Major General (res.) Dr. Yom Tov Samia argues, following a seven-year study that led to his book “Unity or Die," that Israel faces no external existential threats whatsoever - and that the deep rifts within Israeli society are the only true threat to the state’s survival.
In an interview on the podcast “Roni Sofer Oseh Sechel," Samia declared: “There is no external existential threat to the State of Israel - including Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, Fatah, the Palestinian Authority, the Houthis, Yemen, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey - whoever you want. There is no such threat."
He said he has proof to support his claim. “There is evidence - no need to guess. Since 1947 we have stood against every threat that came our way. Seven Arab armies, two Arab armies, three Arab armies, again two; October 7; October ’73. Like a lion against Iran, with hundreds of drones and thousands of missiles.
“We are still here," Samia noted. “No one has managed to destroy us. The only danger - and the most fundamental and frightening one to me regarding the existence of the State of Israel - is the divisions and fractures within Israeli society."
He attributes the current situation to Israeli governments over the past 30 years - from Rabin to Netanyahu. “The political leadership since 1993 has lacked the courage to make heavy or even light long-term decisions. If there is a disease I can diagnose - socially, militarily, politically, and in terms of leadership - it is short-termism.
The last time long-term decisions were made in 1949 - during the War of Independence, when it was decided to expand Israel's territory, including expelling people who were here and with whom it was clear we could not live. That was a heavy political decision. Unfortunately, Israeli leadership does not know how to translate remarkable battlefield victories into strategic outcomes," he concluded.