| Submit your comments on this article |
| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Does Tel Aviv Not Like Sderot? |
| 2010-02-15 |
| Israel has decided not to deploy its new Iron Dome anti-rocket system to Gaza, but to keep it in reserve so that it can quickly (within a day), be deployed against Gaza or Lebanon. This upsets the people in southern Israel, but the government points out that only a few rockets are fired out of Gaza each week, and rarely do those hit anything. But if Hezbollah started another war, Iron Dome could save lives if it was deployed quickly enough. Hamas is less likely to launch a major rocket offensive (the Israelis watch Gaza more closely), but Iron Dome missile batteries and radars can be quickly moved south. Iron Dome can handle hundreds of incoming rockets an hour, because the radar system calculates where each rocket will land, and only launches a missile against rockets that are going to hit a residential area. Over 90 percent of rockets fired, in the north or south, hit open terrain. As an objective observer, I'm noting a pattern here. Tel Aviv won't defend Sderot, but it won't let it defend itself. This seems to indicate that Sderot is not loved by Tel Aviv. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose |
| #4 Why not buy a C-Ram system for Sderot? |
| Posted by: 3dc 2010-02-15 20:01 |
| #3 I'm afraid the rationalizations for not defending Sderot are pretty thin. For example, a C-RAM system costs about $2M, but the government refused to let Sderot have one, or even buy one, "because Israel is working on its own version." But then, a short time later, the government decides on a different system, but nothing for Sderot. It is all to be deployed in the North. A convoy of citizens from the city go to Tel Aviv to protest, and get considerable on-the-street sympathy, but the government blows them off. To me, this sounds like Chicago politics. Likely Sderot supporting the opposition, so they are being punished. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-02-15 19:25 |
| #2 It seems this new system may be a limited asset at the moment. It makes sense to keep it where it can respond to the greater threat quickest and Lebanon is the greater threat. As more units become available they will most likely be deployed. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2010-02-15 19:10 |
| #1 This seems to indicate that Sderot is not loved by Tel Aviv. Well, it *is* full of Jews, after all. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2010-02-15 15:01 |