The Lessons We Should Have Learned from the First Lebanon War

Israeli troops in Lebanon, 1982. Photo credit: Michael Zarfati / IDF Spokesperson's Unit. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Three former US military officers recently reflected in these pages on the “The Lessons We Should have Learned from Vietnam,” based on their experiences in that war. Here are three former Israeli officers who similarly reflect on the formative war of their careers – the 1982 invasion of Lebanon.   Doron Almog on a Misguided Strategy […]

Security Challenges Facing the New Israeli Government

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo credit: Reuters

The State of Israel is not required by law to adopt a national security strategy. But the need for such a document has been often raised, and several efforts have been made to write one. In October 1953, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion presented a long disquisition on Israel’s security needs to the Cabinet, which he […]

The Debate Inside Israel over the Maritime Boundary Arrangement with Lebanon

Israeli delegates deliver statements after signing the maritime border deal with Lebanon, in Rosh Hanikra, northern Israel October 27, 2022. Photo credit: REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Not since the Oslo Accords of 1993–1995 has an aspect of Israel’s relations with an Arab neighbor aroused such vehement argument in the Israeli public. Unlike the Oslo Accords, however, this is not a bilateral agreement signed in each other’s presence as Lebanon refuses to deal with Israel directly, in any manner that would imply […]

The Abraham Accords: Anchoring Peace in Contested Waters

A cardboard cutout of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani at Naqoura, South Lebanon, next to the border with Israel. Photo credit: Elisa Gestri/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

This summer, Israel and Lebanon have come closer than ever to settling a decades-long maritime border dispute. A resolution of this dispute would not only give an economic boost to the region but also would help meet Europe’s energy needs.