Publications

Strategic Challenges Facing Israel, and Policy Recommendations: Special Update for the President

Special Publication, August 1, 2021

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 challenges facing Israel and policy recommendations for addressing those challenges.

Findings on the main strategic challenges and policy recommendations were submitted to President Herzog at his official residence on Tuesday, July 27, 2021. INSS Director Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg and selected INSS researchers reviewed the leading current challenges facing the country and presented policy recommendations that can advance opportunities for Israel. What follows are highlights of the report.

Click here to download the full report

Iran: Uncertainty demands preparation for several scenarios

The Northern Arena: Policy updates are required for a range of threats

The Palestinian System: Strengthen the PA and reach an arrangement on Gaza

The Regional System: Normalization Opportunity 2.0

The International System: Adapt policy to global trends

The IDF and the Operational Environment: Guardian of the Walls as a wake-up call

The Israeli System: The way out of the multi-dimensional crisis

National Security Index 2021: Selected Findings

The opinions expressed in INSS publications are the authors’ alone.

Publication Series Special Publication

TopicsCoronavirus Economics and National Security Egypt Europe Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States Hamas and the Gaza Strip Iran Iraq and the Iraqi Shiite Militias Israel-China Policy Center - The Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Israel-United States Relations Jewish-Arab Relations in Israel Jordan Lebanon and Hezbollah Military and Strategic Affairs Operation Guardian of the Walls Peace Agreements and Normalization in the Middle East Russia Syria Societal Resilience and the Israeli Society The JCPOA

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Strategic Analysis for Israel 2023

Read the INSS Strategic Analysis for 2023

23/02/23

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The International System: One World, Two Worldviews, and Greater Divisiveness

The international system is struggling with many crises and challenges, led by the continued efforts at economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis while coping with the pandemic itself; the intensifying competition between the United States and China, which heightens the divisiveness in the international dynamic; and the climate crisis, which tests the ability to cooperate despite disagreements. The US administration has less attention for the Middle East, and is restoring human rights considerations to a central place in its policy, against the backdrop of the mid-term elections and deep political polarization in the United States. All these issues underline the need to update Israel’s policy regarding the international arena, especially: deepening the coordination with the US administration and key actors in the international community, and enlisting their support for advancing Israel’s objectives. Chief among them are preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and maximizing Israel’s comparative advantages, particularly in the fields of science and technology, to advance initiatives to help stabilize the Middle East and cope with the global climate crisis.

13/02/22

Strategic Survey for Israel 2022

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 from the urgency of security threats, which remain significant. In the face of this uncertainty, Israel will need to prioritize attention to the internal crisis; adjust itself to the competition between the great powers, which is affected by the pandemic; adapt to the Biden administration and coordinate with it on Iran and other issues; expand alliances and normalization agreements with additional countries in the region; and be ready for military escalation in the north and in the Gaza Strip arena, which could occur even though all of the actors involved prefer to avoid it.

21/12/21

Publications

Strategic Challenges Facing Israel, and Policy Recommendations: Special Update for the President

Click here to download the full report

Iran: Uncertainty demands preparation for several scenarios

The Northern Arena: Policy updates are required for a range of threats

The Palestinian System: Strengthen the PA and reach an arrangement on Gaza

The Regional System: Normalization Opportunity 2.0

The International System: Adapt policy to global trends

The IDF and the Operational Environment: Guardian of the Walls as a wake-up call

The Israeli System: The way out of the multi-dimensional crisis

National Security Index 2021: Selected Findings

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