Israel's Iron Dome and The Beit El Ulpana Cave-In

Yesterday was one of those black days  in Israel.  We were bombarded/ by attacked by Arab terrorists from the south, and the town of Beit El gave in to government pressure/bribery.

Masked Palestinian militants in Gaza prepare
 to fire rockets into Israel.Photo by AP

Alerted by a well-written headline in the Jewish Press which mentioned that the false prophet/panacea that Iron Dome hadn't done much of a job protecting the Israelis in the south, I looked for more information.

40 Rockets Fired at Israel, Policemen injured, Iron Dome Silent

The following paragraph now appears in the Jerusalem Post.  Being that the article is online and not from a "hardcopy," one of the editors can suddenly edit or delete it.

Iron Dome batteries were deployed throughout the South but by the evening they had not been activated. The IDF said the batteries were on high alert and were prepared to defend the cities they surround.

I can't understand what it means. Maybe I'm just stupid.  Does it mean that the Iron Domes have been placed/parked around southern cities, but nobody has bothered turning them on? 

Israelis have been programmed to believe that the south is no longer in danger because the Iron Domes will catch and destroy any missile the Arab terrorists launch at us.  I guess it's supposed to be like the simple ball game we used to play, "man in the middle."  The big difference is that we don't get to use the missiles we catch against the enemy.

And about the Beit El deal...

Honestly, I wasn't surprised.  It's one of the reasons I have been relatively silent about the entire issue and I didn't join any of the demonstrations; nor did I visit the protest tent etc.  Post-Disengagement I'm very cynical about the honesty of our "settlement leaders."  That's the truth.

Outpost residents say agreement preventing forced evacuation comes after Prime Minister's Office pledges to build 300 homes in Beit El settlement, change policy on removal of settler homes on private Palestinian property.
After a late meeting Tuesday night residents of five apartment buildings in Ulpana outpost, located on the outskirts of the West Bank settlement of Beit El, agreed to voluntarily evacuate their homes by July 1. (complete article)

One of the most bitter lessons we learned from Disengagement was that the aim of the official "settle leadership" was to pacify the residents and keep the anti-Disengagement activists busy with useless activities which could be controlled and stopped easily by government forces.  Sad, but true.

Well, to wind this up, in some ways you can compare the Iron Dome with "settler leaders."  Nu, what do you think?