Israel’s battle for global consciousness: Why the Sparta doctrine harms national security - opinion

Yedidia Stern argues that Israel's national security doctrine, based on deterrence, early warning, and decisive victory, is insufficient for the current era. He contends that Israel must also wage a strategic battle over global consciousness—shaping international perceptions and narratives—to protect its national security. Stern warns that losing this battle weakens Israel's standing with allies and emboldens its adversaries.

In a Jerusalem Post opinion piece, Yedidia Stern, president of the Jewish People Policy Institute, argues that Israel's national security doctrine is dangerously outdated. The classical three-pillar model—deterrence, early warning, and decisive victory—was formulated by David Ben-Gurion in the 1950s. Stern contends that after October 7, this doctrine failed: Hamas was not deterred, intelligence did not provide warning, and Israel did not achieve a swift victory. He notes that many of Israel's enemies are now non-state actors with ideological motivations that do not conform to conventional deterrence calculations. Stern proposes adding a fourth pillar: a strategic battle over global consciousness—shaping international perceptions and narratives about Israel. He warns that Israel is losing ground in this arena, with negative views becoming entrenched in the EU and US. He cites the risk of a future American arms embargo as a potential consequence. Stern calls for establishing a new national body, comparable in authority to the IDF, Shin Bet, and Mossad, to lead this effort. He also argues that Israeli policy, including military force, must be shaped by this broader doctrine. The piece frames the current approach as turning Israel into a 'Sparta'—an embattled fortress-state—which harms its long-term security.