Daniel Gold, who led the team that invented Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, has a history of safeguarding the country against what he identifies as existential threats.
With the nation facing surging coronavirus cases amid a pandemic that has triggered unprecedented economic hardship, Gold is trying to replicate his Iron Dome breakthrough in protecting Israel against the virus.
Gold, who heads Israel’s Defence Research and Development Directorate and holds PhDs in electronic engineering and business management, has become a celebrated figure in the Jewish state.
Iron Dome faced widespread skepticism over its effectiveness before it was deployed in 2011, but it has since been credited with intercepting countless rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.
Gold told AFP that he first became convinced of Israel’s need for missile defense technology during the 1990-91 Gulf War, when Saddam Hussein’s forces launched Iraqi Scud missiles towards Tel Aviv.
“Tel Aviv was empty” at the time, he said in an interview at Israel’s defense ministry. “I decided we had to do something.”
Gold said his motivation for designing Iron Dome was to “save lives” and “maintain the continuity of life in Israel.”
Even in times of crisis, with rockets raining down, he said he wanted people to “at least (be able) to go to work.” AFP
The nature of the pandemic threat may be different, but Gold’s motivations in combatting the virus are strikingly similar.
Since developing Iron Dome, he has retired from the army and worked in the private sector before returning to the defense ministry as a civilian to lead its R&D directorate.
In early March, during a meeting at Prime Minister’s Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, he realized the gravity of the coronavirus threat, he said.
His department’s coronavirus work has focused on three areas: “life-saving,” including domestic production of ventilators, helping the health system prepare for an overwhelming caseload and what he termed a “game-changer.”
The final category has largely centred on designing coronavirus tests that give accurate results in less than 60 seconds, using breath, smell or artificial intelligence.
Various concepts are undergoing major trials, involving private sector and government partners.
“We hope that if we succeed, it is a game-changer around the world,” said Gold.