Guest post by RaP Rocket warfare is frightening and unique, especially when used against civilian populations. As all Israelis have come to know first-hand facing the rocket barrages from Hamas in the south (and from Hezbollah in the north). This type of warfare first came into its own during World War Two (1939-1945) when armies began to deploy the new technology of launching missiles and rockets hurling them with devastating effect at enemies.
Rocket warfare was used by the Russians against the Nazis, the most famous of which was the "katyusha" rockets (also known as "Stalin's organ"). TheUnited States launched mass rocket attacks from US Navy ships against theJapanese. The Nazis used the world's first most precise rockets, the V-1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-1_rocket and V-2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-2_rocket , mostly against the British. When their planes could no longer fly far out the Nazis invented the world's first true ballistic sub-sonic and supersonic missiles with sophisticated guidance systems to reach their intended targets with deadly effect. The Iraqis used it against the Iranians in the Iran-Iraq Wars.
Obviously with the Hand of Hashem helping all the way and had Israel not had its "iron dome" ("kipat habarzel') anti-missile systems, something that the British lacked to the misfortune of their own civilians, and had the Hamas people not been so technically incompetent unlike the Nazis who had mastered murder by missiles down to a sick "science", Israeli casualties could very easily have equaled in four weeks what the British suffered in a year, not even talking proportionately just missile for missile Hamas rockets=Nazis rockets!
If the "iron dome" system would not be in existence, and the obvious Hand of God protecting Israel from major harm, then those rockets fired by Hamas would have caused proportionately as much and even greater bomb damage than the Nazi rocket attacks against the British. Like the Nazis, Hamas fires directly on civilian centers in order to terrorize the people. As the Israelis say, while Hamas uses civilians as "shields" to protect their rockets, Israel uses its rockets to protect their own civilians.
If one compares what happened to the British under Nazi rocket attacks to what Israel has had to endure under Hamas rocket attacks the comparisons are frightening as to what could have been but was miraculously averted.
Consider the following, according to Wikipedia: "The first V-1 was launched at London on 13 June 1944...At its peak, more than one hundred V-1s a day were fired at south-east England, 9,521 in total" and casualties were "22,892"!
Then: "Beginning in September 1944, over 3,000 V-2s were launched by the German Wehrmacht against Allied targets during the war, mostly London...According to a BBC documentary in 2011, the attacks resulted in the deaths of an estimated 9,000 civilians and military personnel, while 12,000 forced laborers and concentration camp prisoners were killed producing the weapons."
Thus in total over about 13,000 missiles were fired by the Nazis at Britain from 1944 to 1945 and the number of victims was about 32,000, not to mention damage to property.
According to current news reports, prior to the current outbreak of war, Hamas was in possession of a stockpile of at least 10,000 or more sophisticated rockets and missiles of various types and sizes many stored in underground silos ("tunnels") just as the Nazis hid many of their deadly accurate V1s and V2s underground, or on highly mobile launchers, and Hamas
fired most of their stockpile within four weeks.
Had Israel not had its "iron dome" anti-missile systems (something that the British lacked to the misfortune of their own civilians!) and had the Hamas people not been so technically incompetent (unlike the Nazis who had mastered murder by missiles down to a sick "science"), Israeli casualties could very easily have equaled in four weeks what the allies suffered in a year, not even talking proportionately just rocket for rocket and missile for missile!
Israel has a lot to be thankful to Hashem for and many should rightfully be bentching gomel!
I think it is very interesting that you equate the Iron Dome with the Hand of God. However, as a British/rationalist/supporter of Israel i wish to try to clarify this terminology, since there are a number of issues at stake.
ReplyDeleteof course when miraculous and even non-miraculous things happen that are beneficial, we must see it B'H as the hand of G-d, so to speak. or to put it in its Biblical context, Etzbah Elokim hi.
But recently, the new head of Shas said that Israel does not need an army, as G-d is protecting us. This is , apart from being wrong, it is also an aveira of al t'nasu et Hashem, do not test Hashem.
This was also one of the sins of Satmar and other hareidi groups, who thought that they can be saved by emunah alone (whether in G-d or in their own understanding is not clear), without taking practical steps. Yaakov Avinu, lehavdil, did take practical political and military steps. why did Yaakov not say he does not need strategic moves, but can rely on Hashem instead?
Iron Dome, is on the one hand, everything that Dati Leumi world view stands for, and on the other is opposed to to everything that the Haredi world (ie rav Shach, R Dessler, satmar, S. Cohen) stand for.
It is about a pre-messianic national army; a University curriculum and science and technology excellence, to innovate a system that (part funded by USA) can protect the land of Israel from murderous missiles.
In fact there are 2 other layers of defence, called magic wand and Arrow, to protect from even more deadly missiles.
It is correct and necessary that Hashem has "organised" things for us, ie timely development of the system, and friendly strategic relations with USA.
It is also correct that we avoid the secular concept that out strength is in our own hands. However, we cannot simply say that education, universities, armies are all unnecessary and that Hashem will protect us. This is the qualitative difference between the Yeshiva outlook, which wants us to have the same situation as 200 years ago in Europe and the dati Leumi outlook which sees more than coincidence in our national revival as a scientific and intellectual powerhouse, that observes Torah and engages in mada.
If Israel did not have Iron Dome, they would have used the IDF ground forces properly and forced Hamas to surrender in 24 hours.
ReplyDelete