US Foreign Policy in an Election Year, <br> A Discussion at the JST Breakfast in Washington

Ambassador Anne Patterson, General Jim Clapper, and former Under Secretary of Defense Dov Zakheim – representing the worlds of diplomacy, intelligence and defense – led the discussion on February 29, at the Metropolitan Club in Washington. JST publisher Ahmed Charai began by surveying the many challenges facing the United States in this year Following are […]

The Danger of Failed States Surrounding Israel

Middle East Illustration

Four months into the war in Gaza and the cafés in Tel Aviv are full. It’s nearly impossible to find a spot in trendy restaurants on weekends. Yet no one should be mistaken. Israel is not back to normal.  A radio or television plays in the background of nearly every café and shop, and when […]

Israel On the International Legal Docket

Judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) deliver ruling on provisional measures sought by South Africa in the genocide case against Israel, January 26, 2024. Photo credit: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw.

When the International Court of Justice in the Hague decided on January 26 not to issue an injunction to stop Israel’s war in Gaza, Israel’s media saw a temporary legal victory. However, the court did not dismiss South Africa’s claim of genocide. Rather it required Israel to report within 30 days on its compliance with […]

Israel’s Revised National Security Doctrine Must Include Border Defense

The remains of a home in Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel, following the attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Photo credit: REUTERS/Amir Cohen.

Twice in the last fifty years, Israel sustained surprise attacks on a major scale. In the first instance, in October 1973, the IDF failed in fulfilling its mission of defending Israel’s frontiers, but partially compensated for this failure later in the war. Fifty years later, in October 2023, the IDF failed in an irreversible way […]

Video Interview with Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert

JST columnist Ksenia Svetlova interviews Israel’s former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about the war with Hamas during his time in office, about the current conflicts in Gaza and the northern border, and Israeli domestic politics. Read the full transcript below. Note: This transcript is lightly edited for accuracy. Ksenia Svetlova: Were you surprised when October 7 […]

‎Offensive Cyber Operations As a Tool of War

Photo credit: Jakub Porzycki via Reuters Connect.

Cyberspace has become a major domain for organized crime as well as for statecraft in the twenty-first century. Israel has become a top global cyber power. But cyber offense is no silver bullet.  What Is a Cyber-Attack?  A senior JPMorgan executive made headlines at the recent Davos gathering: “people are trying to hack into JPMorgan […]

Comparing Gaza with Mosul

IDF troops in Gaza, November 2023. Photo credit: EYEPRESS via Reuters Connect.

When the war broke out in Gaza, observers made a number of comparisons to the challenges faced by the US-backed anti-ISIS coalition in the battle of Mosul. I was in northern Iraq when it began in October 2016, and I covered the battles leading up to the liberation of the old city of Mosul in March and April 2017. […]

The Record of Palestinian Unity Governments

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on left, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on right. Photo credits: West Asia News Agency via REUTERS; REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool.

On December 28, five Palestinian factions announced an agreement to form a unity government. The five included two Islamist organizations (Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad) and three small Marxist pan-Arab member groups of the PLO (led by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine). All five are committed to military resistance against Israel. This announcement, […]