The Mastermind, a documentary aired repeatedly on Turkey’s pro-government television channel, presents an elaborate “history” of an international Jewish conspiracy from Moses to the present day. The title takes its cue from a speech by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan blaming an unnamed “mastermind” for orchestrating the various problems afflicting his country. Burak Bekdil writes:

The main theme of the film is the 3,500 years of “Jewish domination of the world.” It focuses on three “Jewish” historical figures . . . : the medieval philosopher and Torah scholar Moses Maimonides, Charles Darwin (who was not a Jew), and the German-American philosopher Leo Strauss. . . .

Sounds surreal? Not in Turkey in the year 2015. The Mastermind is not the product of a bunch of crazy fanatics. It is a calculated move by a bunch of smart politicians who want to win votes (and often succeed) from an . . . anti-Semitic, religiously devout Muslim population.

According to the findings of a survey by Switzerland-based pollster WIN/Gallup International, 79 percent of Turks identify themselves as religiously devout. . . . Among many Sunni Turks, anti-Semitic sentiment is often a prerequisite to piety. Therefore, the film The Mastermind directly targets an audience that makes up 79 percent of Turkey . . . ahead of critical parliamentary elections on June 7.

On Tuesday, a Hizballah drone attack injured three people in northern Israel. The next day, another attack, targeting an IDF base, injured eighteen people, six of them seriously, in Arab al-Amshe, also in the north. This second attack involved the simultaneous use of drones carrying explosives and guided antitank missiles. In both cases, the defensive systems that performed so successfully last weekend failed to stop the drones and missiles. Ron Ben-Yishai has a straightforward explanation as to why: the Lebanon-backed terrorist group is getting better at evading Israel defenses. He explains the three basis systems used to pilot these unmanned aircraft, and their practical effects:

These systems allow drones to act similarly to fighter jets, using “dead zones”—areas not visible to radar or other optical detection—to approach targets. They fly low initially, then ascend just before crashing and detonating on the target. The terrain of southern Lebanon is particularly conducive to such attacks.

But this requires skills that the terror group has honed over months of fighting against Israel. The latest attacks involved a large drone capable of carrying over 50 kg (110 lbs.) of explosives. The terrorists have likely analyzed Israel’s alert and interception systems, recognizing that shooting down their drones requires early detection to allow sufficient time for launching interceptors.

The IDF tries to detect any incoming drones on its radar, as it had done prior to the war. Despite Hizballah’s learning curve, the IDF’s technological edge offers an advantage. However, the military must recognize that any measure it takes is quickly observed and analyzed, and even the most effective defenses can be incomplete. The terrain near the Lebanon-Israel border continues to pose a challenge, necessitating technological solutions and significant financial investment.