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In the Aftermath of October 7, Israel has adopted a pre-emptive military doctrine leading it to project power across the region more frequently at a greater range. This has contributed to a series of strategic victories in the past year, including the decapitation of Hamas and Hezbollah’s senior leadership, the fall of the Assad regime, the targeting of the Houthis, and the targeting of Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities that saw Israel establish air dominance over Iran. Ironically, the dichotomy has arisen in that while Israel is being diplomatically isolated, Israel is perceived as the rising tiger of the region.

Israel stands to benefit from the region’s economic integration and trade, as well as digital connectivity between Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is being developed to challenge China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Russia’s influence in the region. Despite the conflict in Gaza, the Abraham Accords remain intact, with discussions over Indonesia, Syria and Saudi Arabia on joining. It remains to be seen whether Israel seize upon the opportunity to expand its geography in the West Bank and Gaza to create buffer zones or whether it will relegate this to expanding the Abraham Accords.

Brigadier General (Ret.) Amir Avivi
Brig. Gen. (Res.) Amir Avivi is the founder and chairman of Israel’s Defense & Strategic Forum (IDSF).
Former Deputy Comptroller of the Security Forces,
Former Director of the Office of the Chief of Staff
Former Deputy Commander of the Gaza Division
Former Commander of the Sagi Division, Commander of Batallion 605 and Commander of the School of Combat Engineering.

Asher Fredman
Director for Israel at the US-based Abraham Accords Peace Institute
Senior Managing Fellow at Israel’s Misgav Institute for National Security
Founder of the Israeli-Emirati Forum and was one of the founding members of the UAE-Israel Business Council.
Formerly served in senior roles in Israel’s Strategic Affairs Ministry, Public Security Ministry and Prime Minister’s Office.

Dr. Avner Golov
VP Research and Alliances at MIND Israel
Former Senior Director for Foreign Policy, National Security Council
Visiting Scholar, the Fletcher School, Tufts University
Adjunct lecturer, Reichman University
Former director of research programs, INSS

Major General Tal Kelman
Former head of Strategic Planning & Cooperation Directorate (J5) at the Israel Defence Forces where he previously served as head of the Iran Directorate.
Former Chief of Air Staff at the Israeli Air Force.

Brigadier General (Ret.) Yossi Kuperwasser
Former Director General of the Ministry of International Affairs and Strategy
Former Assistant Defense Attaché for Intelligence at the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC
Former Chief Intelligence Officer of the IDF Central Command
Former Head of the Analysis and Production Division of the IDF Directorate of Military Intelligence.

Harley Lippman
Appointed a Member of the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad by President George W Bush

Dr. Dan Schueftan
Head, International Graduate Program in National Security at the University of Haifa
Director, National Security Studies Center at the University of Haifa (2008-2018)
Visiting Professor at the Department of Government at Georgetown University in Washington DC (2012-2014)
Lecturer, Israel Defense Forces National Defense College

Dr. David Wurmser
Former advisor to the U.S. National Security Advisor, Ambassador John Bolton & to former U.S. Vice President (Richard Cheney) on Middle East, proliferation and strategic affairs.

Moderated by: 

Barak Seener
Associate Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society