About the Authors
Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Moshe Yaalon is Israel’s Minister of Defense. This chapter was written when he served as Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Strategic Affairs. He served as IDF Chief of Staff in 2002-2005, during which time he led the army’s successful efforts to quell the Palestinian terror war launched in September 2000.
Dr. Dore Gold, President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, currently serves as an external advisor to the office of the Prime Minister of Israel. Previously he served as Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations (1997-1999) and as foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at which time he served as an envoy to Jordan, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, and the Gulf States. He was involved in the negotiations over the 1998 Wye Agreement, the 1997 Hebron Protocol, and in 1996 concluded the negotiations with the U.S., Lebanon, Syria, and France for the creation of the Monitoring Group for Southern Lebanon. In 1991, he served as an advisor to the Israeli delegation to the Madrid Peace Conference. Gold is the author of Hatred’s Kingdom: How Saudi Arabia Supports the New Global Terrorism (Regnery, 2003); Tower of Babble: How the United Nations Has Fueled Global Chaos (Crown Forum, 2004); The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, the West, and the Future of the Holy City (Regnery, 2007); and The Rise of Nuclear Iran: How Tehran Defies the West (Regnery, 2009).
Maj.-Gen. (res.) Uzi Dayan served as Chairman of Israel’s National Security Council and was National Security Adviser to Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Ariel Sharon. Previously he served as Deputy IDF Chief of Staff, head of Central Command, head of the Planning Branch, and headed the Israeli security committee for peace negotiations with the Jordanians, Palestinians, and Syrians.
Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror is a Senior Fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University. This chapter was written prior to his appointment as National Security Advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2011-2013). He is the former head of the IDF Intelligence Research and Assessment Division, with special responsibility for preparing the National Intelligence Assessment. In addition, he served as military secretary to the Minister of Defense. Amidror was asked by the Israel Defense Forces to analyze the intelligence leading up to and during the 2006 Second Lebanon War. He is the author of Thoughts about Security and Military Affairs (Israel National Security College, 2002); and Intelligence: Theory and Practice (Ministry of Defense, 2006).
Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser is Director General of the Israel Ministry of Strategic Affairs. He was formerly head of the IDF Intelligence Research and Assessment Division.
Maj.-Gen. (res.) Aharon Ze’evi Farkash serves as Head of the Intelligence and National Defense Program of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) at Tel Aviv University. Previously he served in a variety of roles both in the field and on the General Staff, commanding such units as the Technological and Logistics Branch, the Planning Branch, and the Intelligence Branch. He founded and is Chairman and CEO of FST21 Ltd., Advanced Security Technology Services, providing technologies and services for home safety and container security. He received a B.A. and M.A. in Middle East and Islam Studies from Tel Aviv University, as well as an AMP/ISMP from Harvard Business School.
Brig.-Gen. (res.) Udi Dekel is Deputy Director of the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University. He served in 2008-2009 as Head of Prime Minister Olmert’s negotiation team with the Palestinians. Previously he headed the IDF Strategic Planning Division. Prior to that he headed the Air Force Research Division, where he was responsible for evaluation of intelligence and missile threats.
Ambassador Meir Rosenne was Israeli Ambassador to France, 1979-1983; Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., 1983-1987; Member of the Israel Delegation to the United Nations General Assembly; Member of the Israel Delegation to Geneva Peace Talks, 1973; Participant, Camp David, Israel-Egyptian Peace Negotiations and Drafter, Camp David Accords; Participant, Israel-Syrian and Israel-U.S. negotiations. He is a senior lecturer on International Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, and the University of Haifa.
Dan Diker is a Research Fellow at the International Institute for Counter Terrorism and a Fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Previously he served as Secretary General of the World Jewish Congress. A former commentator for Israel Television’s English News on Middle East affairs, he has also provided political and diplomatic commentary for BBC, Fox News, Al Jazeera, Al Hurra, ABC, and Canadian Television. He is also an Adjunct Fellow of the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C.
