Israeli Military Strategy

After winning clear victories against larger, more powerful adversaries in the early decades of its existence, Israel’s 21st century wars have been against unconventional and more complex enemies. How has Israel confronted these new challenges, including terrorism, asymmetrical warfare, and ideological warfare? How has Israel adapted its strategy to the rapidly changing nature of warfare? Why has Israel bested—but not defeated—its opponents? In this seminar course, we will examine Israel’s military strategy during four key modern conflicts—the Second Intifada, the Second Lebanon War, Operation Protective Edge, and the ongoing military campaign against Iran and its proxies. We will assess Israel’s political and military choices while studying basic concepts in military strategy.

Dr. Gabriel Scheinmann
The Alexander Hamilton Society
Dr. Gabriel Scheinmann is the Executive Director of the Alexander Hamilton Society, an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit, membership organization dedicated to promoting constructive debate on basic principles and contemporary issues in foreign, economic, and national security policy. Before joining AHS, Dr. Scheinmann worked at the Center for Strategic and International Studies as a research analyst and then served as the policy director at the Jewish Policy Center where he co-edited a journal of international affairs. He is a widely published author on U.S. national security and foreign policy, including in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and Foreign Affairs. He received his PhD and MA from Georgetown University and his BA from Harvard College.
Meet the Instructor
Tikvah aims to make all of our courses available to as many qualified students as possible. In the event that Tikvah needs to add additional sections, this course may be taught by a different faculty member with a similarly high level of expertise.