Responding to the recent wave of anti-Semitic attack and incidents in the United States, Shannon Walsh calls on her fellow Roman Catholics not to remain passive:

Catholics have a unique and urgent responsibility to confront anti-Semitism wherever they find it. In the words of Nostra Aetate, the first Catholic document to condemn anti-Semitism in all its forms, Christians are linked to the Jewish people by a “bond that spiritually ties the people of the new covenant to Abraham’s stock.” On last year’s anniversary of the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre, I . . . called on Catholic educators to take a more active role in the fight against anti-Semitism. The spike in anti-Jewish violence over the last three weeks compels me to extend that call to all American Catholics.

Pope Francis has been outspoken against anti-Semitism throughout his tenure at the Vatican, and even goes so far as to name anti-Zionism as the same sin under a different name. In 2015, he told the World Jewish Congress, “To attack Jews is anti-Semitism, but an outright attack on the state of Israel is also anti-Semitism. . . . There may be political disagreements between governments and on political issues, but the state of Israel has every right to exist in safety and prosperity.”

Catholics should continue to pray for peace and understanding in the land where Jesus walked. However, Catholics must also understand that invalidating Israel’s right to exist and condemning it as an “apartheid state” is not only unhelpful but anti-Semitic. Attacking Jews under the banner of “Free Palestine” is beyond anti-Semitic. It is undeniably evil.

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.