Israeli National Intelligence Culture

The book offers a novel conceptualization of Israeli national intelligence culture, describing the way in which Israelis perceive and practice intelligence. Different nations have different national intelligence cultures, relying on different ideas of intelligence, perceiving and practicing intelligence in different ways. Written by a former senior intelligence officer, this book is the first study dedicated to Israeli intelligence culture and the way it reflects Israeli strategic culture. Relying on more than 30 elite interviews with acting and former Israeli practitioners, the book highlights the Israeli aversion to intelligence theory and scientific methods, as well as to the structured management of the intelligence system at the national level. It describes the intelligence system's emphasis on contrarian thinking and moral courage as the foundations of intelligence professionalism, and the growing inclination of Israeli intelligence toward action and influence. Intelligence is perceived and practiced by Israelis as a tool for problem-solving, addressing unique Israeli challenges. While some traits of the Israeli national intelligence culture have contributed to its high reputation and its 'success story', others might have also contributed to its failure in anticipating the Hamas terrorist attack on October 2023 or have remained aspirational norms rather than realized practice. The October 2023 failure, as that of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, will undoubtfully influence Israeli national intelligence culture for many years to come. This book will be of much interest to students of intelligence studies, Israeli politics, strategic studies, and international relations.

Itai Shapira has served for more than 25 years in the Israeli Defense Intelligence on the strategic, operational, and tactical levels, retiring as a colonel. He holds a BA in Economics and Philosophy and an MBA from Tel Aviv University and is a graduate of the Israeli National Defense College. He earned his PhD from the University of Leicester, studying Israeli national intelligence culture.

Introduction 1. Frameworks 2. 'Anatomy' of Israeli Intelligence 3. Origins of Israeli National Intelligence Culture 4. Intelligence Organization - Preference for a de Facto and Informal Intelligence Community 5. Intelligence Product - Action-Inclined, Integrated with Decision-Making 6. Intelligence Process - Balancing Intuition and Interpretive Methods with Advanced Technologies 7. Aversion to Intelligence Theory, Intelligence Innovation Conducted through Adaptation 8. Intelligence Professionalism - Moral Courage, Contrarian Thinking, Individual Responsibility Conclusion Epilogue: The Intelligence Failure of October 2023 Appendix