In a 3 part article on Israel’s National Security Doctrine, Ron Ben Yishai argues that Israel has no winning strategy against the threat of the Muqawama Doctrine – the “slow destruction” strategy used to undermine Israel’s staying power and ultimately wipe it off the map (what the Reut Institute calls the ‘Logic of Implosion’).
Ben Yishai expains that in its current format, the Muqawama Doctrine identifies three Israeli vulnerabilities:
1. The civilian home front
2. The Israeli public’s sensitivity to civilian causalities and IDF casualties,
3. The sensitivity of Israel’s political leaders to international public opinion
Israel is in a fundamentally inferior position because it does not have an agreed upon national strategy that would enable it to derive diplomatic and military midterm goals as well as IDF buildup and operational methods.
Ben Yishai’s analysis is extremely important. Reut has written several papers on how Israel’s National Security Concept is irrelevant including a Memo to the Winograd Committee.
Moreover, any analysis of Israel’s national security should include a discussion of how to strengthen Israel’s home front which may bear the brunt of the next war.
General
Amit Granek
Yuval Holtzmann
Ronit Gudes
Gidi Grinstein
Gaddy Weissman
Calev Ben Dor
Yossi Horesh
Dana Preisler
Omri Dagan
Eran Shayshon
Liran Bainvol
Merav Pick
Noa Ecker
Netaly Ophir
Yariv Mann
Reut Institute
Omri Zegen
Yael Weisz
Toni Hasson
Talia Gorodess
Gil Murciano
Anat Horowitz
Abed Assli
Daphna Kaufman
Shay Gurion
Elad Leshem
Aliza Petrack
Jessica Brandt
Yael Brendel
Martin Ben Moreh
yotamhacohen
Jeremy Fischer
Eden Gallanter
“Any analysis of Israel’s national security should include a discussion of how to strengthen Israel’s home front which may bear the brunt of the next war”. A discussion of this matter is absolutely crucial given:
a) the technological advances being made by Palestinian terrorist organisations which are managing to increase the range of their rockets.
b) the higher quality weapons being provided to Hezbollah, principally by Iran.
Whilst Israel is investing in the means to counter these rockets, it should also ensure that the Home Front does not lack the means to act in the best possible way should those rockets and missiles hit their targets (as some inevitably will).
Daniel
thanks for your comment
I agree with your analysis.
Reut is dedicating a team to the challenge of upgrading the civilian front and is currently completing a paper discussing a Conceptual Framework for Victory on the Home Front which was presented to the Ayalon Committee.
Although the Home Front has become the main battle ground over the last two decades, Israel’s current National Security Concept gives it only marginal importance.
This needs to change.
We hope to publish the paper sometime next week.