Israel to hold “routine” nationwide emergency drill today

Who says people do not learn from past mistakes? Here is an example: If you served in the military reserves or were a member of your state national guard during the cold war, you were probably instructed to memorize a code word (or, rather, a phrase consisting of two or three words). If you heard this phrase on the radio, you were supposed to drop everything and rush join your unit at its base or another prearranged assembling place (today they use cell phones and SMS). Exactly forty-nine years ago, on 1 April 1959, the Israeli radio stopped its regular programming to broadcast a series of code phrases in nine languages (Israel was then a society of immigrants). The vaunted Israel Defense Force (IDF) is in the main a reserve army, and the radio was often used in those days to mobilize the reserve formations in a hurry. The sudden mobilization, without any apparent tension along the country’s borders, caused massive panic. People were convinced that war was about the break out - if it had not broken out already. It took several tense hours for the government to announce that it was a drill, not the real thing. Prime Minister David Ben Gurion appointed an investigative committee which found that Military Intelligence planned the unannounced drill in order to see how neighboring Arab countries would react to an emergency troop mobilization in Israel. Ben Gurion was furious: The drill was planned and conducted without the knowledge or approval of the defense minister or the chief of staff. Two generals lost their jobs. One of the code phrases used on that fateful night was “Water Ducks,” and the sorry episode became known as “The Night of the Ducks.”

Now, why this walk down thus dusty memory lane? Because Israel is conducting a test of its nationwide emergency response system today. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert insisted Sunday this was “only a drill” and that it has nothing to do with “exaggerated” reports of heightened tensions with Syria. “I would like to make it unequivocally clear that this is a routine drill,” Olmert said before the start of his weekly Cabinet meeting two days before the scheduled drill. “The State of Israel is not intent on any violent confrontation in the north. On the contrary, we have said more than once that we have an interest in holding peace negotiations with Syria,” he said. “They know exactly what our expectations are. I can also say that we know what their expectations are; if these conditions will bear fruit, then this is what we are intent on and nothing else.”

The drill will included a minute and a half-long siren which will sound across Israel at 10 a.m. except in the southern town of Sderot, a frequent target of rocket attacks launched by Palestinian militants in Gaza. At the same time, Israeli television will show a message from the Israeli military as well as instructional videos on how to seek shelter during an alert. During the drill, Israeli schools and government offices will practice entering protected spaces. The drill is meant to test the country’s response to a variety of attacks, including rocket strikes and incidents involving chemical and biological agents.