LIFE IN ISRAEL THE STAFF AT ONE ON ONE ATHLETIC CLUB WISHES ALL OF OUR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS A HAPPY, HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR ONENONE = ATHLETIC CLUB 6343 FARMINGTON ROAD • JUST NORTH OF MAPLE IN WEST BLOOMFIELD • 6264880 Susie Seigle, Carol Kaufman and The Staff of Stage Door Dance Studio NINO SALVAGGIO STRAWBERRY HILLS 4•20 painev QPIDTPAAPPP 20 1130 Expert Is Pushing Push-Button Warfare NECHEMIA MEYERS Special to The Jewish News T he shortsightedness of Israel's defense estab- lishment — which is preparing to refight old wars rather than win new ones — imperils her very survival, says Weizmann Institute Pro- fessor Amnon Yogev. Yogev speaks with some authority, for he is not only a highly respected expert on lasers, but also a colonel in the reserves with many years of command experience in the field. Israel, he argues, cannot afford to go on trying to com- pete with the Arabs, when it comes to tanks, planes and soldiers. Arab armies, now larger than those of NATO, and Arab financial resources are so much greater than those of Israel that she is bound to lose in any such competition. Israel should, instead, turn to the development of sophisticated, highly accurate weapons that can neutralize Arab superiority in men and conventional arms. Moreover, Yogev goes on, these novel weapons must be the products of Israel's own labs. If they are simply bought from a major power, assuming that such a possibility exists, they could be purchased by the Arabs as well, leaving Israel with no advantage over her hostile neighbors. Yogev points out that Israel's defense labs, working in close cooperation with field commanders, have had significant achievements in the past. But, he charges, they are being allowed to deteriorate; time after time local defense planners have decided, ostensibly for finan- cial reasons, that advanced weapons systems should be purchased rather than designed and produced. This is not to say that Yogev believes that Israel should produce every weapons system. It was right to scrap the Lavi fighter-bomber, he says, but not because of costs. It is rather that Israel shouldn't be squandering her meager resources on numerous Lavis (or F-16s, for that matter). Instead, she should be developing "Star Wars" weapons to destroy enemy forces with pinpoint accuracy. Yogev admits that the use of such weapons in outer space, as envisioned by U.S. defense strategists, is still a major problem. However, in his view, their employment on the ground is much less problematic. A change to "Star Wars" weapons also permits a change in defense strategy. No longer would Israel have to employ large masses of tanks and infantry to physically confront enemy forces and seize territory from the Arabs (which, in any case, must eventually be returned). Perceived threats could be countered by using weapons at bases within the country itself. Israel's present generation of generals, Yogev charges, re- ject his approach because it confronts them with problems they have no experience in handling. They are accustom- ed to bravely leading their men into battle; they are not accustomed to what they Z_21- describe, with considerable derision, as "push-button" warfare. Yet whatever the generals (and ministers) think, that form of warfare is coming to the Middle East and will determine the outcome of future conflicts. Therefore, Israel should prepare for it. Indeed, she should welcome "push-button" warfare with open arms because, Yogev declares, "for the first time in her history, it allows Israel to fully explicit her technological superiority over the Arabs." ❑ I NEWS I Harvard Law Hears Profs Boston — Three scholars in Jewish and Talmudic legal studies will lecture and teach at the Harvard Law School over the next two years. Justice Menachem Elon of the Supreme Court of Israel, Prof. David Daube of the University of California at Berkeley School of Law, and Prof. Bernard Jackson of the University of Liverpool will lecture or teach at Harvard. Computer Aiding MDA Tel Aviv — Through the use of donated computer hard- ware and software, Magen David Adorn — Israel's Red Cross — has been afforded ac- cess to the nation's first database for locating donors of rare blood types in Israel.