In this episode of the Z3 Podcast, Host Rabbi Amitai Fraiman, Chuck Freilich, and Maggie Feldman-Piltch discuss the evolving concept of national security in the context of Israel and the United States. From the impact of October 7 to the evolving nature of warfare, they dive into the tensions, values, and deep strategic ties between the U.S. and Israel. They explore what keeps nations safe today beyond simply armies and borders as well as the operational differences between the two nations and the challenges they face moving forward.

If you’re interested in U.S.–Israel relations and security strategy this is a conversation you don’t want to miss.

About Our Guests

Prof. Chuck Freilich, a senior fellow at INSS, was a deputy national security adviser in Israel. He was a long-time senior fellow at Harvard's Belfer Center and has taught political science at Harvard, Columbia, NYU and Tel Aviv Universities. Freilich is the author of Zion’s Dilemmas: How Israel Makes National Security Policy (Cornell Press 2012); Israeli National Security: A New Strategy for an Era of Change (Oxford Press 2018); and Israel and the Cyber Threat: How the Startup Nation Became a Global Cyber Power (Oxford Press 2023). He is now working on a book on the US-Israeli strategic and military relationship. Freilich has written some 250 op-eds in American and Israeli press and is the senior editor of the Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs.

Maggie Feldman-Piltch makes national security make sense. Her writing under the name Non-State Actress reaches several hundred thousand people a week. She is the Managing Director of Unicorn Strategies and an Advisor to several defense frontier technology companies. She previously led the Digital and Electronic Warfare portfolio for the Wilson Center’s Science and Technology Innovation Program prior to the institution, including the Wilson Presidential Library’s, destruction by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). She’s been a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and completed a non-resident fellowship at Joint Special Operations University, guest lectures at the National War College and is exceedingly proud of her engagement with Meridian International Center, Munich Security Conference, and her undergraduate alma mater Wesleyan University.

Chapters

(00:00) Defining National Security

(05:04) Current Threats to National Security

(17:34) Impact of October 7th on National Security

(30:37) The Nature of the US-Israel Relationship

(37:12) The Critical U.S.-Israel Relationship

(39:02) Israel's Strategic Importance

(42:11) Understanding Bilateral Relationships

(43:58) Operational Differences in National Security

(47:00) The Nature of Modern Warfare

(50:52) Current U.S.-Israel Relations

(55:56) Challenges in U.S.-Israel Relations

(01:00:59) The Future of U.S.-Israel Relations