While Iraq and Syria collapse, the Kurds of these two countries have rallied together and stood their ground against Islamic State (IS)—despite considerable odds. Haviv Rettig Gur speculates about the possibility that they will create an independent state of their own, and the potential affinity of such a state with the Jewish one:

The Kurds have learned the same lesson as the Middle East’s Jews: solidarity and clarity of purpose are military assets as crucial to survival and victory as ammunition and warplanes. . . .

If ever a people deserved to carve out a homeland from the wreckage of the collapsing Middle East, [the Kurds] do. . . . [P]erhaps, if they eventually emerge from the wars of Syria and Iraq victorious, prosperous, and democratic, the Kurds can . . . [set] a precedent that legitimizes moderation and liberal nationalism in a region that has largely lost its faith in the redemptive power of ideas.

I don’t know much about the Kurds, but I know Israel. Israel’s democracy and prosperity did not originate in a generation of founding philosopher-fathers or in the Anglo-Saxon tradition of limited monarchy. Israel is democratic despite its Jews’ hailing almost entirely from dictatorships, despite its lack of a constitution, despite its birth and development in the shadow of war, despite the prominence of its military elite, despite deep and abiding ethnic divides. Its democratic roots, in other words, were not carried here from other lands or inherited from its intellectual heroes. Rather, Israel’s democracy was born in the ethos of national solidarity given to us by the Jewish intellectual tradition and the architects of modern political Zionism.

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.