The existence of the Jewish state surrounded by the hostile Arab world caused a feeling of constant danger and served as an impetus for periodic measures aimed at changing the situation. Israel has not been defeated in numerous conflicts with Arab countries throughout the history of its existence, which was facilitated by an effective security system that began to be created in the 1940s and currently consists of the following services and institutions:
- military: Israel Defense Forces (IDF);
- police (Civil guard / Mishmar Ezrahi and the border police / Magav);
- special services: General Security Service of Israel (Shabak or the Shin Bet), Foreign Intelligence Service (Mossad), Directorate of Military Intelligence (Aman);
- emergency services, as well as the Israel Prisons Authority, etc.
Israel Defense Forces was created shortly after the declaration of independence of the State of Israel. On May 26, 1948, the Prime Minister of the State of Israel, David Ben-Gurion, signed the “Decree on the Defense Army of Israel”, the backbone of which was the Jewish self-defense units (Haganah) and individual paramilitary groups (Lehi, Irgun). The doctrine of action (military doctrine) of the army was developed in 1949 by IDF Colonel Haim Laskov. Among the main provisions of the so-called “Laskov's doctrine”:
- due to the geographical location, the enemy's superiority in military equipment and manpower, Israel can count on victory only in the case of the rapid destruction of its military infrastructure;
- Israel cannot afford to wage a protracted war, as this would require the mobilization of a large part of the population, which could effectively bring the country's economy to a halt.
The effectiveness of the doctrine was repeatedly confirmed by the victories of the Jewish state during the military conflicts of the 20th century. Considering the experience gained, the provisions of this program were constantly refined and supplemented.
The IDF consists of three types of armed forces: ground, air and naval forces. Among the ground forces, it is worth mentioning one of the most decorated units – the 1st “Golani” brigade, whose fighters participated in almost all military operations of the State of Israel. The brigade's 269th Special Unit (“Sayeret Matkal”) was involved in the release of hostages at the Entebbe airport terminal in Uganda in 1976, which became the unit's most famous rescue mission.
A significant difference between the Israeli army and other armies of the world is the conscription of women, although recently the vast majority of them serve in non-combat units. The exception is the 33rd infantry battalion (Caracal Battalion) of ground forces, created specifically for women's military service. The unit patrols the southern borders of Israel in particular.
Since the beginning of the 1970s, the military-industrial complex (MIC) of Israel has been constantly expanding, and currently the state is capable of producing advanced military equipment – from tanks and modifications of jet aircraft to high-precision “smart” weapons (microelectronics, “sea-sea”, “air-air|” rockets, etc.). More than 75% of the volume of military production is exported, which is handled by the Department of Military-Technical Cooperation with Foreign Countries (SIBAT). Moreover, there is an administration that is responsible for coordinating the production activities of military industrial complex organizations, providing the army with weapons of domestic military industrial complex and procurement abroad – MANKHAR. Both structures are part of the management system of the Ministry of Defense.
All scientific and research activities related to the country's defense capabilities are coordinated by the Israeli Ministry of Defense. At the current stage, the multi-branch military industry of the country is focused on the development of more modern and complex types of weapons and military equipment. Thus, the country is actively creating its own multi-level anti-missile defense (BMD) system that will be able to counter short and medium-range missiles. One of the components of this system is the “Iron Dome”, which positively manifested itself during Israel's operations in the Gaza Strip.
The level of technical equipment and combat capability of the Israeli army is one of the highest in the world, while the quality characteristics of military equipment are constantly being improved. The Israeli army is able to mobilize more than half of its reserve units in 24 hours. Currently, Israel is one of the few states whose army is capable of conducting a network-centric war of the last generation (all combatants are able to join a single network).
Among the special services, one of the most famous is the Mossad – the Foreign Intelligence Service, formed in 1949 under the name “Central Institute for Coordination”, whose first leader was Reuven Shiloach (1909–1959). The final decision on the formation of "political intelligence" was made by the Israeli government in 1951. Among the most successful operations of the institution, we can single out the secret operation of the removal from Argentina to Israel of the Nazi officer and Gestapo employee responsible for the “final solution of the Jewish question” of Adolf Eichmann in 1960. Despite the fact that the Mossad is a civilian organization, most of its employees have completed active service in the army and hold army ranks. A feature of the service is the presence, in addition to employees and agents (the training of the latter is carried out by the Mossad Academy – “Midrash”), sayanim – voluntary helpers around the world (Jews who retain loyalty to their country but sympathize with the State of Israel).
Throughout its existence, the State of Israel has formed and uses an asymmetric strategy as a way to ensure vital national interests, which involves 3 main elements: an army with a wide range of tasks and capable of adaptive forms and methods of its application; strategic alliance with the USA − one of the largest world powers; peripheral regional strategy – a new way of building relations with neighboring countries. The last provided for 2 areas of activity: 1) creation of alliances with non-Arab Muslim states located on the regional periphery; 2) support for various non-Arab ethnic and religious minorities in the Middle East. In large part, thanks to a peripheral strategy along with strong security forces, the State of Israel has managed to survive in a hostile environment. In the conditions of the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the Israeli experience of developing and implementing such a strategy and its implementation in practice is a relevant and important task.