The Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) is delighted to announce its new partnership with The Mortimer B. Zuckerman Foundation establishing JINSA’s Zuckerman IDF Generals Education Program.

In 2016, JINSA launched its Military Leadership Education Institute (MLEI) to educate elite, active duty military officers from America’s Middle Eastern allies about elements that influence U.S. foreign policy to foster a greater understanding of America’s regional and global strategic challenges and priorities. This new program to educate IDF generals, which received the approval of the IDF Chief of the General Staff LTG Aviv Kochavi and support of the Commander of the IDF Military Colleges MG Itai Veruv, will be a pillar of JINSA’s MLEI.

“We are very excited to partner with The Zuckerman Family Foundation on this important program which will deepen understanding in the U.S.-Israel military relationship at a critical moment for both countries. For decades, Mort Zuckerman has been a visionary philanthropist, trusted foreign policy voice, leading businessman, and key Jewish communal leader respected in America and around the world. He has been involved with JINSA for many years and served as a member of our Iran Policy Project. We greatly appreciate the Zuckerman Foundation’s support and are honored and humbled to be able to expand our relationship with Mort’s family by formally partnering with them on this impactful initiative,” said JINSA President & CEO Dr. Michael Makovsky.

“As part of the mission of the Zuckerman Family Foundation to enhance and support education and leadership, we admire and encourage the work of JINSA, the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. The innovative research and top-quality work JINSA does on educating Congressional, military and civilian national security decision-makers on American defense and strategic interests is outstanding. The annual trips JINSA arranges for IDF generals to visit the US are an invaluable way to enhance mutual cooperation and advance the special US-Israel relationship,” said James Gertler and Eric Gertler, trustees of the Zuckerman Family Foundation.

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Joining JINSA on Sept. 1 as Vice Presidents for Government Affairs were Morgan Viña and Matthew Kenney. Viña is a former Pentagon official and Senate aide who served as chief of staff and senior policy advisor to Nikki R. Haley when she was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Kenney, a former senior Department of Defense official overseeing congressional relations, was a longtime top aide to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. (R-KY).

Together, Viña and Kenney will lead JINSA’s outreach to key congressional and executive branch decision-makers to provide insight on how to advance American defense and strategic interests. Their arrival marks another milestone for JINSA as it increases its ranks of policy experts and research capabilities in support of its mission to strengthen the U.S.-Israel strategic relationship and promote a powerful American national security posture in the Middle East.

Speaking about her new affiliation with JINSA, Viña said: “During such a consequential time for our nation’s security, I am thrilled to be joining an organization whose mission is to educate congressional, civilian, and military leaders. JINSA’s commitment to a strong American defense and robust cooperation with Israel is the best guarantor of peace in the Middle East and beyond.”

Kenney said he is “excited to join the JINSA team. With its deep bench of seasoned experts working to advance peace and security in the Middle East, JINSA punches well above its weight class in Washington. In an increasingly volatile world, such expertise is uniquely valuable to policymakers.”

JINSA President and CEO Michael Makovsky added: “I am very pleased to welcome Morgan and Matt to JINSA. Their expertise gained from years of government service in Congress and the executive branch will add tremendous value to the organization. I know they will do an excellent job in furthering JINSA’s vital work in educating policymakers on vital ways to advance the U.S.-Israeli security relationship and strengthen the American military and national security posture.”

Prior to joining JINSA, Viña worked for Haley at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, where she served as the key advisor to the Ambassador’s policy development and executive team and managed Haley’s priorities on United Nations management, budget, and reform initiatives. Viña’s government service includes time as chief of staff for international security affairs in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, where she led policy development and coordination among the Department and interagency stakeholders. She also worked on Capitol Hill advising U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), then-Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, on matters of State Department oversight, U.S. foreign assistance, and reform of international organizations.

A graduate of Sweet Briar College, Viña holds an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics. She is a visiting fellow at the National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia School of Law and previously served as an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Kenney brings a broad spectrum of federal government experience to his new role at JINSA. He recently completed a three-year tour at the Department of Defense, performing the duties of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (PDASD) for Legislative Affairs from 2020-2021. During his tenure, Kenney spearheaded comprehensive legislative engagement strategies that contributed to the successful passage of multiple defense authorization and appropriations acts, including the legislative strategy that led to the creation of U.S. Space Force. He also served as a key advisor to the Deputy Secretary of Defense.

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At JINSA, Dermer’s work will focus on strengthening the U.S.-Israel alliance, addressing the threat posed by Iran, capitalizing on regional opportunities following the Abraham Accords, and combatting efforts to weaken the Jewish state.

From 2013 to 2021, Dermer served as Israel’s ambassador to the United States and was widely seen as one of the most consequential ambassadors ever in that role, as well as one of the most creative and influential ambassadors from any country during his tenure in Washington. One of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest advisers, he was a driving force behind many of the era’s most important diplomatic developments, working in close partnership with U.S. counterparts on securing long-term military assistance and missile defense funding for Israel, moving the American embassy to Jerusalem, attaining U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, implementing the maximum pressure campaign against Iran, and achieving the historic breakthrough that led to the Abraham Accords and the normalization of Israel’s relations with several Arab nations. Throughout his tenure, he also remained a fixture in the media as a powerful voice defending the Jewish State.

