If you search Israeli counter-terrorism expert Steve Gar’s name online, one of the first hits you’ll get is a headline calling him “the Jewish Jack Bauer,� referencing the special agent from the long-running FOX TV series “24,� but that’s not really what Gar does.
Gar, who will be speaking Oct. 28 at The Temple-Tifereth Israel in Beachwood, hosted by American Friends of Magen David Adom, said first, the fictional Jack Bauer is far more violent than he is, but also, Gar is not a spy.
“I’m not a spy, I don’t go in undercover into the Arab territories and hide myself like the undercover units do,� Gar said, adding that though spies are part of counter-terrorism, what he and his unit does is counter-terrorism, too.
“Counter-terrorism from my side is a military unit that’s the first response to a terrorist attack,� he said. “If there’s a terrorist attack in the area, we respond to that attack. It could be, god forbid, a shooting, a stabbing, anything that happens in the area just south of Jerusalem, that’s where my unit is situated.�
He said he doesn’t have too much stability on a day-to-day basis, but on many days he goes to work as the associate director of a special needs program, Yeshivat Darkaynu, in the morning and, on the perfect afternoon, he gets to work on his rabbinical studies, but he said there’s no such thing as a typical day, and he’s often ready to go at a moment’s notice. He also said he’s frustrated with the Israel Defense Forces’ portrayal in the media.
“The perception of the Israeli solider is someone who enjoys killing, bloodthirsty, animals, barbarians,� Gar said. “While their enemies, the terrorists, are targeting innocent civilians, talking about people we call ‘soft targets,’ unable to defend themselves. They in the media and social media are often portrayed as the victims and I really want the truth to be told, it’s exactly the opposite. An attack that focuses on a school, a park ... an attack that we caught on camera surveillance, caught (terrorists) driving around for an hour and a half, these terrorists were hunting and searching for young kids as their victims. Just understand we’re talking about a media that has completely manipulated that perception. ... the Israeli army ... the Jewish army, the IDF, is categorically one of the most moral militaries in the world.�
The event at begins at 6 p.m. and will raise money for the Marcus National Blood Services Center, which provides blood for Israel. AFMDA will also attempt to raise money for an ambulance in Israel at the event.
