At the end of last year, the House of Representatives passed the Combating International Islamophobia Act, sponsored by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, which would establish a State Department envoy to monitor prejudice against Muslims. The Iranian-born journalist and activist Masih Alinejad urges the Senate to reject the bill:

There is no question that the U.S. government should act to defend Muslims overseas wherever it sees crimes being committed against them—as in the cases of the Uyghurs in China or the Rohingya in Myanmar. But the U.S. government is already doing these things, and without needing to establish a new office of the kind that Omar is calling for. [Yet] creating a mandate to monitor Islamophobia comes with its own risks. The legislation does not provide a clear definition of Islamophobia, nor does it make any clear effort to exempt the crimes of Islamist states against their own people. Is criticism of the Taliban a form of Islamophobia? What about criticism of the Islamic Republic of Iran? Can one criticize Hamas or Hizballah as terrorist organizations?

The regimes that promote Islamist ideologies, such as those in Iran, Turkey or Saudi Arabia, have armies of well-paid consultants and lobbyists who can use the rights and freedoms offered in this country to undermine the principles that uphold those freedoms. I fear that the legislation sponsored by Omar will play into the hands of those who wish to curtail free debate and criticism.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “phobia” as an “exaggerated fear” or “an intolerance or aversion.” But many women who live in countries such as Iran, Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, or Saudi Arabia have a rational fear of sharia laws.

Even before this legislation was introduced, many Iranian dissidents were feeling pressure from U.S. social-media platforms to tone down their criticisms of Iran and the Taliban. Some activists have seen their social-media posts removed, their accounts suspended. Criticizing the ugly practices of Islamists all too often earns you a demerit. If you criticize some aspect of Islam, you receive death threats from the zealots—and censorship and cancellation from the well-meaning liberals who don’t want to offend anyone.

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.