Israel’s national security concept is at a turning point that demands clarification. Since October 7, 2023, it has become evident that Israel’s security policy is, in practice, guided by a new security concept rather than the unwritten security doctrine that took shape over decades. (Despite its flaws, the earlier concept helped Israel become a prosperous regional power. Had it been properly implemented, it might have prevented the colossal failure of October 7, but that is for a state commission of inquiry to determine.) This...
A comparative analysis of Israel’s situation on the eve of October 7 and after three years of war – what has changed in its national strength, conflict arenas, and the national security balance.
Since October 7, a lively debate has been underway in professional circles regarding the need to update or revise Israel’s national security strategy. As is well known to those engaged in the field, Israel does not have, and has never had, a national security strategy in the full sense of the term—one that is written, approved by the political leadership, and made public. In practice, the term “security strategy” is used in Israel as a tool that those who invoke it define as they see fit and employ for their own purposes. Yet in the...
Contemporary Israel, probably more than ever before, requires a widely accepted national security doctrine—grounded in the values of Israel’s Declaration of Independence. Its overarching objectives are to ensure Israel’s security, prosperity, and Jewish-democratic character, with a firm Jewish majority and defensible, recognized borders
