>> Send letters to: letters®thejewishnews.com Guest Column Editorial Israel's Iron Dome Don't Disarm Amid Drop In Global Hatred of Jews G A merica's friendship with Israel extends to nearly every aspect of international relations, but none is more important than our commitment to aid Israel's efforts to defend itself in a very dan- gerous neighborhood. As we work to defeat the most pressing current threat to regional security — Iran's potential pursuit of nuclear weapons — we are reaping the benefits of a well-established but under-appreciated aspect of our relationship: cooperation on missile defense. As chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I have seen and supported efforts by President Obama and his predeces- sors to maintain a major commit- ment of U.S. funding, expertise and assistance to Israel on missile defense. That cooperation has reached its height under the Obama administration, which has doubled funding requested for missile defense assistance to Israel since 2010 over the previous administration's planned level. The fruit of that cooperation is a robust, lay- ered set of defenses designed to defeat missile and rocket attacks at every level, from medi- um-range ballistic missiles launched from Iran to short-range rockets fired by Iran's terrorist proxies in Lebanon and Gaza. These systems — such as Arrow, Patriot and Iron Dome — have benefited enormously from U.S. technology, from joint U.S.-Israel research and development, and from the assis- tance of U.S. taxpayers. In addition, the U.S. has deployed Army troops on the ground in Israel to operate a powerful U.S. X-band mis- sile defense radar, one of two in the region that helps monitor and defend against Iran's missile threats. Furthermore, the U.S. Navy has deployed an Aegis ballistic missile defense ship to the Eastern Mediterranean and will soon base four such ships in Spain to bolster missile defenses in the region. The impact of these systems on the threat from Iran is significant. Should Iran make the fateful decision to develop a nuclear weapon, its actions would likely invite military action against its nuclear facilities. Iran would hope that its ability to retaliate for any such attack, using its missile arsenal and Hezballah's rockets, might deter such an attack. Iranian leaders, if they felt shielded by their missile capability, might feel emboldened to make the decision to acquire nuclear weapons. But missile defense changes that calculus. Because of Israel's robust protection against Iran's ability to retaliate, the Iranians cannot be con- fident that their missiles will deter military action against their nuclear facilities. We can hope that Iran's leaders will be rational enough to rec- ognize that fact and comply with the international community's demand that it not pursue nuclear weapons. If not, thanks to joint U.S.-Israel missile defense cooperation, Iran's missiles will not prevent an attack on its nuclear sites should such an attack be otherwise indicated. We have seen a dramatic illustration of the power of these defenses in recent days with Israel's Iron Dome short-range rocket defense system. Iron Dome is programmed to intercept short-range rockets that are flying toward populated areas. It is so accurate it doesn't even shoot at rockets that will fall in the desert or in the sea. Recently, Iron Dome intercepted and destroyed 80 percent of the rockets fired from Gaza to wreak indiscriminate death and destruction upon Israeli civilians. By prevent- ing large numbers of Israeli casualties, the system averted a humanitarian tragedy that would undoubtedly have led to a more robust Israeli military response. Although Iron Dome was developed by Israel, its arsenal of this remarkable system has been bolstered with the assistance of U.S. taxpayers. In 2010, the Obama administration requested $205 million from Congress so Israel lobal anti-Semitism dropped by 27 percent in 2011, but don't be lulled into thinking Jews have become less of a target of religious hatred. Against a rising tide of extremist religious fundamentalism, violence against Jews and Jewish property is on the climb and so is the bru- EJC's Moshe Kantor tality. That's sobering. To ignore the trend could prove even more deadly, especially for European Jews. The Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University gives a troubling account in its global anti-Semitism report for 2011. The annual report shows the number of cases of major incidents, including threats and vandalism against Jews, fell to 446 – a drop of 168, or about 28 percent. But the severity of attacks against Jews and Jewish property is markedly higher. The March 19 slaying of three children and a rabbi at a Jewish day school in Toulouse, France, is the harshest example. France reported the most hate crimes against Jews with 114, followed by the United Kingdom with 105, Canada with 68 and Australia with 30 – all lower numbers from 2010. Then came Ukraine (16), Russia (15), the United States (13), Lithuania (6), Argentina (5), Switzerland (5), South Africa (3) and Tunisia (1). U.S. numbers were only partly included, so reality is worse than what's presented. About 42 percent of hate crimes aimed at Jews or Jewish interests were committed against individuals. Synagogues were hit 20 percent of the time; schools and Jewish community cen- ters were the focus in 6 percent of cases. Eighteen percent of cases saw private property vandalized. Jewish cemeteries were vandalized 14 percent of the time. The data segmented the nature of the assaults. Firearms were used in 5 percent of cases, 17 percent involved verbal threats, 57 percent of hate crimes involved vandalism, and 1 percent were arson. Perpetrators of violent anti-Semitic inci- dents and acts of harassment were categorized roughly into two ethnic and ideological groups: young Islamists, mostly from immigrant families, and racists from the extreme political right. Cyberspace – websites, social networks, forums and blogs – is rife with bigotry and racism, including hatred of Jews. It per- petuates the idea that a global "Jewish conspiracy" is respon- sible for every violent international event. "Europe is a ticking time bomb," Israel-based Ynetnews. corn quotes European Jewish Congress (EJC) President Moshe Kantor as saying. "Anti-Semitism as well as hatred toward Jews and other minorities can erupt in and sweep through Europe." He added: "Any developments in the Middle East – for instance, if Israel was to strike Iran – will have ramifications in Europe." Even in Germany, where current leaders typically stand with Israel, about 20 percent of the general population harbors anti- Semitic beliefs. We know alert levels are higher in countries with pockets more hostile to Zionism, such as France and the U.K. Jews the world over must take heed and engage Jewish and government leaders in investigating rhetoric that fuels inciting. To not do so is to discount that we live in the worst period for anti-Semitism and Israel hatred since the Holocaust. Missile Defense on page 42 May 3 2012 41