A prominent Israeli rabbi recently made headlines for suggesting that artificial meat grown from the stem cells of pigs would be kosher. Gil Student argues that the halakhic consensus is not on the rabbi’s side:

One argument in favor [of permitting the meat] is that the pig stem cells are microscopic. Since the Torah, [according to traditional rabbinic interpretation], does not forbid anything that is invisible to the naked eye, the cell itself is permissible. Therefore, any meat that grows from it must be permissible as well.

Both Rabbi J. David Bleich and Rabbi Ya’akov Ariel point out that in this case we do not discount the microscopic cell because we manipulate it. It comes from a large animal and will grow into a visible item, and, in between, humans interact with it. . . .

[One argument in favor of allowing the meats draws on the halakhic rule that] a prohibited item is permitted when diluted in a mixture in which it is either a simple minority or less than one-sixtieth, depending on the circumstance. When a pig cell is added to a growth medium, the cell is diluted by much more than one-sixtieth. Therefore, it should be permitted. . . .

Ariel, [however, argues] that there is no actual mixture. The pig stem cell is placed in a growth medium and then grows. The result is many more pig cells that grow from the original stem cell. Rather than a mixture, this is just one substance growing substantially. The lab-grown meat consists of the original stem cell multiplied greatly, thus maintaining the forbidden status of the original cell.

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.