed jobs in their own towns and villages. Finally, the PA could have abided by agreement after agreement in which they were to rid their education system of hate.


Until Israel has a true partner, our security forces will have to remain ever vigilant - because we can not rely only on miracles to protect us.