Inter-Organizational Training for the Emergency Management System

The development and deployment of the Iron Dome system during Operation Pillar of Defense in November 2012 and Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014, demonstrated impressive technological capabilities. In addition, it indicated the need for an increased professionalization among the personnel engaged in emergency management, and the creation of a structured professional identity transcending organizational affiliation. Government Decision 1661 transferred the powers previously held by Israel’s Ministry of Home Front Defense to the Defense Ministry. In so doing, it charged the Defense Ministry with responsibility for leading a process of strategic change in the area of inter-organizational training in an attempt to facilitate a more effective and integrative approach to addressing the major challenges currently facing Israel’s emergency management system.