The IDF has not been a “people’s army” for a long time, at least not in the traditional sense as Ben-Gurion intended. Meantime, discussions of benefits in the IDF have grown far more common, part of a debate that at present is conducted as a means of preserving the remnants of this model. The recent increase in the subsistence allowance of conscripts raised the topic of benefits anew, while at the same time there is confusion between compensation (for loss and damage), benefits (for activity and contribution), and...
In his article “Whoever Flees from Maneuver Will Not Win” (December 23, 2021), Ofer Shelah argues that maneuver (a ground offensive, in military terminology) is essential to defeat the enemy forces, maximize destruction on the enemy’s side, and ensure that the question of “who won?” does not arise. Shelah contends that the use of firepower without maneuver extends the duration of hostilities and thereby increases the damage to Israel, and that defensive achievements are insufficient for any campaign. The purpose of this article is to...
The strategic assessment for Israel for 2021 is shaped by significant uncertainty in three principal areas: the level of success in coping with COVID-19; the modus operandi and policies of the new administration in the United States; and the political developments in Israel. The current assessment is based on a broader conception of national security, which places greater weight than in the past on the domestic arena and on threats to internal stability, social cohesion, values, and fabric of life. This of course does not detract...
The National Home Front Exercise took place during the first week of November. In it, the IDF’s Home Front Command and the Ministry of Defense’s National Emergency Management Authority, along with other emergency authorities, practiced what was defined as a “wide-ranging emergency scenario” with the goal of strengthening the coordination between them. The exercise focused on functional challenges, important in themselves. Yet there are gaps in preparedness for dealing with security emergencies and with mass disasters, including...
In August 2021 the Knesset committee approved a bill designed to escape the existing dead end on the issue of haredi (ultra-Orthodox) enlistment in the IDF. However, the wording of the proposal, the lack of clarity within the IDF on the matter, and the absence of willingness to change among the ultra-Orthodox themselves do not guarantee that the problem will be resolved. It appears that even if the proposal is accepted, the integration of the ultra-Orthodox community into the state institutions, the IDF, and the labor market will not...
Public confidence in the IDF is a central social-national asset that enables the military to enlist support, resources, and quality manpower, particularly when civilian needs become prominent and threaten its seniority as a public system. Several recent events may reflect growing gaps between the public’s attitudes regarding how the IDF is managed and how the army presents itself. These events may hint at the decline in the level of confidence in the army on the part of the public and some of those serving in it, and also raise...
A destructive earthquake in Israel is not a question of if it, but when. A reference scenario that was presented to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in 2016 estimated that 7,000 people would be killed, tens of thousands injured, infrastructure damaged, hundreds of thousands of buildings damaged, and hundreds of thousands of people evacuated from their homes. In such a scenario, Israel would be thrust into a state of ongoing disaster, with the government systems hard pressed to contain and handle the event and its numerous...
With the aim of encouraging haredim (ultra-Orthodox) to enter the labor market, in July 2021 Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman decided to stop subsidizing day care centers unless both parents were working at least part time or were in the process of acquiring education or vocational skills that would help them find work. Lieberman’s decision sparked much criticism from the haredi community, which is firmly opposed to the measure. This article stresses the importance of gainful haredi employment, along with continued recognition of...
At the start of H. E. President Isaac Herzog’s term of office, and following the many global and local developments and changes over the past six months – including a new administration in Washington, President Biden’s decision to try to return to the nuclear deal with Iran, the formation of a new government in Israel, and growing tensions in Israeli society, including clashes between Arabs and Jews in Israeli cities – the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) presented to President Herzog highlights on the main strategic...
In the fourth round of fighting in 12 years between Israel and Palestinian terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, attacks from Gaza once again targeted Israel’s civilian front. The attacks were characterized by extensive use of high-trajectory weapons – some 400 munitions daily – causing casualties and considerable property damage in Israel’s civilian space. Nonetheless, due to the relatively short duration of the fighting and the efficient actions of the relevant systems in Israel, above all the IDF’s air defense system, the...
The disaster on Mount Meron on April 29-30, 2021 is evidence of the systemic and ongoing crisis that besets the State of Israel, manifested in flawed governance and based on insufficient legal norms that can serve as a general, equal, and binding framework for state, public, and private conduct. In order to turn the dire and unnecessary disaster into an opportunity, Israel must identify and redefine, in a professional and independent manner, the systemic, social, and political roots that facilitated the underlying circumstances of...
The coronavirus crisis has raised public awareness of natural hazards and pushed them to the top of the global risk list. The World Economic Forum in Davos (January 2021) determined that infectious diseases are the highest risk in terms of their impact on the world in the coming year. In the medium term, even after the pandemic is over, the socioeconomic consequences of the coronavirus crisis will remain a leading risk. The forum also highlighted other natural risks, including extreme climate change and man-made environmental damage....
