Hamas War

Thursday, March 27, 2008

What Next?

Some time early in the very long-- I never noticed any real end, so as far as I'm concerned, we have been suffering through a very long-- intifada, it was discovered that injuries could be prevented if the windows of all Jewish vehicles were reinforced. First they were coated with clear glued plastic, and later the government paid for everyone's car to get special plastic windows.

The plastic windows also reduce injuries in car accidents. The only problem with the plastic is that, as eyeglass owners know, the plastic gets scratched and has to be replaced periodically. Now Ehud Barak, who's supposed to be our Defense Minister, has decided to cancel the funding for the protective windows.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This business of plastic windows is a mixed blessing. Like bullet-proof buses, fences and reinforced roofs in Sderot, they provide real protection. But there are three major downsides: (1) The government (even if it does not assist financially) absolves itself from providing real security by fighting the attackers, (2) the ghetto mentality is reinforced in that anything outside the ‘protection zone (fence, bus, car)’ becomes scary, (3) anybody not suitably equipped will feel that he is taking an unwarranted risk by travelling to the ‘danger areas’, thus inhabitants of ‘little Israel’ will no longer cross the green line – divide & rule.
Instead of relying on a (government-subsidised, or not) coat of armour, citizens and volunteers should patrol the roads intensely, especially at night – I am prepared to be a driver in central Samaria once a month with two crack shots in the back seat (I myself am no crack shot).

Anonymous said...

How did they help in accidents? I never knew about that benefit until now.

Batya said...

yoni, yes and no
Once the rocks started bouncing off the cars, there was less rock throwing. So in a sense it has protected us in stopping/reducing that form of terrorism.
t', Those little slivers of glass, or big pieces can do lots of damage, cuts (eyes!) and cause death, so by not having the glass shatter into small weapons, people are safer in car accidents.