Limmud Michigan 2019

Israel today faces a security environment quite different than it did in the past. For decades, it faced large and powerful state actors, with large defense forces.  But today's principal threats are sub-state actors, and one major state whose nuclear ambitions remain the subject of considerable uncertainty.  Both Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon represent significant threats, with the former disrupting Israeli life on a near-daily basis, while the latter has an arsenal of rockets that could likely overwhelm Israel's vaunted system of missile defense in a major attack.  And with the US having withdrawn from the Iran nuclear agreement in 2018, it is unclear whether Iran will remain committed to the deal, or whether it might now feel that it can re-double its efforts in its nuclear weapons program.  In short, Israel's threats remain as challenging as ever, even if their make-up has changed.