Click here to read a transcript.

October 7, 2023, was without parallel in Israeli history. Invading Hamas forces indiscriminately killed more than 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped and wounded hundreds more. In the three years following the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust, Israel conducted major military operations across seven fronts that severely degraded Iran’s military and nuclear programs, as well as its proxies Hezbollah and Hamas. The United States and Israel also took bilateral security cooperation to new heights in the wake of October 7, culminating in unprecedented joint operations against Iran earlier this year.

An eighth front has also arisen behind these military successes, as Israel’s enemies have spearheaded a global information warfare campaign—one that often blends into antisemitism and, at times, violence against Jews worldwide. Some critics have even alleged that Israel tried to commit genocide in Gaza , a claim which over 75 retired U.S. military leaders forcefully reject in a newly released JINSA letter.

To reflect on October 7 and its consequences, JINSA hosted a webinar with several leading experts to discuss the tragic attack, the multifront war that followed, and the future of the region, Israel’s self-defense, and its partnership with the United States.

The webinar featured JINSA Distinguished Fellow IDF MG (ret.) Yaakov Amidror, former head of Israel’s National Security Council; JINSA Distinguished Fellow IDF MG (ret.) IDF MG (ret.) Amikam Norkin, former Commander of the Israeli Air Force; MAJ John Spencer, USA (ret.), Executive Director of the Urban Warfare Institute; and JINSA Randi & Charles Wax Senior Fellow John Hannah.

The discussion was moderated by JINSA President and CEO Michael Makovsky, PhD.

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IDF MG (ret.) Yaakov Amidror IDF MG (ret.) Yaakov Amidror is a Distinguished Fellow at JINSA. Prior to joining JINSA, MG Amidror was the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Israel, as well as the head of Israel’s National Security Council. Among other distinguished postings, MG Amidror also served as Director of Israel’s Intelligence Analysis Division. Click here to read full bio

IDF MG (ret.) Amikam Norkin IDF MG (ret.) Yaakov Amidror is a Distinguished Fellow at JINSA. Prior to joining JINSA, MG Amidror was the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Israel, as well as the head of Israel’s National Security Council. Among other distinguished postings, MG Amidror also served as Director of Israel’s Intelligence Analysis Division. Click here to read full bio

MAJ John Spencer, USA (ret.) MAJ John Spencer, USA (ret.) is the Executive Director of the Urban Warfare Institute. He he served as an advisor to the top four-star general and other senior leaders in the U.S. Army as part of strategic research groups from the Pentagon to the United States Military Academy. Click here to read full bio

John Hannah John Hannah is the Randi & Charles Wax Senior Fellow at JINSA. Hannah served in a range of U.S. government positions, including National Security Advisor to the U.S. Vice President and Senior Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State. Click here to read full bio

Michael Makovsky, PhD Michael Makovsky, PhD, is President and CEO of JINSA. Makovsky is a former senior Pentagon official and is a leading policy expert on U.S.-Israel defense ties, U.S. Middle East policy, and the role of energy in U.S. national security policy. Click here to read full bio

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Washington, DC – As retired senior military leaders and legal experts, on this, the third anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 brutal attack on Israel, we reject claims that Israel committed genocide in Gaza.

Genocide is a grave and exceptional violation of international law, defined and prohibited by the Genocide Convention of 1948 and enumerated as a crime in the Statute of the International Criminal Court and in the U.S. federal criminal code. The allegations that Israel committed this crime do not meet the established definition and standards of genocide, are unsupported by established facts, nor do they stand up to common sense scrutiny.

A finding of genocide requires evidence of acts that are intended to destroy a protected national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, in whole or in part. Israel has neither intended to, nor destroyed, Palestinians as a group in Gaza. All the evidence, in fact, points to the contrary conclusion: that, after suffering a barbaric, indiscriminate massacre by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), acting in justified self-defense, went to extreme lengths to protect civilians in Gaza, including from Hamas.

