יום שבת, י״ח אב תשפ״וSaturday, August 1, 2026
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Dr. Martin Sherman spent seven years in operational capacities in the Israeli defense establishment. He is the founder of the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a member of the Habithonistim-Israel Defense & Security Forum (IDSF) research team, and a participant in the Israel Victory Initiative.
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The feasibility of Trump’s “Deal of the Century” will be dramatically impacted by the nature of the regime east of the Jordan River and its prospective stability
From the rabid rants of the myriad of “Bibiphobes”, the uninformed observer would be led to believe that Netanyahu is to blame for every misfortune and every malfeasance on the face of the globe…
Arguably, Netanyahu’s gravest strategic miscalculation was not to call elections in May 2016 rather than capitulate to Liberman’s demand to be given the Defense portfolio.
Will the growing use of drones by the Gaza-based terror groups make the billion dollar Iron Dome and anti-tunnel barrier useless—or at least irrelevant?
It’s not enough to point out the flaws, however fatal, of the “left.” Rather, the “right” must present the public with a plausible and persuasive alternative that does not merely replace a geographic peril with a demographic one.
Of all the policy paradigms for the resolution of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian-Arabs, incentivized Arab emigration is the most humane if it succeeds and least inhumane if it does not
Perhaps the most telling—and most surprising—censure came from the prestigious and powerful pro-Israel lobby, AIPAC, which, as a rule, has consistently backed the decisions of the Israeli government—virtually without exception.
“Every round of violence, in which the results are not a clear-cut IDF victory is, in the eyes of Israel’s enemies, another nail in the coffin of the Zionist entity.” - Veteran war correspondent, Ron Ben Yishai, June 1, 2019.
The endeavor to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by economic means not only shows a grave defect in understanding its underlying causes, but inverts the causal relationship that generates & sustains it.
The huge investments made in defensive systems are slowly emerging as an exorbitant and costly failure—or at best a very partial and temporary success. The time has come to rethink Israel’s strategic paradigm.
What has unfolded in Gaza should not really surprise anyone willing to face up to the inclement realities. After all, it was not only entirely foreseeable, but easily foreseen
Despite possible short term difficulties, Israel should seize on the impending collapse of the Palestinian Authority as an opportunity to extricate itself from the deadly cul-de-sac, into which the Oslo process has lured it
Intensive investment must be made in civil society frameworks that can not only draw the idea of extended Israeli sovereignty into the main-stream discourse as a legitimate political objective, but as one that can dominate that discourse
In issuing his recent presidential decree, recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, President Donald followed the commendable policy pattern he has set...of not following the policy patterns set by his predecessors.
In overturning a previous decision of the Knesset’s Central Elections Committee, the High Court took another giant step towards further undermining the already dwindling public confidence in the Israeli judiciary.
The two-state paradigm’s deadly detriments are now so glaringly apparent that it is becoming increasingly difficult to reconcile calls for Palestinian statehood with genuine concern for the well-being of the Jewish nation-state.
The unrelenting drive to bring an indictment—any indictment—against Netanyahu has long exceeded the bounds of reasonable law enforcement.
The purported electoral appeal of the Blue & White line-up is that it includes 3 former IDF Chiefs-of-Staff, yet virtually invariably when top military figures have departed from their field of expertise (security) & ventured into one where they have none (politics), they have been disastrously wrong.
It would seem futile to conduct yet another indecisive round of fighting, only to return to yet another tense and sporadically violent interbellum for several years—until the next major flare-up of fighting…
Despite claims to the contrary, the Palestinian-Arabs, territory and the fate of the Jewish settlements will permeate the agenda of the April agenda, lurking below and hovering above all other issues.
If, as Morris maintains, a peaceable two-state outcome is unattainable, and a one-state outcome will lead to a Muslim-majority tyranny, then a large-scale initiative for incentivized Arab emigration is the only policy that can preserve the Jewish nation-state
Once inconceivable, the dismantling of UNRWA; the naturalization of stateless Palestinian residents in Arab countries; and the emigration of Palestinians from Judea-Samaria & Gaza are slowly emerging as realistic outcomes
As a rule, on entering Israeli politics, senior military and security figures have played a troubling role, which has—almost uniformly—proved disastrous, both for the country and/or for themselves.
