Left to right: David Ellis, Long Beach Fire Chief, Nir Mariash, Commander Haifa Police, and Anthony Batts, Long Beach Police Chief meet at Maxim Restaurant in Haifa, the site of a suicide terrorist bombing.

A delegation of 17 high ranking law enforcement, fire and medical emergency personnel, primarily from Long Beach, California, visited Israel to exchange ideas, study safety and security techniques at airports and shipping ports and to benefit from the experiences of Israeli law enforcement.

The delegation included Long Beach Police Chief Anthony Batts, Deputy Police Chief Tim Jackson, Long Beach Fire Chief David Ellis and a contingent of other top law enforcement, fire and medical emergency personnel.

During one visit, the group met with the Israeli Navy and visited the port of Haifa, where they were briefed on security measures.  The Long Beach/Los Angeles port is the largest in the U.S.

After the visit to the Haifa port, the group had lunch at Haifa's Maxim restaurant, which was the target of a Palestinian suicide bomber in October 2003; 21 people were killed in the attack.  They also toured the Tel Aviv airport and locations in Jerusalem where terrorist attacks had occurred. 

Long Beach Police Chief Anthony Batts said his colleagues learned valuable techniques to prevent terrorism and that he plans to meet with top officials in Long Beach in the coming weeks to see if Israeli security measures can be adopted there.

"For approximately a year I have been having my staff work on the opportunity to come to Israel to find out how you do security; how you have dealt with terrorist threats in the past and the things that you have learned," Batts told The Jerusalem Post.