Rocket fire from Gaza
Photo: Yariv Maimon
The Jew and the Muslim mapping Hamas' missiles
Belgian-Israeli Jew and Dutch Muslim have developed Israel Under Attack, a new computer tool for mapping rocket trajectories from Gaza.
A new computer tool showing the trajectory of Hamas rockets fired at Israel from Gaza is not only getting traction on social media, but constitutes an example of Jewish-Arab public diplomacy coexistence in action.
The brainchild of 18-year-old Samuel Lespes Cardillo and 22-year-old Farid el-Nasire, the program – “Israel Under Attack” – is a map of incoming red alerts, showing both their target in Israel and their point of origin. Cardillo is a Jew from Belgium who immigrated to Israel six months ago. El-Nasire is a pro-Israel Muslim from the Netherlands, whose family is originally from Morocco. The two met on Facebook, in a group called Innovation Israel, a mere week before launching the tool on the morning of July 20.
Realizing through chats that they shared a similar idea for faster and more precise Code Red alerts, they collaborated via Skype and phone between Hoorn and Herzliya, spending what Cardillo described to ISRAEL21c as “many white nights” to get the tool ready and up and running as quickly as possible for the safety of the Israeli public.
Unlike the Red Alert audio app for smartphones, which shows the area a rocket or missile is headed and warns the residents of that area to take cover in a shelter or safe room, Israel Under Attack enables users to visualize the process, from launch to interception or hit. It also indicates, with a digital clock, how many hours, minutes and seconds it has been “since Israel was targeted by Hamas rockets.” When there is an actual alert, it makes a deep and startling twanging sound.
Read the rest on Israel21c
