CV

    Brigadier general (Res.) Assaf Orion is a Senior Researcher at the INSS and Director of The Diane & Guilford Glazer Israel-China Policy Center.

    Since joining the INSS in 2015, following 32 years of IDF service, he directed the BDS and de-legitimization program, participated in projects and programs on Syria, Lebanon and Israel-Palestinians, and headed the INSS international research group. In 2018 he was a visiting military fellow in The Washington Institute for Near East Policy in Washington DC, later to become its international fellow.

    In his final posting in the IDF, Brig. Gen. Orion served as head of Strategic Division in the IDF General Staff’s Planning Directorate (2010-2015), responsible for strategy and policy planning, international cooperation, military diplomacy and liaison to neighboring militaries and peacekeeping forces. He headed the IDF team to the tripartite talks with UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces in Naqourah, led staff dialogs with foreign defense and intelligence partners, took part in the US-Israel security dialogue, and represented the IDF in negotiations with the Palestinians. Prior to that he served more than two decades in command and intelligence positions in the Israel Defense Intelligence (IDI) and its National SIGINT Unit 8200, in SIGINT, OSINT, and international intelligence cooperation.

    Brig. Gen. Orion holds a B.A. in Arabic language and literature and Middle Eastern history from Tel Aviv University (1992), and an M.P.A. from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (2000). His training included Israel’s IC senior inter-agency Intelligence course (1994), the IDF Advanced Course on Operational Art (2002), and the International Intelligence Directors' Course (DISC) in Great Britain (2005). His fields of interest include national and regional security policy, applied strategy, strategic negotiation and cooperation and adaptation challenges in complex and fast changing environments.

    Assaf Orion
    Assaf Orion
    Senior Researcher and Director of the Diane and Guilford Glazer Israel-China Policy Center
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    orion@inss.org.il
    03-640-0417

    Publications

    All Publications
    Special Publication
    So Far So Good? The Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire Is Largely Holding
    The agreement’s implementation phase is going surprisingly well and has been extended, but maintaining the ceasefire will require officials to resolve the issues in dispute and address Hezbollah’s threats.
    29 January, 2025
    Special Publication
    Facing Off—China and Taiwan in the Context of the Swords of Iron War
    Following the October 7 massacre, China has effectively aligned with Hamas, while its rival Taiwan has clearly sided with Israel. Should Jerusalem now shift its policies toward Beijing on one hand and toward Taipei on the other?
    16 June, 2024
    INSS Insight
    China and the Houthis: Sounds of Silence
    Although the terrorist attacks by the Houthis in Yemen threaten Chinese ships and harm Chinese commercial interests, Beijing has remained silent about these incidents and refuses to join the international effort to guarantee freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. Why?
    10 January, 2024
    INSS Insight
    On the Brink of Nuclearization, the Brink of War, the Brink of the Abyss
    The “judicial reform” legislation, expected to change the face of Israel, has progressed rapidly and aroused widespread protests, while Israel’s enemies, from Tehran to Beirut, rejoice from afar. With Iran on the brink of nuclear capability and the Palestinian theater inflamed with a rising chance of escalation, Israel’s government must now take difficult and fateful decisions. The decision to cross the legislative threshold – as well as the responsibility for the consequences of this move – lies solely in Jerusalem. Before any calamity, the government must stop, engage in dialogue, and deliberate again, for the sake of national security
    15 March, 2023
    Chapters
    The International System: The Global Competition and its Growing Influence on Israel
    Current Situation  – Great power competition · Struggle over world order · Technology core issue · Potential escalation (Ukraine, Taiwan) · Less collaboration · Middle East lower priority | Current Israeli Strategy  – “Between the raindrops” maneuver ·  Rely on the US while advancing relations with other powers | Recommended Strategy – Alternative 2: Strengthen the US strategic mainstay · Stand by the US as a member of the Western camp · Pursue differential foreign policy, adjusted to era of great power competition
    23 February, 2023
    Strategic Assessment
    The Response to the Iranian Proxy War: Jerusalem’s Power vs. the Quds Force
    This article takes a systemic look at Iran’s proxy war as a component of its strategic threat to Israel. It examines how Israel has met the challenge, considers the gaps in its approach, describes the development of its concept during the confrontation in Syria since the end of 2017, and proposes a strategic framework and guiding principles for the ongoing campaign against Iran. It focuses on a holistic view of Iran’s threats – nuclear and conventional; the need for an integrative and comprehensive Israeli policy against them; new rules of the game defined by Israel to replace those that Iran shaped for its own benefit; and full use of Israel’s capabilities to limit the threat, not only in wars, but mainly in the ongoing campaign between them. This article suggests a response that seeks to unhinge the logic of the enemy system structure and disrupt its operation by undermining its essential centers of gravity, above all the Quds Force. Such a response will undercut the processes of the proxies’ force buildup, armament, and force employment, as well as the ability of the proxies to regroup after fighting against Israel.

    Media

    All media
    How Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists will be different under Trump: Citing Assaf Orion
    Assaf Orion
    ,Quote
    19 March, 2025
    January 31, 2025 - PBS News Hour full episode: Interviewing Assaf Orion
    Assaf Orion
    2 February, 2025
    U.N. accuses Israel of pushing Gaza health system to ‘brink of total collapse': Interviewing Assaf Orion on PBS Newshour
    Assaf Orion
    ,Radio and TV
    1 January, 2025