April 10, 2005
NATO gathers 49 participants, including 37 physicians, in Haifa for a five-day conference on medical preparedness for mass casualty situations. NATO’s first-ever event in Israel is part of the organization’s Service of Defense program. The participants are from 11 countries: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Portugal, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded in April 1949 under a trans-Atlantic security agreement designed to prevent Soviet expansion and aggression. The original treaty included 12 nations. NATO created a unified military command after the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. The fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 led to many former Warsaw Pact countries joining the alliance in the 1990s and 2000s.
Israel is not a NATO member, but many observers view it as a de facto member because of its close ties to key NATO countries, especially the United States and Germany.
The workshop in Haifa is a response to such mass casualty events as the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the United States and the 2004 Madrid train bombings. The workshop focuses on preparedness, a chain of command, and protocols and guidelines. NATO emphasizes the importance of regular drills for hospitals and communities, especially in the integration and cooperation among emergency services. The recommendations of the workshop are published in a book, Guidelines for Preparedness for Mass Casualty Situations.
