IPA Lines

Lets get acquainted with the Israel section of IPA
Our dear friends from all the IPA sections in the world, we would like to introduce to you IPA-Israel, the presidency, the activities and the accomplishments.

The president of IPA-Israel
The president of the Israeli section, the fourth largest section in the world, including 24000 members, is Yaakov Turner, former Police Commissioner, that began its career as a combat pilot in the Israeli Air Force and gradually became a manager of the Human Resources of the Forces. He was considered as the most loved Police Commissioner, due to his concern for the image, the position and the salary of the policemen. Today he serves as the mayor of Beer Sheba, the capital of the Negev, and continues to command the Air Force Museum. Yaakov Turner brought to IPA his reputation, his abilities and the great respect bestowed on him by both serving and retired Israeli policemen. He brought IPA forward and reconnected the organization to the Israeli Police.

The presidency of IPA-Israel
IPA-Israel is the only IPA section that holds general elections with the participation of all the members of the organization.

The presidency members are elected by the 24000 IPA-Israel members, based on a candidates’ brochure and a personal form sent by mail. The elections are supervised by an external body and a computerized systems ensures the fairness of the procedure. Each elected presidency member coordinates a professional domain that has a budget and a staff whose role is to assist the presidency members and all of the IPA-Israel members. The IPA activities are financed through the member fees (Euro 8 a month). Each organization member is doubly rewarded through the annual gift – a smart chargeable card that may be used for purchasing goods up to an amount of Euro 100. This, in addition to many other services and activities.

Getting more efficient
The transition to the smart gift card enables each IPA member to enter a new virtual world, where services, goods, cultural events, travels and vacations may be purchased using a chargeable card. All the services are given by the IPA-Israel website that is gradualy becoming a huge virtual shopping center. It offers an infinite number of possibilities to the IPA members, from the purchase of flight tickets to the purchase of a new car, or obtaining a mortgage for the new house.

IPA is the only organ that assists the police in a number of important fields, such as fun-days for policemen, cultural events and large conventions. All of the sport activities for the serving and retired policemen in Israel are performed by IPA. All the travels, groups, tours in Israel and abroad, are performed through and with the help of IPA.

Some details on the activities in Israel
Close to 30000 serving and retired policemen are engaged every year in sport activities, at the unit or country level, including competitions, large events and competitions abroad. In other words, all of the sports activities of the Israeli serving and retired policemen are done through IPA. IPA is the professional body that finances and sometimes initiates the activities. Over 15000 serving and retired policemen participated this year in cultural activities, large conventions initiated by IPA-Israel to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the State and the 45th anniversary of the Israeli section. Those were the largest events of the Israeli Police during 2008.

Over 5000 serving and retired policemen traveled abroad this year, in groups organized, initiated, supported and subsidized by IPA-Israel. This was the year when the largest number of policemen traveled abroad (and the year is not yet over). All the above activities are performed with the aid of a small group of volunteers serving in the presidency of IPA. On 2008 IPA Israel hosted the International IPA House Managers Meeting.

Elections for the IPA world presidency 2009 in Turkey
The Israeli candidate is Gal Sharon. Gal Sharon was the candidate in the last elections in Slovenia, but her candidacy was withdrawn for reasons not related to her. The presidency of IPA-Israel decided that Gal Sharon should be the candidate of the section for the position of vice-president, .at the next elections in Turkey.

Gal Sharon was and still is one of the symbols of renewal and change in IPA-Israel. At the last elections for presidency in Israel she received the majority of the IPA members votes. She won the elections due to her personality, her professional ability and her contribution to IPA and to the Israeli Police. Today all of the Israeli Police sport activities are coordinated by Gal. She is highly appreciated by the serving and retired policemen, the commanders, and the sport associations active in Israel, that awarded her many certificates of appreciation for her contribution to the sport in Israel.

Gal Sharon is an officer at the Public Affairs Unit of the Israeli Police. She is the only police officer that worked in detection and investigations, volunteers and community managing, fitness training and general training, information and Community Oriented Policing Services, marketing and information related to Police recruitment, the Police Service Unit and Public Affairs.

Gal participated in a huge number of broadcasted programs, Police commercials, films and TV shows. Today she presents the only TV program of the Israeli Police : “The community guard”, a program that deals with support and service to the community and is regarded as the leading program of the community TV.

Gal seeks to contribute to IPA her professional background, managing and organizational abilities, gift in public relations, spokesmanship and publicity. Gal seeks to contribute to the IPA in the world through the World IPA Presidency. We have chosen Gal Sharon as our candidate because we think that she is able to bring the World Presidency the same turbo engine she brought to IPA Israel.