Since the declaration of independence in 1948, Israel has been constantly surrounded by hostile states. Being in a state of permanent war, this state, in order to survive, had to adapt to destructive challenges and build a unique system of security and economy. And even, considering the unfortunate experience of the first hours of the attack by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, Israel proved the practicality and effectiveness of its defense strategy.
In turn, Ukraine, having gotten rid of strategic weapons and relying on the Budapest Memorandum, recklessly neglected security issues for more than 20 years of independence. However, Russian aggression forced Ukrainians to look at the issues of defense and survival in a new way. And it is Israel, a country that has unparalleled experience in the modern world, that can serve as a valuable example of a “fortress country” for Ukraine.
Air defense
Of course, the size of both countries and the size of their population, as well as the resources and power of the enemies, make certain adjustments to the peculiarities of Ukraine’s defense strategy. Instead, we do not have a better example than Israel today. In the third year of full-scale war, our armed forces were hardened in hellish battles, they became no less experienced than their Israeli counterparts. However, air defense and aviation will continue to be weak in the Ukrainian army due to their small numbers. At the same time, they are the strongest parties in Israel. The air defense systems of the IDF deserve special attention – these are the David’s Sling systems, designed to combat medium-range missiles, and the Iron Dome against short-range missiles.
Israel is the only country that has an active anti-missile defense system at the national level. In Ukraine, there is a constant discussion about air defense similar to the Iron Dome, but the too large territory and a significant number of enemy missiles do not allow this project to be fully implemented. Due to the lack of air defense, Ukrainian energy and important industries were particularly affected. Currently, we are talking only about local air defense systems around large cities and important industrial centers.
Recently, our state has begun to face the problem of mobilization due to outdated and imperfect systems of registration of conscripts. In this connection, a new law on mobilization was adopted. At the same time, Israel obviously has the most advanced system of mobilization and conscription of new recruits. Both men and women are required to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. The latter make up about 40% of all recruits and 25% of all officers of the country’s armed forces, while in the air defense forces, about 60% of personnel are women.
Mobilization
Sabotage of the military draft in Israel leads to the rejection of draft dodgers from society. They face social condemnation, as well as problems in the development of a civilian career. It is almost impossible to be a full-fledged and successful citizen of Israel and at the same time illegally avoid military service. Moreover, serving in the army is an honorable thing for Israelis. After military service, Israeli citizens remain part of the armed forces. At least once a year, they are required to arrive at the location of the army unit assigned to them to perform tasks or train. Such business trips last one month a year and are mandatory for Israelis up to and including 42 years of age. In the border areas, where the security risks are the highest, women and men who have already completed their military service have the right to keep firearms provided by the IDF at home.
One of the main principles of the Israel Defense Forces’ work, which ensures a high level of its combat capability, is the army’s self-sufficiency in military technologies and high-quality military equipment. For this purpose, a special elite unit, Laket, was created in Israel, whose activities are aimed at providing the army with modern IT technologies, including those of its own production.
Civil defense
After the start of the full-scale invasion in Ukraine, the question of creating shelters for the civilian population arose. Construction standards are being developed taking into account safety standards not only in public buildings, but also in residences. In Israel, these principles and norms have long been embodied in everyday life. According to the civil defense law, which was passed back in 1951, all houses, residential premises and industrial buildings in Israel must have defense systems. Yes, now there are more than a million underground bomb shelters and public shelters (miklat) in Israel.
In order to protect civilians, in 1993, the Israeli authorities obliged developers to design fortified rooms in all residential and public buildings – mamadas, as well as mamakas on each floor. You can move to them in a few seconds without leaving your apartment or house. There are general bomb shelters in the country, which are maintained by the forces and at the expense of local authorities. Based on many years of experience, it was decided to create a single coordination center to ensure the safety of the civilian population – the Rear Command. This is a military administration that notifies the population about danger, is responsible for coordinating the work of rescue services, and also, thanks to separate organized formations, directly participates in the elimination of the consequences of natural and man-made disasters.
Barrier at the border
The defense barrier on the border with Russia became relevant for Ukraine back in 2014. The construction of the so-called “Yatsenyuk wall” progressed slowly and with numerous corruption scandals. After the start of a full-scale war, the absence of defensive structures on our border became practically obvious. The offensive of the northern aggressor in May of this year in the direction of Kharkiv exacerbated this problem again. Corruption and irresponsibility caused the insecurity of the approaches to Kharkiv, which led to the numerous deaths of our military and civilian population, as well as the loss of a certain part of the territory.
And what about the defense structures on the borders of Israel? The idea to fence off aggressive neighbors with a security wall arose long before independence, but the full implementation of these projects began as early as the 21st century. In Israel, there is a whole network of border barriers with a total length of about 1000 km along the perimeter. These are separation walls around the Palestinian territories of the West Bank of the Jordan River, on the border with Egypt and Lebanon. As a rule, the height of fences reaches an average of 8 meters. They are equipped with barbed wire and video surveillance equipment, as well as combat observation towers with armed personnel.
Next to the wall is a deep channel and an exclusion zone up to 60 m wide. The border walls are constantly being strengthened and technically improved.
One of the last high-tech walls built is the barrier on the border with the Gaza Strip, which is also called the “smart wall”, more than 40 km long. This wall also includes an underground part with digital sensors to prevent the work of underground tunnel diggers. The cost of this building was more than $800 million.
Israel strives not to leave a single kilometer of its borders without defensive structures, so the work on erecting walls never stops. Ukraine faces the same difficult task. The only difference is that the length of the borders of Israel is 1,068 km, and the border of Ukraine with Russia is almost 2,000 km. And this is without taking into account corruption, which is more terrible than the length of borders.
International security guarantees
As NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated, the North Atlantic Alliance will comprehensively help Ukraine and contribute to its victory. However, Ukraine will be able to gain NATO membership only after the end of the war. Since Israel is also not a member of this defense alliance, the aspect of international military guarantees is particularly relevant for us. Despite many years of close cooperation, the United States, according to the treaty, is not obliged to send its armed forces to help Israel. But for decades, Israel has maintained a special relationship with the United States as Washington’s main partner in the Middle East and is the largest combined recipient of US foreign aid since World War II.
US aid to Israel is currently set out in 10-year agreements, the latest of which commits Washington to $38 billion in military aid between 2019 and 2028. At the same time, it is provided for a reason. The USA solves a lot of problems with the hands of Israel, without entering directly into those conflicts where the Americans do not want to “shine” – the situation is quite similar with Ukraine. At the same time, Israel has special conditions for receiving decommissioned weapons, it has developed its military-industrial complex, which allows it to be even more advanced in some areas and to some extent independent of the United States. For example, the country recently tested a laser cannon that allows you to shoot down drones.
Ukraine has also concluded similar agreements on security guarantees with a number of NATO member states, and the number of such guarantors continues to grow. In 2019, the “Recommendations for Israel’s National Security Strategy” were published, which defined the main principles formulated by Ben-Gurion. They emphasize the need for close relationships between society, economy, education, science and technology, foreign and domestic politics, and military power.
Therefore, Israel’s experience can serve as a valuable source of knowledge and ideas for Ukraine, which seeks to strengthen its defense.
