Residents of Sderot

According to the Jerusalem Post (Itamar Sharon, Feb.27), residents of Sderot, the town continuously under attack from Palestinian-fired rockets from Gaza, have gone to the Israeli Supreme Court to ask why the army refused to buy the proven Nautilus anti-rocket defense system, which is readily available in the US. The fact that the army makes decisions in Israel that override the democratically elected government is worrying. Then when things don’t work out because of their incompetence (Winograd), they blame the politicos (not that I have much truck for them either).

For years now I have heard whispers of the power that billionaire arms dealers have in influencing army decisions. What weapons are bought is often a matter of who gets how much kickback. If the army does make the decisions, and if there are army top brass with a vested interest in not using defensive equipment instead of offensive tactics, then I fear far more for the ethical future of Israel than I did.