War and Technology

By Moshe Feiglin

Like everyone else in Israel, I applaud Israel Aircraft Industry's success in launching the Ofek 9 satellite. This is a technological achievement that we can all be proud of. The Ofek 9 will give us a clearer picture of how close the Iranians are to their nuclear bomb. Now, an Israeli satellite will pass over Bushehr every half hour instead of every hour, and its telescopic lenses will penetrate deep into the ground - a truly remarkable feat and we salute the Israeli engineers for their accomplishment.

But a nagging question must be asked: Will this information advance Israel's defense capabilities even one inch?

In Israel, technology is rapidly replacing content. Paradoxically, the stronger Israel becomes both economically and militarily, the weaker it becomes politically. To paraphrase Churchill, when leadership chooses disgrace in fear of war, it gets disgrace - and war as well. When advanced technological capabilities interface with true leadership and a clear vision, the technology becomes a significant power multiplier. But when advanced technology interfaces with small-time politicians concerned only with dousing the crisis at hand, it becomes a fig leaf.

Apparently, Israel's current leaders have already decided to stand by as the Iranians race toward nuclear capabilities. They will look the other way as Hezbollah acquires more advanced missiles that reach Eilat and will smile sheepishly as the Gaza port freely unloads state-of-the-art weaponry - because we have nothing to worry about: We have advanced technology.

Tragically, we are repeating the mistake of the Yom Kippur War. Instead of acting with conviction in the justice of our Jewish destiny in the Land of Israel, our leaders hide behind pompous military theories that glorify our technological ability to contain the first strike.
Israel's leaders must change the rules of the game and make the act of tampering with Israel's existence a venture too painful to consider. Its civilian population must be prepared for war - not peace. Protective gear must be distributed swiftly to the populace. Every person in the greater Tel Aviv area must know where he will find shelter in Judea or Samaria in an emergency.

Gaza and Lebanon must understand that missile attacks against Israel will be dealt with according to the Golan Heights model: Pictures of the abandoned Syrian villages there must be distributed widely. Since the Yom Kippur War, the Golan Heights model has proven itself as the only way to achieve lasting peace.

Those who think that they will be able to hide behind cutting edge technology in the approaching inevitable war would be well-advised to think again. Israel must go to battle with firm faith in the G-d of Israel and its Jewish destiny. With those two decisive factors in place, our cutting-edge technology will be a powerful tool for victory and not a fig-leaf for catastrophe.