Some 150 Jews live in Malta, making up under .o4 percent of the population. The tiny island nation has been a home to Jews since at least the 1st century CE, although some evidence suggests that Jews first arrived with Phoenician merchants as early as the 9th century BCE. But while Malta gave refuge to Jews in the 15th and 20th centuries, it has also been the site of much persecution, and from the 16th through the 18th centuries had the dubious distinction of being the only European country where large numbers of Jews were slaves. Gail Dubov writes:

Mdina, [a] walled city. . . was Malta’s medieval capital, when one-third of its population was Jewish. A sign [now] marks the old Jewish silk market on Carmel Street. In medieval times, Jews were responsible for supplying the oil in the street lamps, exempting them from guard duty. . . .

The Catacombs of St. Paul date back to Roman times. Recently reopened, they were early burial tombs of Christians and Jews, surprisingly well preserved. Carved menorahs can be seen etched in the limestone archways and tomb walls. One, a burial spot of a husband and wife who died 2,000 years ago, displays a menorah in the stone above them, proclaiming that a Jewish couple had been buried there. . . .

Jewish families arrived [in Malta] from Spain in the 15th century, fleeing the expulsion and Inquisition. But eventually many were forced to convert to Christianity. To this day, family names with Jewish origins like Michallef, Ellul, Hellul, and Azzopardi dominate the island. Napoleon arrived [in 1798] and seized the island, freeing Jewish slaves. It was the British who ruled from 1800, establishing English as an official language and [the modern-day capital of] Valletta as an important crossroads to the Middle and Far East. Jews from Gibraltar, England, Portugal, Italy, Turkey, North Africa, and other Mediterranean cities immigrated to Malta and established businesses.

[More recently, Malta], was the only European country to welcome Jews without visas during World War II.

Today, Dubov notes, the island “has a fine kosher restaurant.”

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.