From Death To Rebirth In 48 Hours: Israel Honors Fallen Soldiers & Celebrates Independence Day: Charles Bybelezer, The Media Line, Apr. 16, 2018— The fine line between tragedy and triumph is perhaps nowhere as clear as in Israel…
Walking in the Footsteps of Those Who Fought in 1948: Yaakov Lappin, JNS, Apr. 17, 2018 — Members of the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli civilians are jointly commemorating the decisive battles of the 1948 War of Independence ahead of national celebrations of Israel’s 70th anniversary.
Imagine That You are That Israeli Soldier: Giulio Meotti, Arutz Sheva, Apr. 13, 2018 — Imagine you are an Israeli soldier in Kissufim.
Enhancing the IAF’s Qualitative Edge: The Air-Launched Cruise Missile Option: Guy Plopsky, BESA, Apr. 16, 2018— The proliferation of advanced weapons systems across the Middle East has increased significantly over the past decade.
On Topic Links
Israel Prepares to Remember 23,646 Fallen Soldiers and 3,134 Terror Victims: Michael Bachner, Times of Israel, Apr. 18, 2018
What is Yom HaZikaron and How Does Israel Observe It?: IDF Blog, Apr. 17, 2018
70 Years of the IDF (Photos): IDF Blog, Apr. 16, 2018
Improving Israeli Military Strategy Through Avant Garde Analysis: Prof. Louis René Beres, BESA, Mar. 25, 2018
FROM DEATH TO REBIRTH IN 48 HOURS:
ISRAEL HONORS FALLEN SOLDIERS & CELEBRATES INDEPENDENCE DAY
Charles Bybelezer
The Media Line, Apr. 16, 2018
The fine line between tragedy and triumph is perhaps nowhere as clear as in Israel, and perhaps no more evident than this week as the Jewish state commemorates its fallen soldiers beginning Tuesday evening and its 70th anniversary twenty-four hours later. The transition from somberness to elation in many ways is a microcosm of the Jewish people’s tumultuous history, having suffered 2,000 years of persecution in exile only to return to its homeland to create one of the most dynamic, if not complex, societies in the world.
Even so, the trials, tribulations and hardships that have defined Israel since its rebirth have been felt across the board, with no individual escaping the ramifications of four major conventional wars launched by the Jewish state’s Arab neighbors—after its declaration of independence in 1948; in 1956; in 1967; and, again, in 1973—aimed, each time, at annihilating the fledgling nation. Having failed to achieve this goal, Israel’s enemies shifted their strategy towards asymmetric warfare, initially through the establishment of the Palestine Liberation Organization which perpetrated three decades of terrorism against the Jewish state; and, today, primarily through Iran’s Lebanon-based Hizbullah proxy and Gaza Strip-based Hamas and Islamic Jihad underlings.
Overall, 23,645 IDF soldiers and other security and intelligence personnel—including 71 over the past year—have since 1860 been killed while defending the pre-state Jewish population and then Israel proper. An additional 3,134 Israeli civilians were murdered in attacks since the nation’s establishment, with countless others injured during wartime or simply while riding a bus or walking the streets. Accordingly, in a country of only eight million people, few, if any, Israelis have not been, directly or indirectly, effected by violence, especially given that every youth is conscripted into the military at the age of eighteen. As such, the nation will come to a complete standstill on Yom Hazikaron, as it is called locally, not unlike last week when Israel marked Holocaust Remembrance Day.
But come nightfall Wednesday, the mood will swing like a pendulum, from sorrow to jubilation, as Independence Day is ushered in. Events will be held throughout the country, highlighted by the official torch-lighting ceremony in Jerusalem, followed by what has become tradition in Israel on its birthday; namely, treks, barbecues and, of course, parties. With every anniversary comes an opportunity to take stock—to recall the past, analyze the present and plan for the future. And while Israel is a relative oasis in an otherwise troubled region, it remains a nation plagued by instability.
Internally, political dysfunction and paralysis (not to mention the prime minister’s legal troubles) have prevented the formulation of coherent strategies to address many problems, ranging from societal divisions—between Left and Right, secular and religious, Jewish and Arab—to the sky-rocketing cost of living and deplorable levels of poverty. Equally important is Jerusalem’s failure to devise a comprehensive approach for dealing with the Palestinians, granted this is a tall order given Ramallah’s previous dismissal of numerous peace plans and ongoing anti-Israel incitement—manifest in its “pay-for-slay” policy of transferring hundreds of millions of dollars annually to Palestinian prisoners and to the families of those killed in confrontations with Israeli forces.
On the flip side, Israel’s tremendous technological and military prowess has, progressively, transformed Jerusalem into a significant player in the international arena, with ties to the United States (the Jewish state’s “anchor”) complemented by burgeoning relations with China, India and a multitude of African and Latin American states, among others.
