In Alaska last month, the U.S. and Israel successfully tested the Arrow 3 missile, designed to knock high-altitude missiles out of the sky. Developed jointly by the two countries, this sophisticated weapon is used by the IDF, together with the Iron Dome and other systems, to protect the civilian population from an entire range of rockets, missiles, and mortar shells. Jacob Nagel and Jonathan Schanzer write:

The [Arrow 3] provides Israel with the ability to defend against long-range, advanced Iranian missiles like the Shahab 3. It allows for exo-atmospheric interception high in space, offering Israel ample time to defend itself. Unlike other missile-defense systems, the Arrow 3 also gives Israel the capability and flexibility to deal with nuclear warheads, and to do so with impressive interception rates.

American and Israeli coordination in missile defense has been important for both sides. The joint development of the Arrow 3 underscores this. Other Israeli missile-defense technology has proved to be very valuable to Washington. The U.S. Army recently signed an agreement to acquire two Iron Dome batteries for testing and possible broader acquisition. In the coming weeks, the Marines are going to test the system, as well. . . . Lasers are likely to be an important part of the next frontier in missile defense.

Missile defense will continue to be one of the largest expenses in Israel’s military budget. This is because of the spike in missile and rocket threats posed by Iranian proxies. The terrorist groups specifically aim to target Israel’s civilian population. This challenge will continue to prompt continued Israeli innovation.

Of course, America does not face the same threats that Israel does on its borders. But some of Israel’s missile-defense solutions can help augment or improve the systems deployed in the United States. Moreover, such cooperation sends a clear message to common foes, like Iran.

Two extraordinary events demonstrate something important about Israel’s most fervent adversaries. One was a speech given at something called The People’s Forum (funded generously by Goldman Sachs), which stated, “When the state of Israel is finally destroyed and erased from history, that will be the single most important blow we can give to destroying capitalism and imperialism.”

The suggestion that this tiny state is the linchpin of a global, centuries-old phenomenon like capitalism goes well beyond anything resembling rational criticism. Even if Israel were guilty of genocide, apartheid, and oppression—which of course it is not—it would not follow that its destruction would help end capitalism or imperialism.

The other was an anti-Israel protest that took place in front of New York City’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, deemed “complicit” in Israel’s evils. At organizers’ urging, participants shouted their slogans at kids in the cancer ward, who were watching from the windows. Given Hamas’s indifference toward the lives of Gazan children, such callousness toward non-Palestinian children from Hamas’s Western allies shouldn’t be surprising. The protest—like the abovementioned speech—deliberately conveyed the message that Israel is the ultimate evil and its destruction the ultimate good, cancer patients be damned.

The fact that Israel’s adversaries are almost comically perverse does not mean that they can be dismissed. If its allies fail to understand the obsessive and irrational hatred that it faces, they cannot effectively help it defend itself.