A little Israeli girl plays on a playground at her elementary school on a nice April afternoon in Sderot, a city near the Gaza strip. (Add Picture) She plays freeze tag with all her friends, climbs on the monkey bars, and enjoys the life of an elementary student. They laugh with each other and tell jokes, until they hear an air raid siren go off, indicating rockets have been launched from the Gaza strip. The girl, her friends, and her teachers sprint to the nearest bomb shelters. The Iron Dome, an anti-missile system that protects Israel from rockets, is activated and shoots down the rocket from Gaza. “The system has the capability to identify and destroy such projectiles before they land in Israeli territory and is considered one of the most effective anti-missile systems in the world” (Jewish Library). This little girl, along with all of her friends and family, experience this almost daily (IHBRFF). Israelis live with constant anxiety and have to always be on alert. The only thing that is keeping her and the rest of Israel sane is their army, the Israeli Defense Force. The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has improved from the day it was created on May 31, 1948. Without an army to protect the state …show more content…
If she didn’t have an army to protect and defend her, then the Jewish state we know as Israel wouldn’t exist. The prime minister of Israel said in a speech, “We’re an ancient people. In our nearly 4,000 years of history, many have tried repeatedly to destroy the Jewish people. A powerful Persian viceroy named Haman, plotted to destroy the Jewish people some 2,500 years ago. But a courageous Jewish woman, Queen Esther, exposed the plot and gave for the Jewish people the right to defend themselves against their enemies. The plot was foiled. Our people were saved” (Washington Post). Back then there wasn’t an army to protect the lives of the Jewish people or the Jewish state, just regular citizens trying to defend