Observations on Israeli Security Perspectives
From My Year in Israel
- By Rexford Barton
I would like to add a few perspectives to the excellent presentation Allan Myer gave to the National Security Forum, based on my observations from spending the last year in Israel pursuing a Masters Degree from Tel Aviv University.
- First, as Myer indicated, there are wide differences between various Israeli political parties on a range of issues. However, when it comes to foreign policy—especially how to deal with Iran—there is very little daylight between the parties. This can also be said fairly well with respect to the thorny problem of dealing with the Palestinians.
- Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren, was one of the few senior Israeli officials to voice a somewhat different approach. Oren’s key recommendation was that Israel should focus economic and political assistance, as well as development money, to the West bank, while Israel should prepare for a unilateral withdrawal from that area. The key purpose would be to help build a workable society for the Palestinians living in the West bank, while—separately—those residing in Gaza would continue to live under the repressive rule of Hamas. The longer term goal would be to demonstrate that a peaceful Palestinian community could thrive with Israel’s help, and suffer under Hamas. Eventually, he believes, the Palestinians in Gaza would rise up and throw out Hamas (and embrace the Palestinian Authority under Fatah leadership).
- While living and studying in Israel, one thing you became used to—constant attacks. Throughout the year I spent in Israel, there was hardly a time that would go by without some sort of violent incident. The attacks went both ways—Arab on Israeli and Israeli on Arab targets. But—I must stress—the vast majority was Arab on Israeli.
- Most of the direct attacks were not bombings, but stabbings and vehicular assaults. Indirect attacks included launching rockets—on average one or two a month and all from Gaza.
- Intifada—throughout my stay in Israel, there were discussions of a “Third Intifada”. The intensity of discussion was high when I first arrived, then there was a lull, but towards the end of my stay the discussions grew in passion and number. I had to wonder if this was unusual—something that happened in my year there—or was this constant attention to an Intifada always present in Israeli society.
- Peace—“All tactics and no strategy”. This was the most astute observation and summation of Israeli actions to end the conflict since the 1967 “Six Days War”. Of course, much the same could be said about the Palestine’ deficit of strategy (one observer once noted that “The Palestinians Never Waste and Opportunity….to Waste an Opportunity”). This quote about the lack of a guiding strategy for Israel was from Even Abraham Shalom, the former head of Shin Bet, who described Israel’s actions in a documentary, “The Gatekeepers”.
- With respect to the Palestinians view of the United States, a mixed perception here. More tourists are visiting the West Bank—especially to Bethlehem and Ramallah—and the Authority loves to welcome these visitors (well, for the most part). However, all Palestinians feel that the U.S. is anything but an unbiased participant in the conflict, even as Washington seeks to maintain that narrative and likely feels it is neutral.
These are just some observations I pass on from my year in Israel.
- Rexford Barton worked as an Airborne Intelligence Analyst with the Nevada Air National Guard, deploying to both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. He graduated from the University of Nevada Reno with a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations and has recently returned from Tel Aviv, Israel where he was pursued a Master’s of Arts in Middle Eastern Studies at Tel Aviv University.