If the “New Right” is to really advance “Right wing” causes, it must abandon schemes that lead to the Lebanonization or Balkanization of Israeli society & work towards legitimizing the idea of incentivized emigration of the Arab population of Judea-Samaria
One cannot but think that if another country treated Jews, wearing “kippot” and “peyote”, the way Jewish minors, accused of “terror” are treated in Israel, it would surely be engulfed in a wave of outrage and condemned for blatant anti-Semitism
If the “West Bank” was part of the “Hashemite Kingdom” up to 1967, how did it suddenly become the Palestinians’ long-yearned-for homeland which, up until then, they were submissively willing to cede to an alien potentate?
There is no greater irony than the spectacle of scores of ex-senior security officials, who spent their adult life defending Israel, now promoting a political initiative that will make it indefensible.
Supporters of two-state solution have sown seeds for the de-legitimization of Israel
Jewish victory over the adversarial Arab collective must be Israel’s overriding moral & operational concern. Facilitating its achievement should be the overriding challenge for Israel’s legal establishment
the failed formula of self-rule for Gaza must be set aside—since any obstinate insistence on it will only continue to exacerbate the current situation and extend the misery it precipitates—for Arab and Jew alike.
The escalation in the violence emanating from Gaza, on the very day after Israel permitted the transfer of millions of Qatari-sourced dollars into the coastal enclave, underscored the futility of persisting with conventional wisdom.
Trump is the creation of Obama. The divisions in American society he is accused of exacerbating are ones largely precipitated by his predecessor’s policies and prejudices
The policy of trying to placate Hamas with enhanced humanitarian aid is sadly no less farcical than trying to convert a man-eating tiger into a cuddly bunny-rabbit by offering it a diet of premium carrots
The cynically minded may be forgiven for suspecting that the prime goal of INSS’s newly launched plan is the demolition of Jewish communities, rather than the future resolution of conflict or enhanced Israeli security
Wilf seems oblivious to “pesky details” such as the murderous terror unleashed by the Palestinians, their Judeophobic indoctrination and Judeocidal incitement, as “grand obstacles to peace”
The potential impermanence of the positive measures already undertaken by the Trump team should not be the only reason for Israeli concern over the brewing “ultimate deal”
The Left in Israel is behaving like a person who cannot accept that the object of his love has chosen another in his stead
Glick’s prescription for a “A One-State Plan for Peace in the Middle East” will jeopardize the Zionist enterprise no less than the two-state paradigm, which she rightly repudiates with great force and eloquence.
Had Haaretz wanted to give a fair portrayal of my policy proposal, instead of alluding to “Transfer, the headline would have read “Evacuation-compensation for Arabs: An answer to Israel’s geographic and demographic imperatives?”.
From recent reports on planned Israeli responses to events in Gaza, one might be excused for thinking that the late Shimon Peres had returned from the hereafter, reincarnated in the form of the allegedly hawkish Avigdor Liberman
Liberman’s appointment as Defense Minister ignited expectations of a qualitatively different approach to that of his predecessor—one discernibly more robust and resolute… Sadly, this was not to be
If critics of the Nationality Bill have real concerns for the rights of non-Jewish minorities, the patriotic way to address them would be via a new Basic Law to protect them, not raucously denouncing the bill as “racist”
Israeli security policy is driven by Arab enmity–not Arab ethnicity
Israel will only be democratic if it is Jewish—and it will only be Jewish if it is Zionist. Therefore, it will only be democratic if it is Zionist i.e. if it is the nation state of the Jewish people
Astonishingly, having been proved entirely justified in its condemnation of the dangerous defects of the “Left’s” political credo, the “Right” proceeded to embrace it
It is unrealistic to expect that the Palestinians will experience a sudden “aha moment”, slap their forehead in epiphanic realization of the futility of their Judeocidal endeavors—and, of their own volition, docilely declare defeat
Possible repercussions of the challenge to the stability of the Hashemite regime is the potential impact that political upheaval in Jordan may have on the feasibility of Donald Trump’s “ultimate deal” Mid-East peace plan which is rumored to be announced soon.