Nevertheless, as always, Israel must be vigilant in the face of external threats, foremost Tehran’s regional expansionism and potential nuclearization. Most acute is the Islamic Republic’s ongoing effort to entrench itself militarily in Syria, where the Israeli army has over the past two years conducted well over 100 strikes targeting Iranian assets and convoys of advanced weaponry destined for Hizbullah. That each mission has the potential to spark a larger conflict was made stark in February, when Israel responded to the penetration of its air space by an Iranian drone by hitting a dozen targets in Syria, before an Israeli jet was downed by a barrage of surface-to-air missiles for the first time in three decades.
Meanwhile, to the south, the Islamic State is attempting to regroup in the Sinai Peninsula and Hamas continues its provocations, the latest example being the so-called “March of Return,” which for the past three Fridays has drawn tens of thousands of Palestinians to the Israel-Gaza border, leading to deadly conflagrations with the IDF.
However, there are signs that Israel is, to a degree, slowly becoming integrated into the broader Middle East, a positive development given the Arab world’s historical rejectionism. A growing alignment of interests—primarily the shared desire to curb Shiite Tehran’s hegemonic ambitions—has led to a rapprochement between the Jewish state and Sunni Muslim countries, creating cooperative possibilities that Israel’s founders could never in a million years have envisioned, let alone seven short decades. Indeed, this may be the greatest lesson to internalize as the country marks its most melancholy and joyous days; that is, despite some dark periods, the course of Israel’s development demonstrates that beyond every horizon there is light.
WALKING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THOSE WHO FOUGHT IN 1948
Yaakov Lappin
JNS, Apr. 17, 2018
Members of the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli civilians are jointly commemorating the decisive battles of the 1948 War of Independence ahead of national celebrations of Israel’s 70th anniversary. “When you study the War of Independence, which is fascinating, in an in-depth manner, you see that the IDF was born in this war,” Education Officer Lt.-Col. Shuli Ben Moha, who is running the commemoration tours, told JNS.
“In this war, the IDF built itself up. Its values were born in it. Its DNA was formed. This is the incredible aspect of the War of Independence. The things that were born in it can be seen to this day. It is moving to learn and read about this,” she added. Ben Moha said that the walking tours took place in Israel’s north, central, and southern regions on consecutive days in early April, with each day containing four routes for civilians to choose from.
Those who walked down the routes heard about the battles that raged there seven decades ago, as the newly born Israel fended off an attack by the states of the Arab League and local militias. Participants of the tour learned about acts of bravery that turned the tide and left a major mark on Israeli history, added Ben Moha. “We are using this wonderful opportunity of marking 70 years since the War of Independence, which was a seminal event of great significance, to bring people closer to the war’s legacy. We have a real opportunity to do that,” she said.
The war’s most significant and unique battles were chosen for the tours, Ben Moha said, describing them as having the most influence on the outcome of the conflict. These include the site of Ramat Yochanan, east of Haifa, “where the Druze sect sealed its blood pact [with the Jews of Israel] that exists to this day. We remember a significant battle there.”
In central Israel, the IDF and civilians walked along the Convoys Ridge, which is located on the approach to Jerusalem from the coastal plain. This is the site where convoys of armored supply vehicles broke through the Arab siege on Jerusalem and entered the city, rescuing its Jewish inhabitants. In the south, tourists heard “the incredible story of how southern communities stood firm [in the face of assaults by Arab League forces],” said Ben Moha.
Members of IDF brigades will, on some of the routes, walk along the sites where soldiers from the same brigades fought 70 years ago for independence. Lt. Guy Shtuser, Squad commander in the 401st Armored Corps Reconnaissance Company, spoke to JNS from Metzudat Koach, near Kiryat Shmona. This was the site of significant War of Independence clashes, which resulted in Israeli control of this strategically important area. Some 150 civilians joined 30 military personnel from the Armored Corps, the Paratroopers, and the Engineering Corps on the tour.
“We see this, first of all, as something that the military is doing for civilians. It is creating a bond that is a little different from the daily routine,” said Shtuser. During the walking tours, civilians also asked the military personnel about their current activities and heard about the fateful events of 1948. Shtuser’s squad is a part of the reconnaissance unit of the 401st Brigade — a unit whose members travel on foot in front of tanks, setting up lookouts and securing the territory. Shtuser, who has been a squad commander for almost a year and a half, noted that the message of the 1948 war resonates with him to this day. “We know we have to safeguard the borders because if we will not be there, if we will not be ready, what we are defending won’t be there for us.”
