The debate over the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the United States and Israel about the next decade of US defense aid to Israel has hit an impasse. However, the gap between Israel and the United States on the defense aid package is not limited to the final sum on the bottom line. Rather, the Obama administration and the Israeli government are deeply divided by different strategic views of the threats in the Middle East and the extent to which Israel is a US asset. In 2015, Israel opted not to accept the US proposals...
This essay discusses the lessons learned from the major failures in intelligence work in Israel vis-à-vis the prime minister and the security cabinet since before the Yom Kippur War, the relative progress made since then in integrating all the elements of the intelligence community in the decision making process, and the lapses that still remain. The essay proposes establishing a small staff body, a “Pluralistic Desk,” that will be directly subordinate to the prime minister and part of the Prime Minister’s Bureau. The head of this...
In recent years, activity in cyberspace has developed at a rapid and intense pace. In 2002, the government of Israel addressed this challenge by establishing the National Information Security Authority. Since then, Israel’s functional continuity has become even more dependent on technology in general, and on cyberspace activity in particular. As a consequence of this dependence, the threats to Israel’s functional continuity have intensified. Numerous states and enemies are systematically developing capabilities and acting against...
The instability racking the Middle East of the past five years shows little sign of abatement, and every new conflict or war – between states and within states – constitutes another link in the chain of social, ideological, political, and territorial upheavals sweeping the region. With the Middle East thus having become a region marked primarily by violence, regional and international leaders must focus their attention on both defensive and offensive measures designed to reduce the potential for damage and destruction inherent in...
An analysis of Israel’s strategic environment and security challenges in 2016 prompts the question whether Israel’s political-security response suits the anticipated strategic framework of the coming years. The IDF strategy document, published in August 2015 (in a shortened and unclassified version), makes it possible to consider whether the IDF is preparing for the right challenges. The strategy document emphasizes, inter alia, the main extreme scenarios facing the IDF: a war in Lebanon, a war in the Gaza Strip, and military...
Every year, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defense argue over the size and composition of the defense budget, which makes it difficult for the government to reach a decision about the budget. Almost every year, the defense budget that is drafted before the beginning of the financial year is found to be inadequate, and a necessary supplement is granted during the year. This article describes the current defense budget data for 2016, and examines the many developments that have taken place in the discussion about the...
One of the most remarkable aspects of the Islamic State is its extensive use of social media and its presence on social media. The organization’s meteoric rise to global awareness in the summer of 2014 was accompanied not only by its conquest of vast territories in Iraq and Syria, but also by an impressive and well-planned, multilingual campaign on social media. Islamic State propaganda sells continual victory and never-ending warfare against a broad array of enemies to its supporters and the general public. Steady defeats on the...
Abstract: This article studies the influence of religion on political attitudes in Israel by testing two propositions: “religion-friendly” democratization and “greedy” socialization. The former implies that accommodation of religious demands stimulates democratization, the latter argues that domineering religious socialization does not motivate democratic attitudes. Analysis of data from representative surveys conducted in 2006–2013, supports “greedy” socialization over the “religion friendly” hypothesis. I show that in most...
Israel lives under the constant threat of enemies who seek its destruction and who systematically and grossly violate the laws of warfare. Despite this difficult reality, Israel in general and the IDF in particular must take care to continue to honor moral and legal norms, thereby distinguishing Israel from its enemies. For Israel’s enemies, one form of victory is a situation in which Israel loses its values as a Jewish and democratic state. It is imperative to deny the enemy this victory. Norms of morality and the laws of armed...
Operation Protective Edge (July 7-August 26, 2014) was the longest and most complex military challenge in a continuing cycle of violence between the State of Israel and Hamas since the organization’s inception in 1987. It is still too early to assess the achievements and the results of the military campaign, which are still not sufficiently clear for either side, and to determine whether Israel succeeded in achieving its primary aim of establishing longterm deterrence. Throughout the campaign, Hamas used all its capabilities,...
Casualties first appeared on the public, political-military, and media agenda in the democratic, Western world in the 1990s. This article seeks to examine the Israeli media’s coverage of military casualties during Operation Protective Edge, especially in light of past patterns of reporting. Despite the public feeling that the operation was necessary, coverage did not totally revert to “traditional” patterns. During the case in point, the media dealt with causalities and the human price paid in war; however, it tried consciously to...
The publication of “The IDF Strategy” – a milestone in the relationship between the military and the civilian population – is unprecedented, and it is impossible to overstate the importance of the transparency manifested by the very publication of the document. The document provides an opportunity to examine the IDF’s current strategy in the light of the threats that the security concept seeks to address. After a background discussion of Israel’s strategic environment, the document considers the IDF’s major elements of activity: the...
