Vision to Reality: The Reut Blog

The Reut Institute published today the English version of its report on the May 31st Gaza Flotilla. The report analyzes the strategic significance and systemic context of the incident and offers recommendations on how to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

Unlike the current government commissions that deal primarily with technical or operational aspects of the Flotilla, Reut’s investigation addresses the broader, strategic context. In conducting it, Reut employed its methodology of systemic policy analysis. Specifically, Reut approached the incident through its previously developed conceptual framework for confronting the delegitimization challenge, titled “‘Israel’s Delegitimization Challenge: Creating a Political Firewall.”

The report, entitled The Gaza Flotilla: A Collapse of Israel’s Political Firewall, reveals the threat presented by an increasingly sophisticated global delegitimization campaign waged against Israel.  The Gaza Flotilla was a strategic political strike within this campaign. The report draws particular attention to the evolution of Hamas’ strategy to further prioritizing attacking Israel’s international legitimacy, and its deepening collaborative mechanisms with Western-based organizations and individuals with complementary agendas.

In order to deal with these challenges, Reut proposes guidelines for waging a global systemic offensive aimed at building a political firewall against Israel’s delegitimization. In parallel, we maintain that Israel must adopt clear and consistent policies towards Hamas and the political process, which effectively reflect a sincere commitment to ending Israel’s control over the Palestinian population and achieving peace.

Significant media attention greeted the report’s publication, notably a full-length treatment in Haaretz, which discussed the “devastating report” as characterizing a “political-strategic terror attack” that caused significant damage to Israel. In closing, the article cited Reut Founder and President Gidi Grinstein:”… A broad coalition of organizations that work against us and cause us enormous damage in terms of global public opinion has been created, but it is still a war that can be won.”

The report was initiated and commissioned by the Julis Foundation for Multi-Disciplinary Thinking.