'Existential War': Documenting Israel's history of warfare and survival - review

The failure of October 7, 2023, and the failure of post-October 7 pose an existential threat to Israel, Ari Shavit argues in his insightful book that has just been published in Hebrew by Yediot Books – Existential War: From Disaster to Victory to Resurrection. Shavit, a former senior correspondent and columnist for Haaretz, warns that Israel needs to act quickly and decisively to rebuild the IDF, as Israel cannot win this existential war without a national strategy that most of the nation trusts.

Shavit’s book is based on lengthy conversations with Israel’s top military experts. He invokes Ze’ev Jabotinsky’s “Iron Wall” concept of Israel as strong not only militarily but also economically, technologically, and morally – a combination of Athens and Sparta. Israel’s security concept was first formed by David Ben-Gurion in the 1950s. Its three pillars were vigilance, decisiveness, and deterrence.

Precise intelligence and national resilience enabled a small nation to turn into a military power. An army built on five foundations of quality intelligence, superior air force, strong armored corps, daring infantry, and a large reserve personnel made a multi-front war possible. Between 1953 and 1973, the pioneer Zionist ethos empowered Israel to be both Athens and Sparta. That national strategy enabled Israel to win against all odds in 1956, 1967, and even in 1973, paving the way to peace accords from 1975 on. However, after the threat of war with Egypt was removed in 1982 and with Syria in 2012, Israel sought to adopt the spirit of globalization through pursuing the Oslo process.

Shavit divides Israel’s history into three periods: 

• 1948-1978 – Israel was aware of facing an existential threat and mastered all its resources to counter it.
• 1978-2008 – Israel tried to strategically integrate globally through peace accords with Egypt and Jordan. The First Lebanon War was a failure, while bombing the nuclear reactor in Iraq was a success. 
• 2009-2024 – In the 15 years that started with the first Netanyahu government in 2009, Israel fell into the trap of resting on its laurels and living in a fool’s paradise. In a nutshell, a smug 21st-century Israel lacked strategic focus. Political divisions posed an internal threat to the nation.

Israel needs a new strategic vision

We need a new Ben-Gurion, Shavit argues, to formulate a new strategic vision for Israel. All of Israel’s policies have been defensive, not preventive: Iron Dome in 2011, Pillar of Defense in 2012, and David’s Sling in 2016. The IDF, Shavit believes, needs to be converted into an attack army. Because Israel did not rout Hezbollah in 2016, this terror organization has now reached a monstrous arsenal of 150,000 missiles aimed at Israel. Neither did Israel reach a decisive victory in Gaza in 2008, 2012, 2014, and 2021, and Hamas was transformed from a small terror organization into an army of terror. Defending the good life by minimizing casualties in the rounds between wars and putting the present ahead of the future blinded Israel’s leadership to the real intents of our enemies. Unlike Ben-Gurion’s government, Netanyahu’s government lapsed into a strategic coma. Neither our hostages nor our refugees are back home yet.

For the first time in its history, Israel is in direct confrontation with a regional sub nuclear power with proxy terror armies, and Russia and China as allies forming an axis of aggression. Internationally, the world is undergoing a process of deglobalization. The stability of the Pax Americana years of US superiority is undermined. A second Cold War has started. This conflict is local, regional, and international.

In the war against Iran and its proxies, Israel needs alliances in both this region and internationally. It needs a strategic alliance with the US and the moderate Arab nations. Until the “big war” in the next decade, Shavit predicts, Israel needs to put off wars in order to restructure its army and acquire advance weapons. Ultimately, the goal should be to reach independent military production to protect our vital interests. At all costs, the mistakes made after the Yom Kippur War, when increased military expenses caused an economic collapse, should be avoided. The economy should grow and thrive along with the military investments.

The fiasco of October 7 was not only a terrible military failure but also a grave political one. On October 8, a new Israeli age started. Let’s hope that our national resilience will enable us to be both Athens and Sparta, Jewish and democratic, powerful and yet a moral force in this existential war. ■

Shoshana Tita is a writer, scholar, and international teacher based in the US, Spain, and Israel.