Watch Webinar – Defending Israel Against the Iranian Missile Threat: Lessons From the 12 Day War
Click here to read a transcript.
Israel’s daring June campaign against Iran saw numerous successes, including the major degradation of Iran’s military assets and nuclear program. Receiving less attention but just as significant was another extraordinary achievement: the highly successful Israeli defense, with U.S. help, against approximately 550 Iranian ballistic missiles. In a true trial by fire, Israeli defenses displayed their prowess, intercepting 86 percent of inbound ballistic missiles and leading the director of the Israel Missile Defense Organization to remark, “our expectations were lower than the results.”
JINSA hosted an exclusive webinar breaking down the details of the defensive effort and lessons learned for the future. The webinar featured Lt Gen Thomas Bergeson, USAF (ret.), former Deputy Commander of U.S. Central Command, and JINSA Distinguished Fellow IDF MG (ret.) Amikam Norkin, former Commander of the Israeli Air Force.
JINSA Associate Director of Foreign Policy Ari Cicurel moderated the discussion.
IDF MG (ret.) Amikam Norkin IDF MG (ret.) Amikam Norkin joined JINSA as a Distinguished Fellow in February 2023. MG Norkin is the Former Commander of the Israeli Air Force and a former member of the Israel Defense Forces General Staff. As the IAF’s Commander, he was responsible for all of the IDF’s aviation operations, including all air and space defense. |
Lt Gen Thomas W. Bergeson, USAF (ret.) Lt Gen Thomas W. Bergeson is the former Deputy Commander, U.S. Central Command. During his time in that role, he oversaw military security cooperation and combat operations within the Arabian Peninsula, Northern Red Sea, Arabian Gulf, and Central and Southern Asia. He has commanded a fighter squadron, operations group, fighter wing, numbered Air Force and has held various staff assignments. |
Ari Cicurel Ari Cicurel is Associate Director of Foreign Policy at JINSA. Ari is a graduate of the University of Michigan where he dual majored in Political Science and Judaic Studies. He received his Master of Arts in War Studies from King’s College London. |