Barak Weiss, a Tel Aviv jazz impresario, gives a brief account of how this quintessentially American style of music came to the Jewish state, and how Israelis made it their own. (Interview by Noah Phillips.)

The first jazz band [in the land of Israel] was the Police Orchestra during the British mandate. In the 1950s and early 1960s we had some musicians who used to play jazz, but it was all American jazz, the standards. I think the first Israeli jazz album was recorded in the early 1970s. . . .

The distinct difference [that later developed] between the mainstream American sound and the Israeli sound is that we use odd meters. The great American songbook, all the songs by George Gershwin and Cole Porter, etc., which is the basis of American jazz, is all done in 4/4 [time]. But in Israel, because we have klezmer music from Eastern Europe, and the music from Morocco and Yemen, and [many other] types of music, we have all of these odd forms, like 7/4s, and 9/4s, and 11/4s, all these strange and unusual beats.

Another thing is the melodies—you have Middle Eastern melodies, Arab melodies, melodies that come from all over the Diaspora. Every one of the musicians is delving deep into his own heritage, the music that he heard at the Shabbat table, or in the shul, or in the Israeli folk music that we all sing, and mixing his own heritage into jazz.

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.