Israel faces threats from every direction. First, citizens watched Hamas rockets fly over their heads. Now, they are concerned about being stabbed by Palestinian terrorists. Israelis are even more on edge after the White House's nuclear agreement with Iran, which many argue will make it easier for Iran to develop a nuclear bomb. This sensitive environment has urged a few legislators to introduce a bipartisan effort to ensure our Middle East ally has at least some tools at their disposal to thwart future attacks. Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Tom MacArthur (R-NJ), and Donald Norcross (D-NJ) have presented the "U.S.-Israel Security 5 Cooperation Act" that would allow our Defense Department to cooperate with Israel to develop energy capabilities to detect and defeat ballistic missiles and other impending threats.
“We must make vital investments in missile defense and further expand our partnership with Israel in this field which has made great strides in recent years, and will offer the U.S. and Israel a less expensive and highly capable defense system," said MacArthur. "As our closest ally in a highly unstable part of the world, Israel faces countless threats and challenges to her very existence, including the ballistic missile testing conducted by Iran last week which included the insult “Israel should be wiped off the earth” written in Hebrew on one of the missiles. It is abundantly clear that there is no time to waste in helping to improve the defense of both the US and Israel.”
A few years ago, Israel employed the Iron Dome to great effect. The incredibly innovative defense system was able to detect rockets and shoot them down mid-air. Maj. Arye Shalicar, an Israeli Defense Force spokesman, noted that the system intercepted rockets at a 90 percent success rate. Check out this incredible video of the Iron Dome in action.
Noting the anti-terror impact the Iron Dome was having, Congress voted to restock the Israeli defense system in the form of a $225 million bill.
"Before the Iron Dome it was so scary," said Mary Levy, an Israeli resident. "Now we feel safe."
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Fast forward a few years, Israel faces new threats from terror organizations that want her wiped from existence. Hence the sense of urgency from our representatives - they want more Israelis to feel the comfort of security.
Considering America faces many of the same threats as Israel, the legislators note that this bipartisan bill can benefit both nations.
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