War. What War?

My community, the "small" city of Ma'alot -Tarshicah a "joint Municipality" with the Arab village of Tarshicah, lies 7.45km or 4.63 miles southwest of the "dip" in the border from Rmaych, Lebanon or 9.44 km or 5.87 from Ramyeh, Lebanon.

In difference to many communities immediately north of us, Ma'alot was not ordered to evacuate, and we live our regular daily lives as though nothing out of the ordinary is happening. -For us "veteran" residents we are quite familiar with the situation and the name of our town is infamous and synonymous with Arab terrorism.

Seeing my fellow residents of Ma'alot most of whom are the descendents of the original "Maabara" refugee camp composed of "Jews of Arab Lands" who were brutally expelled from their homes  between 1949 -1956 as well as those Jews who in 1990 with the openning of the gates of Russia came "Home" go around doing banal daily chores ever since that 7th of October,2023. It does not "click in" that we are at war. 

Yet as banal as life is, things can become VERY deadly very rapidily merely because Nassarallah and his cronies decide to "let lose" a barrage of Iranian made explosive laden rockets. Which if NOT intercepted by the Tamir interceptors(*) of the Iron Dome Defense System can not only destroy homes but murder and maim Israeli civilians-Arab and Jew alike!

That many times while you are simply walking the dog or simply out for a stroll the "Red Alert App" or air raid siren may fail to operate quickly and it is only by instinct that you catch the familiar sounds and whoosh of air of approaching rockets and how you lunge to the ground for cover. 

In the cases of a "near miss" "If" you are LUCKY you are showered with the dirt and debris. If they land further away your feel the concussion of the explosion as you remain laying there aware that pieces of intercepted rockets can still kill you.

Oh yes I see ALL the "Social Media" and news broadcasts of "distinguished" news journalists nodding their heads in agreement with pro-Palestinian propagandists of how the poor citizens of Gaza are and how THEIR children are "traumatized" ...but where is the mentioning of our kids my grandchildren who since October of 2023 have heard; the "out going" artillery fire, the explosions of the Tamir Interceptors shooting down the incoming Hezbollah rockets, the explosions cause by the landing of Bulkan-heavey mortars-with 250Kg explosive warheads nearby, or the sounds of the explosive drones ...

My grandchildren Ori Meir 11.5 Tehillah 10 and Shirah Rachel 9, regretfully have become well acquainted with the need to "duck and cover" or run to shelter if they can. It is the fear that is in their eyes when the incoming explodes that makes my blood boil!

For me, a combat experienced member of the IDF I already suffer from "Profound PTSD" and TBI-Traumatic Brain Injury from 3 IEDs while serving in Lebanon from 1978 -1997. I just chalk it up to yet another day attempting to be a "Free Jew" -read "Zionist" - in my indigenous homeland.

Some factual information regarding the 2006 Second Lebanon War:

During the 2006 Second Lebanon War, Hezbollah-fired some 4,228 rockets at a rate of more than 100 per day, unprecedented since the Iran–Iraq War. About 95% of these were 122 mm (4.8 in) Katyusha artillery rockets, which carried warheads up to 30 kg (66 lb) and had a range of up to 30 km (19 mi) which landed in northern Israel, including on Haifa, the country's third largest city. Over 1680 landed in a five kilometer radius of Ma'alot, six less than 100 meters from my home. 

The "indiscriminant Hezbollah" rocket barrage killed 15 out of a total of 43 Israeli civilians (including four who died of heart attacks during rocket barrages) were Arab Israelis.

On August 3rd, 2006: Shanati Shanati, 18; Amir Naeem, 18; and Muhammad Fa'ur, 17, Bedouin residents of Ma'alot were killed bt a Hezbollah rocket.

During the "Second War In Lebanon" some 250,000 Israeli citizens had to evacuate and relocate to other parts of Israel - including my wife and five of my children,  while an estimated 1 million Israelis were confined in or near bomb shelters during the conflict.