Speaking about his affiliation with JINSA, Dermer said: “Like Israel, JINSA punches well beyond its weight. It is an invaluable resource in both thinking about the strategic challenges facing the United States and Israel and in crafting policies that can meet those challenges. From formulating policies that would effectively confront the danger of a nuclear Iran to advocating for a U.S.-Israel mutual defense treaty to making the case for prepositioning U.S. weapons in Israel, Mike Makovsky and his colleagues at JINSA have done incredible work. I look forward to partnering with JINSA on developing ways to further strengthen the unique alliance been America and Israel and advance peace and security in the Middle East.”

Dermer’s arrival marks another milestone for JINSA as it expands its ranks of policy experts and research capabilities in support of its mission to strengthen the U.S.-Israel strategic relationship and advance America’s national security interests in the Middle East. Dermer is widely recognized as one of the world’s foremost authorities on the bilateral relationship between Washington and Jerusalem, and the central role it should play in securing the vital interests of the democratic West in the 21st century.

Michael Makovsky, JINSA’s President and CEO, said, “I am thrilled to have Ambassador Dermer join JINSA. As one of the leading foreign policy minds and practitioners of his generation, who has so much knowledge and has been so influential on a range of issues critical to U.S.-Israel relations, Ron will help make JINSA an even more important resource in Washington and Jerusalem, and in the policy debate across the United States. He is also a real mensch, a longtime friend, and it will be a real pleasure for me personally to work more closely with him.”

A native of Miami Beach, Fl., Dermer earned a degree in Finance and Management from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) from Oxford University. He is a former columnist for The Jerusalem Post and in 2004 co-authored with Natan Sharansky the best-selling book, The Case For Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror. From 2005-2008, Dermer served as Israel’s Minister of Economic Affairs in the United States. From 2009 to 2013, he served as Senior Advisor to Prime Minister Netanyahu.

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(Photo by Denise Truscello/Getty Images)

JINSA mourns the passing of Sheldon Adelson, a giant of philanthropy, business, and politics.

Mr. Adelson was the personification of the American success story. A grandson of a coal miner and son of Jewish immigrants from Ukraine, he grew up in a two-room apartment in Boston in genuine poverty. By sheer grit and genius he became one of the wealthiest people in the world. Yet he never forgot those less fortunate, or the country that made his success possible, and used his wealth to fund an astonishing array of charities and projects in medical research, addiction, education, civics, politics, and Jewish life.

When the pandemic hit last year and shuttered his casinos, Mr. Adelson still paid his thousands of employees their wages and health benefits, and even covered their lost income from tips. An ardent American patriot and defender of Israel, he along with his wife Dr. Miriam Adelson have generously supported a range of causes in America and Israel, American military veterans (of which he was one), and organizations, such as JINSA, that promote a strong America and a close U.S.-Israel alliance.

A truly consequential person with passionate beliefs, he was an advisor to presidents and yet remained a gentleman in dealings with ordinary people.

JINSA extends its deepest sympathy to his wife Dr. Miriam Adelson, their children and grandchildren, and his many friends around the world.

May his memory be a blessing.

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JINSA President & CEO Michael Makovsky, PhD and USSOCOM Commander General Richard D. Clarke, USA

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Professor Corn currently serves on JINSA’s Hybrid Warfare Task Force and was an advisor on JINSA’s 2014 Gaza Task Force.

JINSA President & CEO Dr. Michael Makovsky said, “We are honored to have Professor Corn join JINSA as a Distinguished Fellow. An academic and a former Army Lt. Colonel, Prof. Corn is a leading international expert on the Law of Armed Conflict and hybrid warfare, with vast academic and practical military experience. He has been involved with JINSA for over four in some major projects, and has recently been a major asset to our Hybrid Warfare Task Force. He will continue to be involved in various policy projects and educate policymakers, opinion leaders, and community leaders about how hybrid actors such as Hezbollah, Hamas, ISIS, and others manipulate the laws of war to defeat law-abiding Western militaries in the court of public opinion.”

Geoffrey S. Corn is the Vinson & Elkins Professor of Law at South Texas College of Law Houston. Prior to joining the South Texas faculty in 2005, Professor Corn served in the U.S. Army for 21 years as an officer, retiring in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 2004, and a final year as civilian legal expert on law of war matters.

Professor Corn’s teaching and scholarship focuses on the law of armed conflict, national security law, criminal law, and criminal procedure. His Army career included service as the Army’s senior law of war expert advisor, tactical intelligence officer in Panama; supervisory defense counsel for the Western United States; Chief of International Law for US Army Europe; Professor of International and National Security Law at the US Army Judge Advocate General’s School; and Chief Prosecutor for the 101st Airborne Division. He earned is B.A. from Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY, his JD with highest honors from George Washington University, his LLM as the distinguished graduate from the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s School.

