A View From Israel

Israeli Brigadier General Asssaf Orion (res), who served the IDF for over 30 years and is now on reserve duty joins the podcast to discuss the events of October 7 and the Israeli response. During his career in the Israel Defense Forces, General Orion was responsible for strategic policy formulation, international cooperation, and military diplomacy. He also served as a liaison to neighboring militaries and peacekeeping forces in the region. He was most recently the head of the Strategic Division in the Planning Directorate of the IDF General Staff. In this position, he was in charge of communication with UNIFIL and the Lebanese army, led staff meetings with counterparts from the Pentagon and from other Western militaries, took part in the U.S.-Israel security dialogue, and represented the IDF in talks with the Palestinian Authority. After retiring from the IDF in 2016, General Orion joined the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv and serves as the Liz and Mony Rueven International Fellow with The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.