Hamas and its terror affiliates are not burrowing tunnels, flying incendiary kites and firing rockets at Israeli civilians because Gaza has no port. They are doing so despite the fact that it does not have one!
The arrest of former Minister Gonen Segev, on charges of treason, constitute a regrettable vindication of my assessment of the man – over 25 years ago.
Has the IDF brass forgotten that they are soldiers, charged with providing military solutions to physical threats to the nation’s security; not sociologists, tasked with diagnosing the societal ailments of its enemies?
The privation in Gaza is not the cause of the enmity towards the Jewish state. Quite the opposite! It is the enmity towards the Jewish state that is the cause of the privation in Gaza.
The solution for Gaza is not, and cannot be, its reconstruction, but its deconstruction and the generously funded humanitarian relocation and rehabilitation of the non-belligerent Gazans to third party countries, outside the “circle of violence”.
The solution for Gaza is not, and cannot be, its reconstruction, but its deconstruction and the generously funded humanitarian relocation and rehabilitation of the non-belligerent Gazans to third party countries, outside the “circle of violence”.
Tom Friedman’s last piece on Gaza is a “masterful” blend of personal bile & bias, liberally laced with logical inconsistencies, factual inaccuracies and even blatant non-sequiturs
Nothing could expose the true intent of the Judeocidal riots on Gaza border more than the Nazi-style swastikas on incendiary kites flown into Israel to set Jewish property (& if possible, Jewish people) ablaze.
The attempt to justify the 2015 deal with Iran, as being the only viable alternative to allowing it to develop nuclear weapons, is both infuriating and disingenuous.
Israel must convey a resolute message to arm-chair liberals who are staunchly prepared to defend their principles…down to the last Israeli
If surrendering US primacy in the region to Russia was the result of US passivity and inaction, the intrusion of Iran into Syria can very definitely be attributed to ill-conceived, active American policy.
If surrendering US primacy in the region to Russia was the result of US passivity and inaction, the intrusion of Iran into Syria can very definitely be attributed to ill-conceived, active American policy.
Israel must convey that it will consider the continuation of the “March of Return” an overt act of war, and all the participants in it, enemy combatants—who must expect to face all the risks that entails.
According to Ronald Lauder, Israel must be either perilously insecure; or demographically untenable. This is an utterly false dichotomy.
In pursuit of bipartisanship AIPAC should strive to persuade “progressives”, not pander to them”; to convert them, not co-opt them. Convince them not conform to their agenda.
Palestinian statehood & a secure Israel are mutually exclusive goals. This was always the accepted wisdom in Israel - until the discourse was hijacked by the tyrannical diktats of politically correct dogma
Israel is approaching a point when it must decide to destroy enemy capabilities, rather than attempting to deter the enemy from using them.
The unrelenting drive to bring an indictment—any indictment—against Netanyahu has long exceeded the bounds of reasonable law enforcement
Netanyahu was elected as the Prime Minster, not as the Pope. Accordingly, he should be judged primarily on the basis of his political and strategic accomplishments, not his personal morality
The time has come for the “Right” to “bite the bullet” & give up trying to advance convoluted political prescriptions in lieu of the two-state formula. It is time to identify the Palestinian-Arabs as the enemy
The entire issue of “Palestinian national identity” is a giant hoax, intended to be no more than a temporary ruse, until the Jewish hold on sovereignty in the Holy Land—any part of the Holy Land—is pried loose.
The jury is no longer out on the two-state paradigm. Given the accumulating evidence, unequivocally demonstrating its folly and futility, Dershowitz must accept the unavoidable verdict of its failure
BDS is not an attempt to delegitimize Israel, but rather a product of Israel’s delegitimization; it is thus a consequence, rather than a cause, of that delegitimization
The ongoing turmoil in Iran highlights both the duplicity to which the Obama administration resorted and the missed opportunity for a better deal.
