Israeli National Security on the Eve of Yet Another Election A Forum in Memory of Zeev Schiff

During his fifty-year career in journalism, Israeli military analyst Zeev Schiff dissected monumental events of war and peace with realism, vision, nuance, and attention to detail. From his post at Haaretz and through his books and media appearances, he earned the respect of fellow journalists and policymakers alike—in Israel, across the Middle East, and around the world. His wisdom and guidance were instrumental to the founding and growth of The Washington Institute, where he was a longtime fellow and source of unfailingly wise counsel.

Fifteen years after his passing, a panel of renowned Israeli strategic thinkers paid tribute to Schiff, their friend and colleague, at a virtual Policy Forum to discuss the new realities of the Middle East, including Israel’s growing relationships with Gulf countries, the threat of Iran’s conventional and nuclear power, the deepening crisis in the Palestinian Authority, and the impact of great power competition.

Participants included:

Maj. Gen. Amos Gilead, Israel Defense Forces (Res.), former head of research for IDF military intelligence; former director of policy and political-military affairs at the Ministry of Defense; current executive director of the Institute for Policy and Strategy at Reichman University;

Brig. Gen. Ephraim Sneh, IDF (Res.), former minister of health, minister of transportation, and deputy minister of defense; former commander of Israeli forces in south Lebanon and head of the civil administration in the West Bank;

Ehud Yaari, the Lafer International Fellow with The Washington Institute and a Middle East commentator for Israel’s Channel Two television; coauthor with Zeev Schiff of three books (The Year of the Dove, Israel’s Lebanon War, and Intifada);

Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, IDF (Res.), former head of military intelligence, deputy commander of the Israeli Air Force, commander of the IDF Military Colleges and the National Defense College, and defense attache in Washington; former director of the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

Register to watch this forum on event day.

THE SCHIFF MEMORIAL LECTURE SERIES

Each year, the Schiff Memorial Lecture Series brings to Washington a distinguished leader from Israel’s national security establishment. The series was established by a group of Washington Institute trustees to honor the memory of Zeev Schiff, dean of Israeli security experts, former Haaretz defense editor, and longtime associate of the Institute. Previous lecturers have included Ehud Barak, Moshe Yaalon, Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, Amos Yadlin, Yoav Galant, Shimon Shamir, “Benny” Gantz, and Yair Golan.