Monday, December 11, 9:00 AM EDT
The Israeli-Hamas War: Intelligence, Strategy and the Day After
As the Israel-Hamas war enters its second month, the role of intelligence has figured prominently. How did Israel fail to grasp Hamas’s intentions and capabilities and to anticipate the October 7 attack? Was this a failure of imagination or were there structural and bureaucratic impediments that prevented Israel’s intelligence community from identifying the dots and connecting them? Are domestic politics overriding sound intelligence analysis to shape the Israeli government’s campaign against Hamas, its approach toward Gazan civilians, its efforts to free hostages, and its thinking on post-conflict Gaza and the West Bank?
Join us as Efraim Halevy, former director of the Mossad, and Ami Ayalon, former director of Shin Bet, engage in conversation with Aaron David Miller on these and other subjects.
SPEAKERS
Efraim Halevy was a member of the directorate of the Mossad for twenty-eight years and served as deputy head for five years, leaving in 1995 to become Israel’s ambassador to the European Union from 1996 to 1988. In 1998, he was appointed the ninth head of the Mossad and served under three prime ministers—Benjamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, and Ariel Sharon—until 2002.
Admiral (ret). Ami Ayalon is a former director of the Israeli Security Agency, also known as the Shin Bet, and a former commander of Israel’s navy. Ayalon received the Medal of Valor, the highest Israeli military decoration. He has also served as a cabinet minister and a member of the Knesset.
Aaron David Miller is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, focusing on U.S. foreign policy.