Imported tactics? Minneapolis second shooting reignites ‘Israeli training’ claims

As the city of Minneapolis mourns Alex Jeffrey Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, the focus of public anger has shifted from the specific agents involved to the institutional training behind them. For many local activists and legal observers, the aggressive tactics seen on the streets of Minneapolis are not homegrown; they are being framed as a direct export of the US-'Israel' security relationship.

Within hours of Pretti's shooting, social media was flooded with documents and flight manifests claiming a direct link between the agents’ conduct and counter-insurgency programs in 'Israel'.

Read more: Second killing in Minneapolis by US federal agents sparks uproar

The Institutional Links: JINSA, GILEE, and the ADL

The claims resurfacing on Sunday are rooted in over two decades of formal exchange programs. Since 2002, thousands of high-ranking US law enforcement officials - including those from ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) - have participated in training junkets to 'Israel'.

• JINSA’s Law Enforcement Exchange Program (LEEP): This program has sent delegations of US officials to 'Israel' annually to share "tactical expertise" in counter-terrorism. Critics argue this treats civil immigration enforcement as a military operation.
• GILEE (Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange): While often focused on leadership, this program has historically facilitated peer-to-peer training between US police and 'Israeli' security forces on "suppression tactics" and "threat detection."
• The ADL’s Counterterrorism Seminars: Over 1,200 officials have participated in these programs, which focus on surveillance and intelligence-gathering, which are tools now being used by the federal "Metro Surge" task force in Minneapolis.

Tactics Under Scrutiny: From the West Bank to Whittier

The "Deadly Exchange" narrative, popularized by groups like Jewish Voice for Peace, argues that these programs encourage US officers to view civilians as "enemy combatants." In Minneapolis, observers point to three specific tactical overlaps:

• Zero-Distance Lethal Force: In the case of Alex Pretti, agents fired 10 shots within five seconds of a physical struggle. Activists compare this to "summary execution" patterns documented in occupied territories.
  
  
• Militarized Surveillance: ICE’s use of AI-based platforms - developed in coordination with 'Israeli' tech firms like Elbit and Paragon - allows for the granular tracking of "high-interest" individuals, a practice central to 'Israeli' border security.
  
  
• The Checkpoint Culture: The unannounced "Metro Surge" blocks on Nicollet Avenue mirror the "flying checkpoints" used for population control in the West Bank, creating a climate of fear for lawful residents.

A City in Crisis

As the National Guard takes up positions to prevent clashes between local police and federal task forces, the question of how these agents were trained has become as important as why they are there.

For the families of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, the technicality of the training is secondary to the result: a city that feels less like a community and more like a tactical theater.