“There is one thing in which one must never put his faith in miracles, and must calculate calmly and cruelly—and that is war.” David Ben Gurion
Dr. Ran Baratz is very well known to the Israeli Hebrew-speaking world, given the high regard with which he is held on a variety of matters including the military, strategic and political realms. He writes a weekly column for the Makor Rishon newspaper—and his column is invariably one of the first to which I turn.
Baratz recently published an essay in Mosaic Magazine (behind a paywall—but Mosaic is very well worth reading) entitled, “What’s Wrong with the Postmodern Military?” In the essay, Baratz argues that Israelis military situation is much more bleak than many of us realize, and he traces the history roots of the many wrong turns that Israel has made in developing the IDF in recent decades.
More recently, Dr. Baratz responded to the exchange that followed his original contribiution with this essay in Mosaic, as well.
In many respects, Israel is in a much better position militarily than it was a year ago. Iran has been shown to be much weaker than we feared. Hezbollah is largely destroyed. Hamas is badly damaged. But Hamas is not gone, Israel has no real response to the Houthi threat from Yemen, the vacuum in Syria will not be filled by countries friendly to Israel, etc.
And the IDF, argues Baratz, is simply not up to the task, not because its soldiers are poorly trained, but because the command has made critically faulty decisions about the world in which it needs to fight and the kind of army Israel needs.
We invited Dr. Baratz to speak with us, and to amplify on what he has been writing in English and in Hebrew, specifically for our listeners.
Ran Baratz is a prominent Israeli intellectual and academic specializing in philosophy, history, and Zionist thought.
He earned his doctorate from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he now teaches philosophy alongside as well as at Shalem College and Ein Prat Academy. He is the founding editor of Mida, a Hebrew-language conservative news site, and has served as the director of public diplomacy for Israel's Prime Minister's Office. His expertise spans ancient Greek philosophy, military history, and strategy, which he teaches at the IDF's War Colleges. As a regular contributor to the conservative newspaper Mekor Rishon and through his numerous publications, he is known for his thought-provoking perspectives on Israeli nationality, Jewish identity, and political discourse, often exploring complex themes of Israeli society and cultural identity.
The link above will take you to a brief excerpt of our conversation; the full conversation, along with a transcript for those who prefer to read, is being made available to paid subscribers to Israel from the Inside.
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