He is also a distinguished military graduate of U.S. Army Officer Candidate School, and a graduate of U.S. Army Command and General Staff Course. Professor Corn has testified as an expert witness at the Military Commission in Guantanamo, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and in federal court. He is co-author of The Law of Armed Conflict: An Operational Perspective; The Laws of War and the War on Terror; National Security Law and Policy: Principles and Policy; U.S. Military Operations: Law, Policy, and Practice; National Security Law and the Constitution, and Law in War: A Concise Overview (with K. Watkin and J. Williamson).

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LtGen Natonski is a member of JINSA’s Board of Advisors, and has served on JINSA’s 2014 Gaza Task Force and currently on JINSA’s Hybrid Warfare Task Force.

JINSA President & CEO Dr. Michael Makovsky said, “We are honored and thrilled to have General Natonski join JINSA in a more formal role. He’s a highly decorated American military hero, who has dedicated decades to U.S. national security and is expert on a range of issues. He’s already been involved with and led a range of policy work with JINSA, and he’s also terrific to work with. JINSA will benefit greatly from his deeper involvement.”

General Natonski is a native of New Canaan, CT, he graduated from the University of Louisville in 1973, and was commissioned as a Marine Second Lieutenant. During his illustrious military career LtGen Natonski served as a Platoon Commander in the evacuations of citizens from Phnom Penh and Saigon in 1975. He attended the Marine Corps Command and Staff College.

LtGen Natonski was an Observer to the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in the Middle East. During this tour the UN Peacekeepers were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1988. He was present in the Pentagon on 9/11.

As a BGen, Natonski assumed command of 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade. During the invasion of Iraq, 2nd MEB was redesignated as Task Force Tarawa. They participated in the Battle of An Nasiriyah and supported the subsequent rescue of Jessica Lynch. MajGen Natonski assumed command of the 1st Marine Division. While in Iraq, he led the ground assault during the second Battle of Fallujah and ran security operations in the Al Anbar Province during the Iraqi National Elections in January 2005. LtGen. Natonski, was assigned as the Deputy Commandant, for PP&O and in August 2008, he assumed command of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command. On Sept. 8, 2010, he retired from the Marine Corps after more than 37 years of service.

Since retiring from the Armed Forces, he has served as a Senior Mentor for the Marine Corps, a Senior Fellow at the Center for Naval Analyses, an Adjunct Professor for John Hopkins University and the United States Strategic Leadership Center, a Defense Consultant, a member of the Board of Governors for Ave Maria School of Law and on the Advisory Board at JINSA.

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“We’re very pleased Josh has joined JINSA. He’s very knowledgeable about U.S. national security issues in the Middle East, and has years of government relations experience. He’s also a terrific person. I know he will a do a great job at boosting our relationship with policymakers in the Executive and Legislative branches, thus ensuring our forward-looking policy recommendations are heard.” said JINSA President & CEO Dr. Michael Makovsky

With two decades of government affairs and public policy experience, London joined JINSA in January 2019. Formerly a lobbyist with the Zionist Organization of America and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, he also served as the Director of Policy for the Jewish Policy Center.

Prior to his involvement in government affairs and public policy, London worked for The American Spectator magazine as a Senior Editor, and managed the student journalism program at the Leadership Institute. He continues to write regularly for various publications.

He is the author of Victory in Tripoli: How America’s War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation (John Wiley & Sons).

London earned an MA in Social Science from the University of Chicago, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California, Davis.

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General Yavne has served in the IDF for 32 years. He served as the Head of the Strategic Division in the Planning Directorate of the IDF General Staff (J5) from 2015-2018. In this role, he was responsible for the IDF’s strategic planning and policy formulation, military diplomacy and international cooperation. He previously also served as the head of the Regional Strategy Department, the senior intelligence officer in the IDF’s Northern Command, and in other key intelligence positions.

In his last assignments, General Yavne dealt with politico-military issues concerning the different Middle East arenas inside the IDF, and participated in discussions with regional and international players, at the military, intelligence communities, foreign affairs, and NSC levels.

JINSA President and CEO Dr. Michael Makovsky said: “We’re thrilled to have BG Yavne join JINSA to inaugurate its Visiting IDF Military Fellow program. His expertise and excellent analytical ability on a range of Israeli security issues, including about Iran, Syria and Hezbollah, are extremely relevant, and we look forward to his writings and talks about these issues. His arrival also further augments JINSA activities to bolster the U.S.-Israel security relationship.”

General Yavne said: “After many years of working with JINSA while in the IDF, I am excited to join the organization. Many senior commanders in the IDF view JINSA as one of the most important and influential organizations working to advance the U.S.-Israel security relationship, and I am excited to help advance this important mission.”

Brigadier General Yavne holds a Master’s degree in Political Science and Bachelor’s degrees in Middle Eastern Studies and History from Haifa University, and he is a graduate of both the IDF Staff & Command College and the Israel National Defense College. He also received training under the auspices of the US Defense Intelligence Agency.

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