Israel’s accusers allege genocide mostly because of the supposed number of civilians killed in Gaza. Such claims are rife with flaws. Genocide is not a quantitative crime; there is no number of civilian casualties that constitutes genocide. Nor are the claimed casualty numbers from Gaza credible. Issued by Hamas themselves and, at the very least, not distinguishing between civilians and combatants, they cannot be relied upon.

Further, established legal precedent makes clear that civilian deaths occurring during combat, however tragic, are insufficient, by themselves, to support a finding of genocidal intent. That is because of the unfortunate realities of war and the laws that govern it, both of which Israel’s accusers appear woefully ignorant.

Many of the signatories to this letter have commanded United States armed forces in combat against enemies who regularly hide behind civilians and put those civilians intentionally in harm’s way. Fighting under those complexities is especially difficult. We understand that the loss of civilian life in Gaza is tragic. But we also know that such tragic outcomes do not necessarily violate the law of armed conflict. There is no perfect attack; there are only those in which commanders use all available information to make hard decisions and their best judgement to comply with legal obligations and protect civilians. And that is exactly what we have witnessed from the IDF in Gaza.

Assessments of Israeli combat operations, undertaken by some of the signatories to this letter, describe a military taking an unprecedented combination of precautions to avoid civilian casualties; not one following orders to destroy Palestinians as a group. The IDF has provided civilians with numerous advance warnings—leaflets, phone calls, text messages, radio and TV broadcasts, and social media notices—evacuation instructions, protected corridors, and tactical pauses to help move them out of harm’s way, even when those precautionary measures ceded tactical advantage to enemy forces. IDF soldiers have even put themselves in harm’s way to protect Palestinians seeking to flee the fighting from attack by Hamas. Stringent legal review of targets is a standard part of IDF procedures. Repeatedly, Israel has called off strikes because of the presence of civilians.

Israel has also gone out of its way to provide aid and assistance to civilians in Gaza. More than 3.5 million tons of food, 48,000 tons of medical supplies, 5,000 tons of baby food, and up to 15,000 cubic meters per day of water desalinated by Israel have been sent into Gaza. Over half a million Gazan children were vaccinated during the war and some 5,000 Gazans evacuated for medical treatment abroad. These are not the actions of a genocidal state but of a professional military ethically and legally committed to the protection of civilian life.

This pattern of law-abiding IDF conduct in Gaza also contradicts accusers’ claims that some statements from Israeli political officials, seemingly encouraging unlawful harm to civilians, are evidence of genocidal intent. Such inflammatory statements are disgraceful. Yet, while it deserves unequivocal condemnation, rhetoric from politicians uninvolved in military decision-making is in no way reflective of actual IDF operations.

Israel has not committed genocide but rather set a high bar for how to conduct urban warfare against an enemy who will stop at nothing, including the death of its own civilians.

We call on those concerned with this issue to carefully assess the facts related to the Gaza campaign, insist on faithful application of the Genocide Convention, and reject factually and legally dubious accusations against Israel. Failure to do so incentivizes future adversaries to deliberately endanger civilians and then exploit civilian suffering to portray lawful operations as genocide, weaken public support, and divide our alliances.

The precedent established today regarding Israel will shape the conditions under which American forces fight tomorrow. Protecting civilians and preserving the ability of our nation to defend itself requires us to defend the truth when the laws of war are being distorted to make false charges of genocide.

