Former Chief Rabbi of British Mandate Palestine, Rabbi Avraham Kook pointed out (Chazon HaGeula p. 222) that winning a War to Conquer the Land of Israel takes precedence even if it means endangering Jews for the sake of victory.
Since destroying the economy will end up harming Israel’s ability to win wars by robbing Israel of the funding needed to produce or buy new weapons to face potential threats, we have to reject the demands of those that demand Corona Virus lockdowns without any limits. Real Jewish morality demands we put a limit on how far we allow Corona safety precautions to go before we put our foot down and say, No More! Even for the sake of an Optional War, the Torah recognizes there might be war casualties as part of the price of victory. Dvarim/Deuteronomy 20:7 ‘Is there any man among you who has betrothed a woman and not married her? Let him go home, so that he not die in war and have another man marry her.’
See also the book of Shoftim/Judges 20:39 as a backup to this concept.
The principle that winning the war to conquer the land of Israel overrides the commandment of saving lives, also explains one of the motivations of my rabbis, to oppose the various “Land for Peace” deals including Trump’s “Deal of the Century” and it also explains why they rejected the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap. I am not saying this is the only reason, just one of the reasons.
My rabbis further added that when Rabbi Kook wrote Chazon Haguela, there was a realistic chance for gaining more land for the Jewish people in Israel by the purchase of land. Therefore Rabbi Kook supported that activity. However, during that period of time Rabbi Kook did not believe, there was a realistic chance for a Jewish army to take the land of Israel by force. That is why he did not encourage the latter option in that period. Modern wars waged by the state of Israel do contain a realistic chance for victory on the assumption that the leadership wants to win (which sometime might not be the case). Read the article “Biblical And Historical Precedents For Resisting Army Service” before you run to enlist in the Israeli Defense Force (I.D.F.).
In Israel’s First Lebanon War also known as “Peace for the Galilee” – Weapons Research and Development as well as the Purchase of New Technologies from the USA Made the Dangerous Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Batteries of the Enemy Almost Useless. This Serves As A Great Example on How Investment in the Military Saves the Lives of Israeli Citizens
excerpt from https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/israel-air-force-in-operation-peace-for-the-galilee
But the most spectacular achievement of the war was the destruction of the Syrian surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites in the Bekaa Valley. The IAF was equally impressive in air-to-air combat, downing about 90 Syrian Migs without loss.
F-16 Netz 107 Image created by Zachi Evenor and User:MathKnight – Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/zachievenor/15164436200/
Future historians will point to many important features of the air war over Lebanon. First and foremost, the IAF re-affirmed its undisputed aerial superiority. This was the first major conflict in which F-15’s and F-16’s could demonstrate their awesome prowess. It was also the first time that the IAF employed the Cobra and Defender attack helicopters on a wide scale. One of the war’s greatest successes was achieved by its smallest participant: the locally produced mini-RPV (remotely piloted vehicle).
These tiny, propeller-driven craft beamed down real-time intelligence to air force and battlefield commanders, giving them a decisive edge in the rapidly unfolding combat arena. Another source of pride for the Israel Aircraft Industry (IAI) was the superb performance of the Kfir fighter bomber. Last but not least, honorable mention will be saved for the F-4 Phantom, which pounded home a reminder that it will be around for quite some time. The Destruction of the Syrian Surface-to-Air Missiles (June 9, 1982)
In the spring of 1981, Israeli reconnaissance photography revealed a dangerous new development. Syria had begun to move Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) batteries into the neutral territory of Lebanon. During the course of the next year, Syria built up an overlapping network of SAMs, which included Soviet SA-2, SA-3 and mobile SA-6 missiles in the Bekaa Valley and along the Zabadani mountain range above it. The density of SAM site locations was unmatched anywhere in the world—including the U.S.S.R. itself!
Because the SAMs were so effective in 1973, many experts had come to believe that “the missile had clipped the aircraft’s wings.” Few realized the intensity with which the IAF had prepared to settle the score with its ground-based adversary.
On the fourth day of the war, in a coordinated attack utilizing decoys, anti-radiation missiles and several locally developed systems, the IAF methodically destroyed every one of the threatening SAM batteries. It was almost as if fighter pilots were exacting a kind of personal revenge for the harsh treatment they had received years earlier, during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
During the attack, the Syrians sent up dozens of interceptors. Twenty-two Mig-21’s and Mig-23’s were downed in mass dogfights. Stripped of its surface-to-air defense, Syria continued to flood the Bekaa Valley with fighters over the next few days. Israeli F-15’s and F-16’s roamed the area without fear of SAMs and raised the total number of aerial victories to about 90. Incredibly, not a single Israeli fighter was lost during the risky attack against the SAMs or in the ensuing dogfights. The IAF once again proved that it was master of the skies.
Some of the Potential New Arms That Israel Might Have to Deal With One Day
