Ami Ayalon: The Missing Israeli Endgame | Foreign Affairs Interview

Foreign Affairs invites you to listen to its podcast, the Foreign Affairs Interview. This episode with Ami Ayalon was originally published on November 20, 2023.
As Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza continues, questions abound about what happens when it finally stops. What can be salvaged from the wreckage? Will Hamas survive, if not as an organization, then as an ideology? Who will govern Gaza? What type of leadership will be needed on both sides to broker any type of lasting peace?
Former Israeli security chief Ami Ayalon says that today there is no clear picture in Israel about what happens on the day after-and that this is a grave mistake. Ayalon began his military service in 1963 and went on to lead Israel’s navy and then Shin Bet, the country’s internal security service.
The task for Israel, he argues, is not just addressing the security failures that preceded October 7, but offering a political future that both Israelis and Palestinians will support.
Sources:
“Why Netanyahu Must Go” by Ami Ayalon, Gilead Sher, and Orni Petruschka
www.foreignaffairs.com/israel...
“An Incremental Tyranny” by Brian Michael Jenkins
www.rand.org/pubs/external_pu...

[@georgeochenge6360]

Very balanced commentary coming from a senior military leader who thinks of how to pacify the enemies after their loss.

[@JNTOFRA]

Thank you very much for this really impressive interview!

[@PosthumousAddress]

Ami Ayalpn still demonstrating his extraordinary wisdom as he did in The Gatekeepers

[@arnejensen8242]

wise and mature from Ami Ayalon. Thank You from Norway, and a hopefully merry Christmas - also in Israel, in a Jewish fashion.

[@theoriginal4ever7]

That would be Happy Hanukkah:)

[@ilyabixon7682]

“Wise and mature”? Seriously?

[@snowbirdsurfer2474]

Ami, are you familiar with retribution? How about Cato and his prescription for Carthage?

[@johnd2058]

A deafening silence indeed -- and when the public face of the Knesset is Binyamin 'ongoing quadruple felony trial' Netanyahu and Smotrich the ethnic-cleansing-appreciator, I'm forced to assume the worst until I see "very clear political" (2:30) change.

[@polyglot8]

Mr. Ayalon and Yuval Noah Harari have the same basic Israeli accent, but I can understand Harari perfectly. I had great difficulty understanding this guy, or maybe it was the sound quality in general.

[@TheShacharZiv]

It's both the sound quality and his accent. Yuval is from a different generation and has much better accent.

[@ilyabixon7682]

The reason is he doesn’t think clearly, that’s why he doesn’t articulate cohesively - sounds like an angry uncle

[@davidlasoff8261]

Sometimes, especially when the response to kill your enemy while he is in your house is paramount, you rightly don't have the luxury to define what you will do once you vanquish your foe. Ayalon is being nonsensical to say that the Israeli government is being irresponsible by not defining exactly what a post-Hamas Gaza will look like and how to get there. Nobody knows and such is not only up to, Israel but to those other great powers who will step up to the challenge and partner with Israel to create the yet undefined better future that will ultimately become possible through the IDF destroying Hamas. I think he has a bone to pick with Bibi and he just can't help himself in the midst of war to be a real putz.

[@zanebrimson7777]

This guy is worse than Putin.

[@ilyabixon7682]

The whole interview is a waste of time. We hope to hear some wisdom from this old gentleman, however it’s great disappointment