Thoughts from the Safe Room on the New Map of the Middle East
Every modern apartment in Israel comes with a safe room hardened to survive a missile or rocket hit. In 2022 I moved to Jerusalem, bought an apartment, and placed my library in the safe room. Thus, I had plenty of resources to consult in the safe room during the recent Iranian missile attacks. Here are […]
Initial European and American Views of the US Air Strikes
In his inaugural address this past January, Donald J. Trump declared that “my proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier.” He added, “We will measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars that we end – and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get […]
The Punitive Expedition Against the Houthis
In 55 BCE, Julius Caesar decided (according to his Commentaries) to “cross the Rhine since he saw the Germans were so easily urged to go into Gaul, he desired they should have fears for their own territories when they discovered that the army of the Roman people both could and dared pass the Rhine.” This […]
Mr. President, the Time to Strike Is Now
President Trump, I write to you not with hesitation but with urgency. Your leadership transformed the Middle East. The Abraham Accords, your firm support for Israel, and your uncompromising stance toward terror made peace possible when many believed it was impossible. You did not follow the tired formulas of appeasement. You lead with principle and […]
Israel’s War Economy in the Balance
Israel’s economy faces two threats in 2025 – from the Iran-Gaza war and from the global economic upheaval caused by the Trump tariffs – but there are also signs of recovery. As we approach the end of the first half of 2025, Israel finds itself straddling two wars. The obvious one started from Gaza on […]
The Israel-Iran War: The View from Ankara
When Israel struck Iran on June 13, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan waited several hours before issuing a fiery rebuke, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “and his massacre network” of “setting [the] entire region on fire.” At the same time, Ankara must have quietly welcomed the attacks against its regional rival in Tehran. Turkey […]
What Led to the Strike Against Iran’s Nuclear Project?
On June 9, the Government of Israel decided on an extensive military operation, begun at three in the morning on Friday June 13, against Iran’s nuclear facilities, military leadership and ballistic missile infrastructure. Leading to this decision were a threat perception, which has been growing for decades, a window of opportunity, which opened in autumn […]
The IDF in Gaza: “Gideon’s Chariots” Making Slow Progress
The Israel Defense Forces have been on the offensive in Gaza since March 18. This offensive faces the same challenges the IDF encountered throughout 2024. Israeli commanders appear reticent to enter some key urban areas in Gaza, including the Central Camps area of Gaza. This may be due, inter alia, to concerns that hostages are […]
The Twilight of Palestinian “Armed Struggle”?
“Armed Struggle” was the main pillar, the tallest banner, the essence of the ethos of the Palestinian national movement since the last years of the 19th century. The conviction that the Zionist movement can be confronted only on the battlefield gave rise over the decades to many Palestinian military groupings. It became the ultimate narrative […]
Egypt-Israel Military Ties: Washington Must Pay More Attention
The Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023 marked a critical test of Israel’s quiet military partnership with Egypt. For more than a decade, Egypt and Israel maintained robust security coordination focused on ISIS cells in the Sinai peninsula. That cooperation, mostly kept out of the media, now faces its most serious challenge. Since the conflict in […]
