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Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-746500
What the Arrow-3 Sale to Germany Says about Israel
(Jerusalem Post) Herb Keinon - Germany has announced plans to buy Israel's Arrow-3 missile defense system. When viewed within the context of recent history, this is astounding. Only three generations ago, Germany was responsible for the murder of more than one-third of the Jewish people. Talk about a reversal of fortunes. These sales are important to Israel because they strengthen bilateral ties. If Israel is providing a country with weapons that keep it safe, that country will relate to Israel in a fundamentally different way. This is only natural. Countries, like people, relate to and treat those they need differently than those they do not. A second reason these sales are so critical for Israel is that they make it possible for the country to pay for the research and development to produce the weapons it needs for its own survival. Amos Yaron, a former director-general of the Defense Ministry, said Israel needs to export 70% of the weapons and systems it manufactures to cover the R&D costs. The net result is that Israel's ability to give countries around the world things they need necessarily increases its utility to the world.