Israel Needs Its Own D9 - Strategic Insurance, Not Luxury

Israel Needs Its Own D9 – Strategic Insurance, Not Luxury
Dr. Aaron Lerner 23 April 2026

Rabbi Avraham Zarbiv was honored to light one of the torches at our
Independence Day ceremony for inventing a method to bring down buildings of
as much as 7 stories tall via the harmonic motion caused by repeatedly
pushing them with a Caterpillar D9.

This strategic, and in many respects game-changing, discovery certainly
warranted this recognition.

We need D9s or their equivalent.

Just last week, 40 out of 47 Democratic senators voted in favor of
legislation aimed at blocking the sale of D9s to Israel.

If the trend continues that is only the beginning.

If you think there’s no cause for concern, I suggest you read A Deepening
Crisis in Israel’s Standing in the United States
INSS Insight No. 2130, April 23, 2026
by Avishay Ben Sasson-Gordis and Theodore Sasson
https://www.inss.org.il/publication/usa-israel-public-opinion/

It should serve as a wake-up call for anyone who thinks there is no need to
prepare for a change in Washington come January 2029.

Legislation wouldn’t even be needed if the wrong person sits in the White
House.

Imagine the cheers a Democratic president would get for announcing that
Israel violated the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) by failing to limit the
use of the D9s to legitimate self-defense or internal security.

If the USA stops supplying D9s, there is literally no substitute available
in the world.

There are, though, sources for the drivetrain in India which can be relied
upon even if the sun goes down for us in America.

Building an alternative would be anything but cheap, and there probably
won’t even be an export market for an Israeli D9 to help offset the costs.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a $110 billion investment plan
over the next 10 years specifically dedicated to building an independent
domestic arms industry.

In that context, even a $1 billion program to have a boycott-proof
substitute for the D9 takes a reasonable place in the portfolio.

A domestic D9 is not a luxury. It is strategic insurance.
________________________________________
IMRA – Independent Media Review and Analysis

Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on
Arab-Israeli relations

Website: www.imra.org.il

Source: https://www.imra.org.il/story.php?id=74441