The IDF Must Revamp Its Strategies

If the IDF continues to operate according to its old conventions while Hezbollah continues to adapt itself to new realities, it could find itself defeated. IDF commanders need new capabilities to safeguard and support the forces on the ground.

Should the IDF Manage the COVID-19 Crisis?

The claim that management of the COVID-19 crisis by the IDF’s Home Front Command would have resulted in a far better outcome is based on the illusion that all emergencies have a common denominator that enables organizations to prepare for and deal with them effectively. But this is a false assumption.

Golda Meir: The Civilian Who Exposed Israel’s Lack of Preparedness for the 1973 War

Although Israeli PM Golda Meir lacked military knowledge, her questions during government discussions on the eve of the Yom Kippur War exposed the fact that deterrence and early warning, the two cornerstones of Israel’s security conception, had not been adequately addressed. If the IDF officers and the many bithonistim (officials with a security background) in her government had heeded her questions, the war could have gone very differently and perhaps even have been averted.

The Long Roots of the Yom Kippur War Debacle

The IDF’s difficulties at the outset of the 1973 Yom Kippur War stemmed from an inherent command flaw rather than an intelligence failure as is commonly believed. The roots of this flaw date back to 1957, when Chief of Staff Moshe Dayan decided on an early retirement age for IDF personnel so as to enable them to embark on a second career. Defense Minister David Ben-Gurion, who saw the dangers of the decision, opposed it but did not use his authority to revoke it.

IDF Budget Uncertainty and the Momentum Plan

Momentum, the IDF’s ambitious new multi-year force build-up program, will require a long-term budget framework if it is to achieve its goals—but clouds of uncertainty have gathered around it in the shadow of a massive government deficit.

The Intelligence Dimension of the IDF’s Flight from South Lebanon in May 2000

The extent of the current military threat to Israel posed by Hezbollah is the outcome of the hasty Israeli withdrawal from the security zone in South Lebanon in May 2000. Then-PM Ehud Barak appears to have made this fundamental decision without consulting Israeli intelligence.

Israel Versus Anyone: A Military Net Assessment of the Middle East

This assessment of Israel's military capability relative to the threats it faces is based on historically proven combat data, which in turn reflects the impact of human and technical quality on military combat effectiveness. This study also reflects a unique understanding of the significant variation in the efficiency of alternate national defense systems and the realistic impact of time on the generation of regional military power.

The Benefits of Decreased Security Cooperation with the PA

A lull in security cooperation between Israel and the PA could be a blessing in disguise for Israel’s security forces. A changed environment is always a summons to organizational innovation and self-reliance, the lack of which cost many lives during the Oslo years and Arafat’s war against Israel that began in 2000.

The 1982 Lebanon War and Its Repercussions for Israel’s National Security

Dr. Hanan Shai
June 4, 2020
Paper No. 1596

The conquest of southern Lebanon in Operation Peace for Galilee, and Israel’s long sojourn in the area, had political and military justification. But defects in the IDF’s deployment during the operation, and later in its protracted security activity, culminated in the May 2000 hurried withdrawal that continues to this day to negatively affect Israel’s national security.

Israel’s Frustrating Experience in South Lebanon

Twenty years after Israel’s withdrawal from south Lebanon, it is worth considering basic questions about its experience over years of warfare in a campaign that did not aim for victory. Those questions include what was going on, what Israel was fighting for, and what ultimately impelled it to withdraw. Such considerations have immediate significance in terms of clarifying the tenets of Israel’s security concept.