Read the Open Letter

Letter Signees include:

Gen James F. Amos, USMC (ret.), 35th Commandant of the Marine Corps
GEN Frank J. Grass, USA (ret.), JINSA Generals and Admirals Program Participant
Gen W.L. ”Spider” Nyland, USMC (ret.), Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps
Gen Philip M. Breedlove, USAF (ret.), Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Commander US European Command
Gen Kevin P. Chilton, USAF (ret.), Commander, U.S. Strategic Command
Gen C.T. “Tony” Robertson, Jr., USAF (ret.), Commander, U.S. Transportation Command, and Commander, Air Mobility Command
GEN James D. Thurman, USA (ret.), Commander, United Nations Command, ROK-United States Combined Forces Command, and United States Forces Korea
Gen Charles Wald, USAF (ret.), Deputy Commander of United States European Command (EUCOM)
LTG John M. Bednarek, USA (ret.), Senior Defense Official, Iraq; Chief, Office of Security Cooperation, Baghdad
Gen William Begert, USAF (ret.), Commander, Pacific Air Forces, and Air Component Commander for the Commander, U.S. Pacific Command
ADM Bruce Clingan, USN (ret.), Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe; U.S. Naval Forces Africa; Allied Joint Force Command, Naples
Gen Donald G. Cook, USAF (ret.), Commander, Air Education and Training Command
ADM Mark Fitzgerald, USN (ret.), Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe; U.S. Naval Forces Africa; Allied Joint Force Command, Naples
Gen Mike Hostage, USAF (ret.), Commander, Air Combat Command
Lt Gen Steven L. Basham, USAF (ret.), Deputy Commander, U.S. European Command
VADM John Bird, USN (ret.), Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet
Lt Gen Rod Bishop, USAF (ret.), Commander, 3rd Air Force
LTG H. Steven Blum, USA (ret.), Deputy Commander, U.S. Northern Command
LtGen Thomas Conant, USMC (ret.), Deputy Commander, United States Pacific Command
VADM Michael J. Connor, USN (ret.), Commander, United States Submarine Forces
Lt Gen David Deptula, USAF (ret.), Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, Headquarters Air Force Lt Gen Eric Fiel, USAF (ret.), Commander, Air Force Special Operations Command
VADM Jeffrey Fowler, USN (ret.), 60th Superintendent, U.S. Naval Academy
VADM Mark I. Fox, USN (ret.), Deputy Commander, United States Central Command
LTG David Fridovich, USA (ret.), Deputy Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command-USSOCOM
LtGen Kenneth Glueck, Jr., USMC (ret.), Deputy Commandant, Combat Development and Integration; Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command
Lt Gen Michael Gould, USAF (ret.), Superintendent, United States Air Force Academy
LtGen Mike Groen, USMC (ret.), Director, Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC)
Lt Gen Joseph Guastella, USAF (ret.), Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force
LtGen Earl Hailston, USMC (ret.), Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific/Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command
LtGen Karsten Heckl, USMC (ret.), Deputy Commandant, Combat Development and Integration; Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command
LtGen John Jansen, USMC (ret.), Deputy Commandant for Programs and Resources
LTG James Jarrard, USA (ret.), Deputy Commanding General of United States Army Pacific
VADM Dennis Jones, USN (ret.), Deputy Commander in Chief, US Strategic Command
LTG Raymond Mason, USA (ret.), Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, G4 Army Staff
Lt Gen Charles May, USAF (ret.), Assistant Vice Chief of Staff
LtGen Fred McCorkle, USMC (ret.), Deputy Commandant Marine Corps Aviation
Lt Gen Thomas G. McInerney, USAF (ret.), Assistant Vice Chief of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force
