Beyond Gaza, the Confrontation with Iran
Iran seeks to derail the US regional effort based on Saudi-Israeli normalization
Gazan Civilian Casualties: Hamas’ Strategy and Israel’s Achilles Heel
Israel has correctly assessed the October 7 attack as an existential threat to the state. To be sure, Hamas could never overrun Israel. But if Hamas remains capable of such attacks, possibly coordinated next time with the greater military threats of Lebanese Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran, Israel could be pushed to the brink (as nearly […]
How Could This Happen?
Israelis woke up on 7 October 2023 to a day of grief, outrage, and ultimately, incomprehension. It was not the missiles which mattered. Israelis have grown accustomed to missile attacks from Gaza. The horrors which gradually unfolded resulted from an overland breach of the Gaza border defenses. At various points in time on October 7, 14 […]
Was Groupthink Responsible for Israel’s Surprise in the 1973 War, Or Is That Just Another Faulty Assumption?
With the approach of the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War of October 1973, it’s time to revisit one of its ongoing scandals in Israel, the claim that the government’s surprise at the start of the war was caused by a set of assumptions, based on intelligence assessments, called in Hebrew the “konzepzia.” >> Inside […]
Is Israel’s Military Fraying?
Worries over the Reservists’ Protest and Its Implications.
Afghanistan Two Years after the Taliban Take-over
On the two-year anniversary of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, JST asked five experts who worked in and on Afghanistan for their comments.
Should America and Israel Sign a Defense Treaty? Depends on the Saudi Deal
A defense treaty with the US sounds attractive to many in Israel. In 1986-1987, I chaired discussions on the issue in the foreign affairs and defense committee of the Knesset, and we produced a document with pros and cons. The idea came up again in the Sharon government of 2004-2005, and we concluded then that […]
Should America and Israel Sign a Defense Treaty? Three Israeli Voices
A bilateral US-Israel “security deal” or defense treaty is back on the agenda of an Israeli government, according to the press. The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune asked three former senior Israeli officials for their views. Hunting a Dangerous TrophyYair Golan Let us assume that Israel does put on the table a request for a formal defense […]
Assessing Israel’s ongoing campaign against Iran in Syria
Since 2013 – and more intensely since 2017 – Israel has been conducting an active military and intelligence campaign against Iran’s presence in Syria, in addition to the ongoing operations against Iran’s nuclear effort. Doubts have been raised as to the long-term ability of this strategy to prevent Iran from sustaining and extending its grip […]
How Israel Lost the Syrian Civil War
Apart from the Syrian people themselves, Israel comes out of the 12 years of civil war in Syria as the biggest loser. The survival of the Assad regime, closely allied with Iran, amounts to nothing short of an Israeli strategic failure. Assad’s survival turns Iran into Israel’s next-door neighbor, exercising growing influence on the rebuilding of Syria’s armed forces. It allows for land corridors through Iraq and (via […]
