While one side, year after year, deliberately targets civilians using both homemade and state-of-the-art missiles provided by powers like Iran and Syria, the other side uses its military technology to inflict surgical strikes on the terrorist masterminds and to intercept the incoming deadly payloads launched from Gaza against millions of women and children in cities like Tel Aviv, Be’er Sheva and recently Jerusalem.

It is a common misconception that military might equals the indiscriminate use of power. On the contrary, Israeli defense technology is celebrated for developments such as the Iron Dome short-range missile defense system that saves hundreds of lives every day now, the Arrow long-range missile defense system, as well as for being the inventor of active armor to protect its soldiers in tanks and carriers, a leader in battlefield medical technology and for developing precision weapons that allow striking a distant target with minimal damage to its surroundings. While other nations in the region race towards weapons of indiscriminate mass destruction, the ingenuity of Israeli engineers working for the defense of their country is devoted to preserving lives in case of war, minimizing innocent victims on both sides. Please keep that in mind when you consider the potential next resolution to boycott companies that provide Israel with its defense technology, brought before the A.S. Council by student organizations that support Hamas and its deadly teachings, disguised as a plight for human rights.

— Shlomo Dubnov
Professor, Department of Music