The Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations is hosting a Hanukkah party this week in conjunction with Azerbaijan’s embassy in Washington. Although the event’s official theme is “freedom and diversity,” several Jewish organizations—including the Central Conference of American Rabbis (the major Reform rabbinic organization), Americans for Peace Now, and the Workmen’s Circle—are boycotting it. Why? Because the party is scheduled to take place at one of Donald Trump’s hotels. Ruthie Blum comments:

Responding to the hysteria, the Conference of Presidents’ executive vice-chairman Malcolm Hoenlein said . . . that the Azerbaijani embassy selected the venue based on its proximity to the White House, since many of the 150 to 200 guests will also be attending President Barack Obama’s Hanukkah party, which is taking place the same evening. Other hotels nearby were not available, Hoenlein said, or could not meet the requirement for kosher food.

But for these Jewish leftists, whose utter despair at last month’s election results knows no bounds, such arguments carry no weight. As far as they are concerned, any association with Trump—even one that involves eating jelly doughnuts in a building with his name on it—is worse than partaking of pork. . . . To justify their outrage on ostensibly sounder, more “legitimate” grounds, two of the groups—Americans for Peace Now and the Workmen’s Circle—lashed out at Azerbaijan. You know, a Muslim country with increasingly close diplomatic and strategic ties to Israel.

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.