no more playing defense

There were claims that the residents of Sderot are upset at Minister Smotritch as being the cause of their train line being frozen for at least two more years. The train line was slated to be reinforced with extra security measures, considering the proximity to Gaza and potential of a disaster with a rocket hitting a train. Supposedly Smotritch opposes the security measures and that is causing the hold up.

Minister Smotritch posted today that he is opposed to the security measures, but that is not what is holding up the train. Smotritch himself wants the train to go back to full operation today, just without the new defensive security protective enhancements.

To explain, Smotritch believes that Israel should no longer invest a single agora in defensive measures. He says an army that is looking for ways to protect itself defensively is an army that does not believe in victory. The residents of the south should not be looking for all sorts of defensive measures. Gaza will no longer be a security threat to the residents of Israel. It is the Gazans who should be looking for ways to protect themselves!

Smotritch says that reinforcing the trains and putting in protective measures will freeze the line for two years while they implement those defensive enhancements. The train line should open today, as is, with no security enhancements at all. Smotritch says he raised the issue in a recent Cabinet meeting and believes they will soon be able to open the train line and put it into operation.

He has a point. Logically it makes some sense.

I saw a video a while back, earlier in the year - it was an interview with family members of someone killed on October 7. the family was int he middle of sitting shiva and the reporter is interviewing the father. During the interview sirens are going off and many of the people present ran off to take cover, find shelter, go to safe rooms, etc. The father being interviewed did not get up and when asked he said, no more sirens, no more safe rooms. All they do is give us a false sense of security. We need to do away with the threats rather than defensively protect ourselves from them.

It makes sense to a certain extent. I am not sure armies are not supposed to invest in defensive systems. They can invest in offense and work toward victory while also investing in defense.

When Smotritch says we will not invest a single agora in defensive measures does he mean to say we will no longer build bomb shelters and safe rooms? What about those concrete structures in front of many bus stops and public buildings?

Does Smotritch mean the IDF will do away for the Iron Dome system, along with the Arrow and David's Slingshot? Those are all defensive systems that have saved many lives over the years and have given us a sense of security that perhaps diminished the urgency of dealing with Gaza.

Does Smotritch mean to say that the settlements in Judea and Samaria no longer need electronic fences with tracking systems? What about security checkpoints and security walls? bulletproof buses, windshields protected against rocks?

I am pretty sure we need at least some defensive systems, even while not discounting the need to actually deal on the offensive with the threats and not just rely on the defensive measures.

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