Dear Members and Friends,

Over the past three days and nights of incessant attack, more than 200 rockets launched from the Gaza strip were fired at Israeli cities and towns. Only two Israelis were scratched by glass shards and the material damage was insignificant. Scores of Israeli lives were saved and millions of dollars in damages were avoided.

This onslaught of rockets fired in salvo and single rounds were all defended by three batteries of the Iron Dome, an anti-rocket and -mortar missile defense system developed by Israel with U.S. support and operated by the young soldiers of the Israeli Air Defense Command. The Iron Dome batteries were deployed in the main cities near Gaza of Ashdod, Be’er Sheva and Ashkelon and were intended specifically for the protection of the civilian populations there. Israeli lives depended on the performance and talent of Israeli engineers who conceived and perfected the system.

Brigadier General Doron Gavish and the Israeli Air Defense Command that he commands are to be commended, along with all the troops of the Israeli Air Force.

The success of the Iron Dome system is a testimony to the significant alliance between Israel and the United States; it is a tribute to the effective use of missile and rocket defense in today’s world.

The President of the United States and the United States Congress should also take credit for providing support for the ongoing manufacturing of Iron Dome Batteries in Israel over recent years. These systems would not have been deployed today without U.S. support.

At least seven more of these Iron Dome Batteries are needed to protect and defend Israeli cities and towns near the Syrian border.

It is of note that this year the Administration cut the 2013 budget to Israel for these systems by $136 million.