The Simchat Torah massacre of October 7^th, 2023, was a historic crisis and a formative event for the State of Israel. This event demands a comprehensive national rethinking that goes beyond the tactical failures of that day. We must delve deeper and examine the long-term. There are factors and trends that led to the failure and the war, as well as the shortcomings exposed over the past two years. Only an honest and systematic reckoning can provide Israel with durable security. The goal is not mere survival, but a nation that prospers, and take sits rightful place as a sovereign and leading power. In light of the collapse of the security conception of recent decades, it is essential to work toward developing new, broad-based, up-to-date, and well-founded paradigms that will serve us in the generation to come.

To this end, the Argaman Institute assembled a research team within the framework of the “Zion Fellows” program for the 5785 (2024–2025) academic year. The team includes senior experts with decades of accumulated experience in Israel’s defense establishment and selected for their unique insights and capabilities. In the course of their work, the researchers consulted with a range of senior policy and security experts in Israel and the United States. Throughout the year, the team revisited the foundations of Israel’s security concept as shaped by David Ben-Gurion, and examined how these principles can be adapted to the current conditions and circumstances facing the State of Israel today.

The Paradigm Project: A New Strategic Agenda for Israel comprises policy papers organized into three parts:

• The first part lays the foundations.It analyzes the principles of the classical security doctrine, highlights points of failure and areas where Israel has deviated from its path, and proposes renewed, time-tested principles for an updated doctrine. It also surveys the international arena in which Israel operates and identifies the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
• The second part focuses on force buildup and the institutional and organizational reforms required to improve the functioning of the defense establishment. It highlights the need to establish a “large and smart army,” to fundamentally rehabilitate the ground forces, to encourage technological innovation within the IDF, to implement reforms in the intelligence community and in the relationship between the bureaucracy and the political leadership, and proposes a reexamination of the IDF’s ethical code.
• The third part addresses strategy toward the various arenas:from the inner circle in Judea and Samaria, through Israel’s immediate neighbors (Egypt and Jordan), to the outer circle, including Iran and its proxies. In addition, it proposes a new diplomatic approach toward the Abraham Accords states and, in the broader context, toward a world in an era of great-power competition.

Undoubtedly, many important topics remain outside the scope of this work—such as domestic security, IDF manpower recruitment, Israel’s relations with the Jewish diaspora, and a quantitative analysis of the defense budget. Numerous important domestic issues are also not addressed here. However, as the sages say: “It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work, nor are you free to refrain from it.” Our hope is that the conceptual foundation and practical proposals presented here will serve as a solid basis for follow-up efforts and for translating policy recommendations into actionable plans.

Dr. Raphael BenLevi
Director and Academic Supervisor of the “Paradigm Project: A New Strategic Agenda for Israel”
Head of the Churchill Program for Statecraft and Security, Argaman Institute

Dr. Ronen Shoval
Head of the Argaman Institute for Advanced Studies