VADM John Miller, USN (ret.), Commander, US Naval Forces, US Central Command
LtGen Rich Mills, USMC (ret.), Commander, Marine Forces Reserve and Commander Marine Forces North
Lt Gen Charles Moore, USAF (ret.), Deputy Commander, U.S. Cyber Command
Lt Gen C.D. Moore II, USAF (ret.), Commander, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center
VADM Ross A. Myers, USN (ret.), Commander, Tenth Fleet/Fleet Cyber/Navy Space, and former Deputy Commander, USCYBERCOM LTG Raymond Palumbo, USA (ret.), Director for Defense Intelligence
Lt Gen Chris Nowland, USAF (ret.), Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force
VADM Carol Pottenger, USN (ret.), NATO Allied Command Transformation DCOS Capability Development
VADM Joe Rixey, USN (ret.), Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency
VADM Herman A. Shelanski, USN (ret.), Naval Inspector General VADM Sandra Stosz, USCG (ret.), Deputy Commandant for Mission Support
LTG Guy Swan, USA (ret.), Commanding General, U.S. Army North/5th Army
Lt Gen Thomas J. Trask, USAF (ret.), Vice Commander, United States Special Operations Command
LtGen Mark Wise, USMC (ret.), Deputy Commandant for Aviation, USMC
RADM Fred L. Ames, USCG (ret.), Assistant Commandant for Human Resources
MajGen Joseph T. Anderson, USMC (ret.), CG 1st Marine Aircraft Wing
MG Joe Arbuckle, USA (ret.), Commander, Operations Support Command
RADM Paul Becker, USN (ret.), Director for Intelligence, Joint Staff (J2)
Maj Gen Jack J. Catton, Jr., USAF (ret.), Director of Requirements, Headquarters Air Combat Command
MajGen Mark Clark, USMC (ret.), Commanding General Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC)
MajGen Jon Gallinetti, USMC (ret.), Deputy Commander, Marine Corps Forces Command
RADM Brett Heimbigner, USN (ret.), Director Joint ISR Operations Center
MajGen Bob Hollingsworth, USMC (ret.), Vice Commander, Marine Forces Pacific
Maj Gen James P. Hunt, USAF (ret.), Deputy Commanding General, Multi-National Corps, Iraq
Maj Gen Kenneth Israel, USAF (ret.), Assistant Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Airborne Reconnaissance and Director of the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office
RADM Steven Kantrowitz, USN (ret.), Deputy Commander, Naval Legal Service Command
RADM Edward Masso, USNR (ret.), Commander Navy Personnel Command/Deputy Chief of Naval Personnel
RADM William F. Merlin, USCG (ret.), Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District
MG William Moore, USA (ret.), Director for Operations, Headquarters
Maj Gen Bentley B. Rayburn, USAF (ret.), Commander, USAF Doctrine Center
MajGen Dave Richwine, USMC (ret.), Chief Information Officer and Director of Intelligence, Headquarters, US Marine Corps
Maj Gen Lawrence Stutzriem, USAF (ret.), Director, Plans, Policy, and Strategy, North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command
MajGen Larry Taylor, USMCR (ret.), Commanding General, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing
MG Paul Vallely, USA (ret.), Deputy Commanding General US Army Pacific
RDML Terry McKnight, USN (ret.), Commander Task Force 151 – Anti-Piracy Task Force/Commander Expeditionary Group Two
RDML Mark Milliken, USN (ret.), Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy International Programs Office
BGen Michael Mulqueen, USMC (ret.), The United States Military Entrance Processing Command
Brig Gen Christopher Walker, USAF (ret.), Assistant Adjutant General and Commander of the West Virginia Air National Guard
BG Mitchell M. Zais, Ph.D., USA (ret.), Former Acting U.S. Secretary of Education
COL Marc Warren, USA (ret.), Former Special Assistant for Military Law and Operations to The Judge Advocate General, U.S. Army
MAJ John Spencer, USA (ret.),  Executive Director, Urban Warfare Institute