When India supports an anti-Israel resolution, while Croatia, Romania, and Ukraine do not—invoking ingrained anti-Semitism rings somewhat hollow, and alternative explanations are called for
“Iran will become a nuclear power. The only mystery over how that will happen is whether Obama was inept or whether he deliberately sought to make the theocracy…strategic power.”- Victor Davis Hanson
There is precious little reason to believe that any Palestinian state established in areas evacuated by Israel would not swiftly degenerate into a mega-Gaza overlooking greater Tel Aviv.
Ironically, the case of Sinai, once held up as the crowning vindication of the land-for-peace principle is likely to turn out to be its one of its most tragic and traumatic failures.
Only by resisting territorial concessions on the Golan Israel prevented deployment of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRG) on the fringes of the Galilee; only by resisting territorial concessions in the “West Bank” can Israel prevent the IRG from deploying on the fringes of Greater Tel Aviv.
Perhaps the gravest threat facing Israel today is the twin perils of a dangerous, delusional “Left” and an impotent, incompetent “Right”, unable to decisively and definitively discredit its opposition
Conflict management has not countered successful Palestinian efforts…to change crucial strategic facts on the ground with deleterious long-term implications on Israel’s security.
Unless integrated into a wider conceptually coherent strategic policy, home demolitions, like any other operational tactics, such as targeted killing, are unlikely to be effective in any meaningful way.
As the experience of 2003 shows, Iran will only abandon its nuclear program if confronted by what it perceives to be a tangible military threat
Of all the “Right-wing” alternatives for the two-state formula, the “Jordan-is-Palestine” concept is the only one not inconsistent with the underlying principles of the “Humanitarian Paradigm”
If Rabin had a crystal ball that allowed him to foresee the terrible trauma and tragedy the Oslo Agreements would cause, there is little doubt that he would have never agreed to its signature.
Several flaws in MK Smotrich’s otherwise bold proposal will prevent it from achieving its long-term strategic goal: Sustainable Jewish sovereignty over the entire Land of Israel
While Israel has been “managing the conflict”, its non-state adversaries have been enhancing their capabilities so dramatically that they now a grave strategic threat
The Palestinian population is not some hapless victim of the terror groups but the very crucible from which they emerged
Given the resistance to removing hundreds of thousands of Jews from their ancient homeland in Judea-Samaria, an egregious idea is emerging: Instead of evacuation, abandonment
New calls for unilateral withdrawal are both pernicious—because of the calamitous consequences it will precipitate—and puerile—because of the naïve hope that it will not
By rigorous process of elimination, we are left with the Humanitarian Paradigm, as the only possible policy prescription able to adequately address the imperatives needed to preserve Israel as the nation state of Jews.
Only one policy paradigm can sustain Israel as the nation-state of the Jews and prevent it becoming untenable either geographically or demographically—or both
Learn more about today's Middle East in this interview with leading pundit and regular Jewish Press Online contributor, Dr. Martin Sherman.
As a non-observant Jew I was always skeptical towards the claim of my more devout kin-folk that the Temple Mount was the key to the maintenance of Jewish sovereignty over Israel. I was wrong!
After seven decades living under Israeli sovereignty, and over half a century after military rule over the Arab population was abolished, anti-Israel enmity is alive and kicking among Israeli Arabs
Hamas are not burrowing tunnels because Gaza has no port. They are burrowing them despite the fact it does not have one.
Clearly reflecting the impact of the change in Indian policy towards Israel was the chagrin expressed by the Palestinian envoy to New Delhi: “We were shocked…”
It is time for the Israeli Left to come to terms with the existence of “The Other” and the idea that people who think differently to them are just as legitimate as those who look different to them
The real humanitarian solution to the plight of Gaza lies not in its reconstruction, but in its deconstruction
In-depth 2013 study: “Israeli academics have been free to engage in ‘nazification’ of Israel”
Sequel to the dispelling of doubts regarding the feasibility - and morality - of largescale, financially incentivized emigration as the only non-kinetic approach for resolution of the Israel-Palestinian impasse.
Current polls conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research show, regularly and repeatedly between 25-35% of Arab residents of Judea-Samaria and 45-55% in Gaza wish to emigrate permanently.
For fruits of Israeli victory to endure, any post-victory reality must preclude a self-governing Palestinian entity, which would always be subjected to external incitement to fight the Jewish “intruders”
July 31, 2026 