IMAGINE THAT YOU ARE THAT ISRAELI SOLDIER
Giulio Meotti
Arutz Sheva, Apr. 13, 2018
Imagine you are an Israeli soldier in Kissufim. It is a kibbutz on the border near the Gaza Strip. It is there since the Fifties, built by pioneers from Latin America within the “recognized borders” of Israel, those of 1948. After the tragic evacuation of the Jews in 2005, Kissufim is the front line for Israel. Beyond it, there is nothing else. The kibbutz over the years has suffered infiltrations of Palestinian fedayeen, Hamas missile launches, attempts to build tunnels that emerge between its houses and, in October 2017, even an Israeli strike that killed 7 Palestinian terrorists under the kibbutz in one of those deadly tunnels.
Imagine being that Israeli soldier two months after the strike. You are facing a Palestinian uprising beyond the fence that separates Israel from that enclave ruled by Hamas, an organization dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish state, a sort of Afghanistan of Islamism, terrorism, submission and torture facing the Mediterranean Sea.
The riot has been going on for two hours, with stone throwing and attempts to break the fence. The military order for all is not to approach less than a hundred meters from that fence. Soldiers attempt to disperse the riot with tear gas, megaphones and other instruments. One of the Palestinian leaders of this riot approaches the border. The soldier has the order to hit him non-lethally. There is no other way to stop an invasion if the assailant is determination to pass through the fence. The soldier interrupts the order because a child appears near the target. Then, the soldier fires and wounds the Palestinian. An illegal video is filmed by soldiers who have nothing to do with the action and in the background we hear fellow soldiers cheering for the success of the operation. “Woh, what a video!”
An Israeli non-governmental organization funded by many European countries in order to de-legitimize Israel, Breaking the Silence, spreads the video. We are in the days after the lethal confrontations in Gaza after the “March of the Return”. The propaganda needs important material and that video of four months earlier offers the opportunity. And immediately goes around the world.
The media launched it with sensationalist headlines, transforming the legitimate Israeli attempt to stop the invasion of a border and ended with the wounding of a Palestinian – invasion that would later witness the participation of 50,000 Palestinians under the leadership of Hamas – in a sadistic and free videogame of the “Zionist occupiers” who shoot the Arab.
It is a classic case of the anti-Israeli delegitimization: the context, the consequences and the causes are eliminated, only the performance remains, chiseled to transform the defenders into aggressors, the besieged as executioners. They speak Hebrew, that’s enough. Nobody wants them to see Palestinians partying after the attacks on Israeli civilians or Arabic sermons in the al-Aqsa mosque against the “sons of pigs and monkeys”.
This is the story of the recent Hamas’ attempts to demolish the border line between Israel and Gaza. Everything disappears: guns, grenades, human shields, children and indoctrinated families, the money that Hamas gave to the injured and the families of the victims (3,000 dollars to the dead, 500 to the wounded), the cannibalistic proclamations of the leaders of the terror (“we will eat the livers of the Israelis”, “we will pull the hearts out of their bodies”), the double identity of the photographer killed (he was a member of the security forces of Hamas), the true nature of the victims (at least 15 of the 19 victims of the first weekend of riots were members of the Palestinian jihadist organizations) and the reason for Israel, which thus prevented the outbreak of war (the one in 2014 took off after the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli boys).
Everything must evaporate, step aside, get out of the screen and newspaper articles, to leave room only for the unequal and iniquitously described confrontation between a great military force and a people armed with stones and joy.
In these thirty years of wars and frictions between Israelis and Palestinians, nobody remembers the Israeli military missions aborted due to the presence of Palestinian civilians, the checkpoints removed and exploited to carry out attacks, the Israeli humanitarian aid trucks entered in Gaza, the Israeli hospitals always full of injured and sick Palestinians, Palestinian ambulances used to transport weapons and murderers, UN schools from which missiles are launched, tunnels dug under mosques, trials and convictions given to Israeli soldiers who have broken rules of engagement.
The Great Lie has eaten the truth of the conflict, namely that Israel, the besieged at every border, it is the true weak part of the conflict. The conquest of the hearts and minds of the West is the biggest Palestinian booty. This is how the “Palestinian question” has become strategic over the last fifty years and has dominated the UN stage. Without the newspapers, the NGOs, the chanceries, the news of the evening, the social media and the squares, the Palestinians today would be more irrelevant than the Tibetans or the Papuans, their victims yes of an authentic “occupation”, but last in the hierarchy of international compassion. Terror works. Anti-Israel terror also goes viral.
ENHANCING THE IAF’S QUALITATIVE EDGE:
THE AIR-LAUNCHED CRUISE MISSILE OPTION
Guy Plopsky
BESA, Apr. 16, 2018
The proliferation of advanced weapons systems across the Middle East has increased significantly over the past decade. Many states in the region are acquiring modern air and air defense systems. These systems, as some experts have correctly observed, present the Israeli Air Force (IAF) with a new qualitative challenge.