The post Open Letter From 75+ Military Professionals Rejecting Genocide Allegation Against Israel appeared first on JINSA.

The post Taking Out Iran’s Pickaxe Nuclear Site is Key — Here’s How Trump Can Do It appeared first on JINSA.

The MOU does not, as President Trump promised, prevent a nuclear Iran, as it has no restrictions on Iran’s uranium enrichment, let alone a requirement for the removal of its enriched uranium stockpiles or dismantlement of its nuclear facilities. Instead, this new deal authorizes the transfer of far more money and lifts many more sanctions on Iran than the JCPOA ever did.

Like the JCPOA, however, the MOU does not address Iran’s missile or proxy programs. Worse, instead of limiting Iran’s ability to project power, Trump’s MOU restricts how and where the United States and Israel can use and deploy their militaries—ceding key leverage even as talks continue.

JINSA has compiled the below infographic highlighting how the U.S.-Iran MOU stacks up against the Trump administration’s criteria for a successful deal.

For a higher-resolution version, please click here.

Please see below a plain-text version. To download or print, click here.

The post INFOGRAPHIC: The Iran MOU: Did the U.S. Understand the Assignment? appeared first on JINSA.

However, sources claiming to be knowledgeable about the deal have apparently leaked purported parts of it to various U.S., Israeli, and Iranian media. It is not known how accurate these various claims are. Indeed, some of the reported elements of the deal vary greatly depending on the source. And President Donald Trump stated that Iranian claims about the deal’s content have “no relation to the truth.”

Yet, all reporting, as well as U.S. officials’ public statements, converge on one theme: the deal involves major concessions to the Iranian regime.

Reportedly, the United States will be lifting all sanctions and asset freezes on Iran; ending the blockade on Iran’s ports; and removing U.S. military assets from the region. Vice President J.D. Vance said if Iran’s leaders abide by the deal, “economic benefits will flow to them.” At the same time, some reporting indicates the deal commits America to not striking Iran again, under any circumstances, and also shields Hezbollah from Israeli operations.

In exchange, Iran will pledge to roll back its nuclear program and threats to commercial shipping—but most relevant details have been punted to a second round of talks, according to media reports. Little or no action, it seems, will be taken on Iran’s drone and missile programs; internal repression; and world-leading terror financing.

JINSA has compiled the below infographic detailing the different accounts of the deal now taking shape.

The post INFOGRAPHIC: What’s the Deal With The Deal? appeared first on JINSA.

As the United States and Israel continue to decimate Iran’s conventional capabilities, it becomes clearer that their campaign cannot stop until at least one of two objectives is achieved: the collapse of the Tehran regime, or the end of its nuclear program. If the regime survives, it will be even more determined and desperate to go nuclear.

The Tehran regime already understood that giving up on a nuclear program is a recipe for being invaded, as happened with Ukraine; toppled like Bashar al-Assad; or invaded, toppled, and killed like Moamar Qaddafi and Saddam Hussein. Meanwhile, North Korea achieved nuclear weapons and its impoverished hermit regime remains safely in power. This history lesson is even clearer now that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other top officials have been eliminated. Assuming it survives in some form, the regime will have every incentive to secure the ultimate deterrent against another such war.

Michael Makovsky, a former Pentagon official, is President and CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA)

Jonathan Ruhe is Fellow for American Strategy at JINSA.

Originally published in RealClearDefense.

The post Iran’s Next Move Is the Bomb—If the Regime Survives appeared first on JINSA.

Click here to read a transcript.

The Iranian regime is in trouble, with strikes eliminating its intelligence chief; the head of its Basij forces; and its security chief—and top decisionmaker—Ali Larijani in recent days.

Now, Iran is exercising its last lifeline: closing the Strait of Hormuz and bringing much of the world’s energy flows to a halt. While President Donald Trump is pushing U.S. allies to help secure the vital trade artery, none have publicly agreed to thus far.

To discuss potential solutions to the Strait of Hormuz bottleneck from the U.S. and Israeli military perspectives, JINSA hosted a webinar with two leading subject matter experts.

The discussion featured JINSA Distinguished Fellow IDF MG (ret.) Yaakov Amidror, the former head of Israel’s National Security Council, and JINSA Generals and Admirals Program Participant VADM (ret.) Herman Shelanski, former Commander, Carrier Strike Group 10, and former Senior Military Advisor to the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense.

JINSA Vice President for Policy Blaise Misztal moderated the conversation.

