Podcast: Yaakov Amidror on Why He’s Arguing That Israel Must Prepare for War with Iran

The influential former Israeli national security advisor elaborates on the recent comments that raised eyebrows on both sides of the Atlantic.

A member of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force holds an Iranian flag while standing behind a torn Israeli flag during a rally commemorating International Quds Day in downtown Tehran, April 14, 2023. Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images.
A member of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force holds an Iranian flag while standing behind a torn Israeli flag during a rally commemorating International Quds Day in downtown Tehran, April 14, 2023. Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images.
Observation
Yaakov Amidror and Tikvah Podcast at Mosaic
May 5 2023
About the authors

Yaakov Amidror is a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, and a Distinguish Fellow of JINSA’s  Gemunder Strategic Center, Washington DC. He served as national security advisor to the prime minister of Israel and the head of the National Security Council from 2011 to 2013.

A weekly podcast, produced in partnership with the Tikvah Fund, offering up the best thinking on Jewish thought and culture.

Podcast: Yaakov Amidror
 
About three weeks ago, Yaakov Amidror, Israel’s former national security advisor and a retired IDF major general, remarked during a radio interview that Israel must prepare for war. “It’s possible,” he said, “that we will reach a point where we have to attack Iran even without American assistance.” Why? Iran, he explained, is relatively confident in its regional power in light of a recent agreement with its erstwhile rival Saudi Arabia and the fact that America is reducing its involvement in the Middle East.

Amidror’s view, therefore, is that Israel must be ready to take independent action to strike Iranian nuclear targets and safeguard its citizens. To explain that assessment, Amidror joins Mosaic’s editor Jonathan Silver in conversation.

Musical selections in this podcast are drawn from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, op. 31a, composed by Paul Ben-Haim and performed by the ARC Ensemble.

More about: Iran, Iranian, Israel & Zionism

 
 
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