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The Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office is sending 63 protective vests to Israel following a call for support from Attorney General Jason Miyares.
The bulletproof vests are expired, meaning the manufacturer no longer recommends using them, but can still protect users from ammunition and hold small equipment.
“We are more than willing and able to donate this equipment,” said Virginia Beach Sheriff Rocky Holcomb.
“We will do whatever we can to help our friends in the Middle East combat and crush terrorism wherever it arises.”
Israel declared war on Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, earlier this month following an attack that killed hundreds of Israeli soldiers and civilians. Since then, the back-and-forth fighting has resulted in approximately 1,400 Israeli deaths, close to 6,000 Israelis injured and more than 6,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the Al Jazeera news network.
Virginia Beach is the only Hampton Roads locality that has pledged or made a donation to Israel following Miyares’ call last week.
Other sheriff’s offices around the state that have donated include Louisa, Powhatan, Goochland, New Kent, Fauquier, Warren, King George, Rappahannock and Haymarket, said Victoria LaCivita, spokesperson for Miyares’ office.
The office is also in the process of receiving donations from sheriff’s departments in Appamottax, Rockingham, Bedford, Agusta, Prince George, Lancaster, Brunswick, Northumberland, Loudoun, Madison, Bland, Wise, Bristol, Montgomery, Henry County and Buchanan.
Miyares’ office has received the following equipment:
- 275 individual vests / body armor
- 60 individual bulletproof plates
- 40 tactical helmets
- 25 backpack water holders
- 20 gas masks
- 75 individual elbow and knee guards
- 5 K9 protective vests
- 15 law enforcement Flashlights
- 2 under-car bomb search mirrors
“During my trip to Israel earlier this year, I met women and men who serve in the Israel Defense Forces who are willing to give their lives to maintain peace in this region of the world,” Miyares wrote to sheriffs around the state.
“They are committed to democracy and the public safety of their land, and I am proud to stand with them during this difficult time.”
Miyares’ letter did not reference coordinating aid to Palestinians.
Virginia has a longstanding economic relationship with Israel through the state’s Israel Advisory Board.
The board formed in the mid-1990s to help Israeli businesses open operations in the state or help Virginia businesses expand into Israel. In the state code establishing the board, it’s also allowed to “advise the General Assembly on ways to improve economic and cultural links between the Commonwealth and the State of Israel.”
The board’s been successful in bringing a number of businesses to the state, including ZIM Integrated Shipping, based in Norfolk, and Oran Safety Glass in Emporia.
