In his recent movie Heroes, the Israeli filmmaker Avishai Mekonen tells the story of the Ethiopian Jewish activists who campaigned for permission to leave for Israel, often risking the ire of their country’s brutal socialist regime, and worked to convince the Israeli government and American Jewry to help them emigrate. He discusses the film here. (Interview by Be’chol Lashon.)

[T]here is a whole part of the story [of Ethiopian Jewry] that is not well known, the story of the Ethiopian activists who held onto the dream of going to Jerusalem and made everything happen. . . . I want people to know the names of Yona Bogale, Gedalia Uria, Ester Hollander, and others. Some 440 Ethiopian activists and kessim [the local term for rabbis] were jailed in Ethiopia. So many risked their lives. For example, Ferede Aklum, . . . who endangered himself to find escape routes for the community from Ethiopia [to Israel] through Sudan, and worked with the Mossad.

These activists had no money, no guides, no equipment. They had a dream and they made it happen. Many of these people were put in jail for days or months because leaving Ethiopia was illegal. They were beaten and tortured. Some died in jail. Those who were released did not give up. These people were true heroes.

Yona Bogale was the first Ethiopian to reach out to the west and explain the danger the Beta Israel experienced. In the 1950s, he sent young Ethiopians to Israel to learn Hebrew, English, math, and science. Those students became leaders [of Ethiopian] Jewry who could communicate [with people in Israel, the U.S., and elsewhere].

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.