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IDF MG (ret.) Yaakov Amidror IDF MG (ret.) Yaakov Amidror is a Distinguished Fellow at JINSA. Prior to joining JINSA, MG Amidror was the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Israel, as well as the head of Israel’s National Security Council. MG (ret.) Amidror also has served as Director of Israel’s Intelligence Analysis Division. Click here to read full bio

VADM Herman Shelanski, USN (ret.) VADM Herman Shelanski, USN (ret.) is a JINSA Generals and Admirals Program Participant and former Commander of the U.S. Navy’s Carrier Strike Group 10. He also previously served as Senior Military Advisor to the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense and as Director for Assessments, U.S. Navy. Click here to read full bio

Blaise Misztal Blaise Misztal is the Vice President for Policy at JINSA. Misztal previously was a Fellow at the Hudson Institute, and has held roles as the Executive Director of the Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States and Director of the National Security Program at the Bipartisan Policy Center. Click here to read full bio

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The post Watch Webinar – Iran’s Threat to Global Shipping: What Can Be Done? appeared first on JINSA.

According to Major General (ret.) Amidror, “Israel and the United States of America have a clear strategy: to make the regime in Iran weaker and weaker every day.”

General (res.) Amidror, who also previously served as Israel’s military intelligence analysis chief, discussed the far-ranging strategic impact of Israel’s decapitation strikes. He described how Ali Larijani “promoted the destruction of Israel and the death of America, and tried to spread terrorism around the world.” Larijani, according to General (res.) Amidror, was Iran’s “leading decisionmaker, no question” following the elimination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei at the start of the war.

Referring to Gholamreza Soleimani, he stated that the Basij forces Soleimani led “were the main forces used by the authorities to oppress the demonstrators” in January and that his elimination may make it harder for Iran to suppress popular uprisings in the future.

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The post Israel’s Former National Security Advisor: Israel and the United States Have a Clear Strategy appeared first on JINSA.

Succeeding statements from administration officials have focused on various parts of this strategy, but often without reinforcing the underlying objective of collapsing the regime, as JINSA recommends.

The post INFOGRAPHIC: Operation Epic Fury—What is the Aim Point? appeared first on JINSA.

Click here to read a transcript.

Iran’s regime is trying to escalate its way out of the war. While U.S.-Israeli operations degrade its military capabilities, Tehran is broadening the conflict and raising its economic costs by attacking commercial shipping, mining the Arabian Gulf, and targeting vital Middle East energy infrastructure. It also is opening an additional front against Israel by unleashing Hezbollah attacks from Lebanon.

JINSA hosted a webinar breaking down the evolving situation featuring IDF MG (ret.) Yaakov Amidror, JINSA Distinguished Fellow and the former National Security Advisor to Israel’s Prime Minister, and VADM Mark Fox, USN (ret.), JINSA Generals and Admirals Program Participant and former Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. The discussion was moderated by JINSA Fellow for American Strategy Jonathan Ruhe.

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IDF MG (ret.) Yaakov Amidror IDF MG (ret.) Yaakov Amidror is a Distinguished Fellow at JINSA. Prior to joining JINSA, MG Amidror was the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Israel, as well as the head of Israel’s National Security Council. MG (ret.) Amidror also has served as Director of Israel’s Intelligence Analysis Division. Click here to read full bio

VADM Mark Fox, USN (ret.) VADM Mark I. Fox, USN (ret.) is a member of JINSA’s Eastern Mediterranean and Abraham Accords policy projects and a JINSA Generals and Admirals Program Participant. VADM Fox previously served as Deputy Commander, U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida, and Commander, U.S. Naval Central Command. In addition, VADM Fox commanded Carrier Strike Group 10 aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). Click here to read full bio

Jonathan Ruhe Jonathan Ruhe is the Director of Foreign Policy at JINSA. Prior to joining JINSA, he worked at the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), where he focused on Middle East and Former Soviet Union security issues. His commentary has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Foreign Policy, The Dispatch, and various international media outlets. Click here to read full bio

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The post Watch Webinar – Middle East War: Washington and Jerusalem’s Next Moves appeared first on JINSA.