To maintain its technological edge, the IAF is investing considerable resources into upgrading its fourth-generation platforms and acquiring new fifth-generation F-35I “Adir” multi-role fighters, which, in addition to stealth, also feature advanced network-centric and electronic warfare (EW) capabilities. The next logical step for the IAF is to expand its standoff precision-strike capabilities through the acquisition of long-range, very low-observable (stealth) air-launched cruise missiles (ALCMs) capable of engaging targets in heavily contested environments.
A key concern for the IAF is the proliferation of modern long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems. Most notable is the acquisition of such systems by Iran, which has procured and introduced into service the Russian-made S-300PMU-2 (SA-20b) “Favorit.” Manufactured by Russia’s Almaz-Antey Aerospace Defense Concern, the road-mobile S-300PMU-2 incorporates advanced electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM) features, making the system difficult to jam or spoof. It is armed with long-range 48N6E2 interceptors capable of engaging aerial targets at distances of up to 200 km. Tehran’s S-300 deal also includes advanced 96L6E “all-altitude” 3D target acquisition radars with good ground clutter rejection, enhancing detection and tracking of low-flying targets. Iran currently operates four S-300PMU-2 battalions.
Another Middle Eastern state that recently acquired a modern Russian-made long-range SAM system is Egypt. Though Jerusalem’s relationship with Cairo has improved markedly in recent years, historical grievances coupled with Egypt’s acquisition of modern air defense systems and combat aircraft make the country a potential concern in the long run. Cairo selected Almaz-Antey’s S-300VM (SA-23) “Antey-2500” system, which, like the S-300PMU-2, incorporates advanced ECCM features, is capable of engaging multiple targets simultaneously, and can deploy within a short time period.
The Antey-2500 is a tracked system, offering superior off-road mobility to the Favorit. The system utilizes two types of interceptors: the 9M83ME, which can engage aerial targets at ranges of 120-130 km; and either the 9M82ME or its extended-range 9M82MDE variant, which can engage aerial targets at distances of up to 200 km and 350 km, respectively. (There is no reliable information on whether Cairo procured the standard or the extended range variant of this missile).
While the range figures listed above are impressive, it should be emphasized that they are nominal. The real ranges at which a given target can be intercepted with a high probability of success is dependent on a wide range of factors. The probability of a small, maneuverable target (such as a tactical fighter) being intercepted by a very large, heavy SAM (such as the 9M82ME/MDE) is low, particularly at long ranges. Indeed, the 9M82ME/MDE’s primary purpose is terminal defense against ballistic targets (at ranges of up to 30km) and long-range interception of cumbersome strategic aerial assets (for example, airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft and aerial-refueling tankers). Nevertheless, even large, heavy SAMs can prove deadly against a tactical fighter over long distances if the latter fails to take appropriate evasive maneuvers, as was recently demonstrated.
On February 10, 2018, following a strike against Tiyas Airbase in Homs Governorate, an IAF F-16I “Sufa” fighter was shot down by a Syrian Soviet-era S-200VE (SA-5b) system using a long-range V-880E SAM. According to a subsequent IAF study, “[t]he aircrew failed to assess the situation, and did not defend itself as needed,” enabling the missile to approach within close proximity to the fighter. The SAM’s proximity-fused blast-fragmentation warhead worked as intended, detonating near the aircraft and showering it with fragments, prompting the crew of two to eject.
Deliveries to Syria of the SA-5b, along with colossal V-880E missiles (which have a 240 km operational range), commenced shortly after the First Lebanon War, during which Syrian air and air defense forces performed abysmally. Although the SA-5b possesses much greater range than other ground-based SAM systems operated by Syria, it was designed primarily to intercept strategic bombers and other cumbersome strategic aerial assets – not small, maneuverable fighters…
[To Read the Full Article Click the Following Link—Ed.]
On Topic Links
Israel Prepares to Remember 23,646 Fallen Soldiers and 3,134 Terror Victims: Michael Bachner, Times of Israel, Apr. 18, 2018—Israelis will bow their heads at 8 p.m. Tuesday for a minute of silence as sirens sound in remembrance the country’s fallen soldiers and terror victims.
What is Yom HaZikaron and How Does Israel Observe It?: IDF Blog, Apr. 17, 2018—Yom HaZikaron is the day of national remembrance in Israel to commemorate all the soldiers and people who lost their lives during the struggle to defend the State of Israel.
70 Years of the IDF (Photos): IDF Blog, Apr. 16, 2018— For Israel’s 70th anniversary, the Ministry of Defense revealed a rare collection of photographs from the establishment of the State of Israel which can be seen below..
Improving Israeli Military Strategy Through Avant Garde Analysis: Prof. Louis René Beres, BESA, Mar. 25, 2018— One normally thinks of the avant garde with reference to artistic exploration, but it can also be applied to other fields of human learning, including military strategy. A French expression, it is by its very nature activist, and suggests in any context the energizing idea of “marching forward.”
