FRONTLINES 1
Why Israel Didn't Have
Patriot Missiles Earlier
JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent
W
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14
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1991
hy didn't Israel
have American-
made Patriot mis-
siles before the Gulf war
broke out?
Some supporters of Israel
have complained that the
Jewish state did not get fully
operational Patriots until
after the first Scud attacks
on Tel Aviv. But while the
Patriots were part of a
package of arms that was
held up by administration
officials, the fact is that the
Israelis initially did not
want the missiles, according
to congressional sources.
Israel was offered Patriots
as part of a package of
military offsets designed to
compensate for the flood of
new weapons going to coun-
tries like Saudi Arabia. But
Israel's representatives here
complained mightily about
the missile.
"We heard from the
Israelis a number of times,"
said an aide to a pro-Israel
legislator. "They made it
clear that they wanted a
number of weapons systems
to help them keep their
qualitative edge — but that
the Patriots were not among
them."
Officially, the Israelis
argued that the Patriots,
which were designed to
shoot down aircraft, were
unproven as anti-missile
weapons. And they pointed
to disappointing early tests
of the weapons — before the
modifications that added the
capability of shooting down
incoming missiles.
Unofficially, congressional
sources indicated that Israel
was trying to protect its own
anti-ballistic missile pro-
gram, the Arrow.
The Arrow, which was
test-fired for the first time
last summer, is being de-
veloped in Israel using most-
ly American funds. The pro-
ject, which is expected to
produce usable missiles in
five years, will be a far more
effective tool in the fight
against ballistic missiles.
But in the meantime,
Israeli defense planners
worried that Patriot
emplacements in Israel —
along with this country's
budget problems — might
put the financial squeeze on
the Arrow program.
All of that quickly changed
when Saddam Hussein made
good on his threat to fire
missiles at Israel. The result
was the unprecedented
transfer of American per-
sonnel to Israel, along with
new Patriot batteries.
In fact, the early successes
of the Patriot in shooting
down Scuds — and the awful
spectacle of missiles raining
down on Tel Aviv — may
have increased support for
the Arrow in Washington.
"A lot of people pooh-
poohed this kind of
technology in the past," said
a congressional arms spe-
cialist last week. "This war
has made it clear that we all
need to worry about weapons
like the Scuds. The Israelis
may be the leaders in this
with their Arrow program —
and all things being equal,
this should significantly in-
crease support for the pro-
gram in Congress and in the
administration."
❑
Navy Chaplain Drops In
On Jews Via 'Holy Helo'
New York (JTA) — Armed
with an inflatable life
preserver, a crash helmet
and a waterproof bag con-
taining prayer books, kipot
and a small bottle of
sacramental wine, Lt.
Maurice Kaprow, a U.S.
Navy chaplain, literally
descends from the skies to
administer to the religious
needs of Jewish naval per-
sonnel scattered around the
world.
Actually, Rabbi Kaprow,
one of two Jewish navy
chaplains assigned to Opera-
tion Desert Shield, is
lowered from a hovering
helicopter — dubbed the
"holy helo" by crewmen —
to the decks of naval vessels
without helicopter landing
facilities.
These smaller ships may
have only one or two Jews in
a crew of several hundred.
A giant aircraft carrier
like the Saratoga, which is
Kaprow's base ship, may
have 30 or more Jews in a
crew of 5,000.
"I am a frequent flyer on
helicopters," Rabbi Kaprow
stated recently. "I fly once
each week on the average
and see as many Jews as I
can throughout the battle
group. I do it because I can
see the joy in their faces.