“Just looking at the demands they have made now that are part of the [coalition] agreements, I think we have a big problem”
Brigadier General (ret.) Amir Avivi took a different course when he retired in 2017 after 30 years of service, which included stints as commander of IDF forces in Gaza and as aide-de-camp to Moshe “Boogie” Yaalon when the latter was chief of staff.
Avivi founded a nonpartisan defense and security forum — “Habithonistim” — whose membership includes some 2,000 former IDF officers, commanders, and field soldiers. Their goals include educating both Israelis and Jewish communities overseas on what Israel needs, long-term, to safeguard its national security and assure economic prosperity.
Habithonistim aims to provide Israeli policy-makers of any stripe with clear security guidelines so they can set red lines and abide by them. Earlier this year, the forum published a 33-page document with recommendations for the Biden administration on navigating the latest incarnation of the “New Middle East.”
Avivi’s top recommendation was to build on the momentum of the budding axis between Israeli and Sunni Muslim states, also known as the Abraham Accords. While the Biden administration may have dumped that designation to differentiate itself from former president Trump, the Associated Press reported last week that the administration is laying the groundwork for a renewed push to encourage more Arab countries to sign accords with Israel despite its stalemate with the Palestinians.
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