Many like me in the "Development Town" of Ma'alot we do not have "secure rooms" nor bombshelters in our buildings. Many of the neighborhoods of Ma'alot  were built during the "Austerity " period in the middle 1950's when the nascent State of Israel had very little money to build housing for the 850,00 Mizrachi-Jews of Arab Lands who were expelled over night. 

These hapless Jews kicked out of their homes where some had lived for centuries. Their and families lives torn apart.Their possessions, savings, property and businesses seized or stolen thrown out into the streets to flee for Eretz Yisrael when the Arabs lost the Nachba -ther tragedy of their defeat by the "Dhimmi" Jews!

My neighbors and my daughter in law's family barely escaped the blood thirsty mobs to flee to the ships that transported them to Haifa in 1955. In the middle of the night they were shipped by truck to live temporarily in the abandoned Arab village of Tarschich. 

Later they were "moved" into tin huts of the tempoary housing of the "Maabara" or "Transit Camp" created in the valley near what would become the "Development Town" of Ma'alot.

We have been neglected and forgotten as we live in the "Peripheral area" (out of sight, out of mind).

Socially and economically deprived, we continue to survive on low income jobs, inferior health care, education and housing. Our grown children flee for the better conditions in the center of the country.

Now for what is saving lives:

(*) As for the Elbit designed and patented Tamir interceptors of the "Iron Dome Air Defensive System", developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries.

The Iron Dome system is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 4 to 70 kilometres (2–43 mi) away and whose trajectory would take them to an Israeli populated area. The Iron Dome was declared operational and initially deployed on 27 March 2011 near Beersheba and   the system successfully intercepted a rocket launched from Gaza for the first time on April 7th 2011.

Each battery costs about $50 million and the interceptor missiles used are called in Hebrew the "Tamir" (a Hebrew acronym for Til Meyaret or 'interceptor missile') and they cost around $40,000 each. The the interceptor missile uses a proximity fuze mechanism to detonate and destroy incoming rockets,

Iron Dome has three central components:

1) Detection & Tracking Radar: the radar system is built by Elta, an Israeli defense company and subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries, and by the IDF.

2) Battle Management & Weapon Control (BMC): the control center is built for Rafael by mPrest 

3) Missile Firing Unit: the unit launches the Tamir interceptor missile, equipped with electro-optic sensors and several steering fins for high maneuverability. The missile is built by Rafael. A typical Iron Dome battery has 3–4 launchers (20 missiles per launcher). 

The Iron Dome (Hebrew: kippat barzel) radar developed by Elta compliments a"specialized rapid data system" to correct the interceptors in mid flight to their target. The system's radar is referred to as EL/M-2084. It detects the rocket's launch and tracks its trajectory. The BMC calculates the impact point according to the reported data, and uses this information to determine whether the target constitutes a threat to a designated area. Only when that threat is determined, is an interceptor missile fired to destroy the incoming rocket before it reaches the predicted impact area

It should be noted that within the US-Israel "Joint Military" assistance program from 2011 to 2021, the United States contributed a total of US$1.6 billion to the Iron Dome defense system. Israel uses the "US AID package"-to purchase most of the components from Raytheon, a US Defense Contractor, who since July 2014 has been a major U.S. partner in co-production of major components for the Iron Dome's Tamir intercepting missile.  The US Congress voted to add another US$1 billion to provide more Tamir Interceptors.

It needs to be noted that Rayethon the U.S. Defense Contractor supplies components through various US owned and subcontractors -with US workers - in a brand new Tamir missile manufacturing facility in East Camden, Arkansas USA. NOT JUST FOR ISRAEL BUT for the US Marine Corps and partner forces.

This means that ALL the US Aid Funding is going back into the pockets of a US Defense Contractor who employs some 70,000 US citizens. 

Now compare this to the unaccounted millions given -with absolutely NO restrictions nor accounting to UNWRA and the Palestinians.

More importantly the Iron Dome Air Defense System is a means of warding off missiles sent in an act of a  blatant "International War Crime", against non military civilian targets within Israel.

Yet, one wonders where is this mentioned in the Mass Media of the world?