By Steve Kramer in Kfar Saba, Israel
Israel has made operational its latest defensive weapon, the Iron Beam. (Some critics say this gives Israel a disproportionate advantage. I hope so.) “Iron Beam” is a take-off on Iron Dome, the kinetic defensive shield that has protected Israel from the worst consequences of attacks against it.
The Iron Beam offers low-cost laser interception of drones, rockets, and missiles, while reducing reliance on costly interceptors. Whereas the Iron Dome defense cost is about $50,000 per successful interception, the Iron Beam cost per interception is negligible. (Nevertheless, the Iron Dome will remain an important weapon in Israel’s arsenal.)
Israel concentrates much of its research and development on defensive weapons due to its many enemies. Iran is its primary antagonist while supporting other hostile countries such as Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen. Then there is Islamist/nationalist Turkey, at odds with Israel and supported by Russia (and surprisingly, the US). While Jordan and Egypt have peace treaties with Israel, both countries are decidedly unfriendly and Israel’s borders with them require constant, militarized diligence. To survive in this unfriendly environment, Israel must remain a few steps ahead of its adversaries.
Israel has proven that it is a regional superpower. No country can plan to attack it without considering the devastating reprisal Israel will undertake against it. However, this doesn’t deter the Palestinian Arabs. Their leadership’s goal is to destroy Israel, and by extension, the Jews throughout the West. There is no goal to create a peaceful and prosperous country for the Palestinian Arabs; overriding hatred against Jews motivates the Palestinians. Obviously, they are willing to devastate their own communities to forward their goal. Their credo: We will win because unlike the Israelis, we do not fear death.
Israelis have fought many wars against the Palestinian Arabs and their Arab cohorts. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, Israel became a Western powerhouse. When war comes, Israeli reservists drop everything to support our country. The IDF forces range from 18-year-old recruits to the reserve forces, which range from 22 year olds just released from service to veterans in their 40s.
Israel will not win any popularity contests among the nations of the world. In fact, if Israel were a “brand,” it would be rated the least popular, as was proven in a recent survey. Yet, despite being surrounded by enemies, Israel ranks as the 8th-happiest nation in global surveys, even during a war (down from 5th happiest last year). For comparison, the US is 24th-happiest.
Israel can’t depend on other countries to like it. But many nations covet (and purchase) our innovations, which run the gamut from medical to technical to industrial.
While Israel is forced to deal with neighboring enemies, it provides a reasonably happy environment for its citizens, who show their optimism and appreciation by bringing babies into the world to increase our population, unlike all the other Western countries, who fail each year to have enough children to increase their populations. Israel is the only Western country which has a positive birth rate well over the necessary 2.1 births per mother, the result of the high fertility of all Israeli women. This fact proves the point: Israelis have a society worth fighting for. Its annual population increase proves that point.
*
Steve Kramer is an American-Israeli freelance writer based in Kfar Saba, Israel.