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Tech is important but not enough while fighting terrorism: Defense Attache, Israel Embassy
3rd National security conference organised by Brahma Research Foundation to commemorate 15 years of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack
Mumbai: In the 3rd National Security Conference, Colonel Avihay Zafrany, Defense Attache to the Israeli Embassy in India, conceded that while technology plays a crucial role, it falls short in the global fight against terrorism, citing Israel’s failure to prevent the October 7 Hamas attack.
Colonel Zafrany was among several security experts, veterans, and retired armed services officials who spoke at the “3rd National Security Conference” organised by Brahma Research Foundation (BRF), a Mumbai-based think tank, to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in Bandra on Sunday.The think tank, patronized by BJP MLA Ashish Shelar, held the well-attended event as a mark of respect for the martyrs of the 26/11 attacks and also to assess the country’s preparations to prevent future attacks.
Apart from Colonel Zafrany, Lt. General V G Khandare (retired), the Principal Advisor to the Defense Minister, General Manoj Naravane (retired) who had served as the 28th Chief of Army Staff, Vice Admiral Dinesh Tripathi, Flag Officer-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, Nitin Gokhale, a national security and defense journalist, and the editor of ‘Bharat Shakti’ participated in the conference.
Colonel Zafrany, in a PowerPoint presentation, detailed Israel’s efforts to minimise civilian damage during the retaliation against Hamas. He said, “Hamas has turned Palestine into a terror state and is using human shields” to create more fear. He explained how Hamas is using “guerrilla warfare.” He also stated, “There does not seem to be an end to the surfacing of new terror outfits as we have seen the emergence of al-Qaida, ISIS, and now Hamas.”
Agreeing with the BRF Director Dr Vijay Page’s reiteration that “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty,” Lt General Khandare (retired) said that countries that faced attacks like 9/11 in the US, 26/11 in India, and October 7, 2023, in Israel cannot afford to be overconfident or complacent. “There was an intelligence failure, but every nation must trust its security agencies. We look at only intelligence failures, but do we know how many attacks are prevented by these agencies,” he stated.
Kobbi Shoshani, Consul General of Israel to Mid-West India, reflected on Mumbai’s pain post-26/11, noting the dual challenge of fighting terrorism and countering fake news.
Chief guest Vice Admiral Dinesh Tripathi, Commander-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, said India has substantially strengthened its maritime defence and coastal security since the 9/11 attacks.
In a discussion led by defence journalist Nitin Gokhale and retired Chief of Army Staff General Naravane, the October 7 Hamas attack emphasised the imperative of maintaining high alert levels, with General Naravane stressing the significance of human intelligence alongside technology, cautioning against over-dependence on the latter.
