If you're in Cambridge tomorrow do join us for the final Israel Studies Seminar in Cambridge this term at 17:15 at FAMES, to hear @stevenbwagner.bsky.social talk about Israel's intelligence failings prior to October 7th 2023. Promises to be a fascinating talk!

So now Bibi isn't going again? Why tf would he allow everyone else to determine the future of the region? www.haaretz.com/middle-east-...

If Trump asks the knesset to anoint him the next King of Israel today, I am 100% sure they will oblige.

I am stunned, watching Israel's ch11/12 all morning. Excitement about the hostages coming home. The end of the war. Trump. Indonesian president's visit. That Israel will join the world at Sharm. Something is very different today.

🤔

Whenever I teach about the conflict, there's always a moment where my students ask me if there's any reason to think things could ever get better. I always say something like "I don't see a way out. No happy ending. That said, it's a fickle place and from time to time you wake up... 1/2

Happy Stanislav Petrov day! Sometimes, questioning what the computer tells you, is the way to go.

To those saying that recognition of Palestine is a reward for terrorism, may I remind of you of Israel's origins?

Look what came in the mail today! (Feat. my chapter on covert action in Mandatory Palestine.) @magslong.bsky.social @rorycormac.bsky.social @markstout.bsky.social @dvanp.bsky.social

My latest BCISS blog post on the Iran Israel war. Was Iran really close to building a bomb? I doubt it, but who knows?! The pretext and cause for war are far less certain than its consequences. intelligencestudiesreview.blog/2025/06/18/s...

Come do a PhD at @forsvarshogskolan.bsky.social. You could be supervised by some of my fantastic colleagues while working in a vibrant, pluralistic & highly engaged research environment. These positions are fully salaried & come with a research budget of 30k SEK a year fhs.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

Channel 12 illustration of the drone op in Iran v the guardian illustration of Ukraine's drone op in Russia. That's one hell of a coincidence.

My colleagues and I wrote a short blog series on the occasion of Oleg Gordievsky's passing. My contribution teases some preliminary findings from my Able Archer wargame. intelligencestudiesreview.blog/category/bci...

Come see @drichterova.bsky.social, Phil Davies and I at KCL 01 April 2025 5pm We are speaking in a forum as part of the UK book launch for Intelligence and Contemporary Conflict, ed. @matthefler.bsky.social. FREE COPIES for attendees thanks to the publisher! Info here www.kcl.ac.uk/events/book-...

I have been spending the week working through the formal IDF and shin bet reports on 7 October. Will post about it soon. I am a bit concerned with the new chief of staff announcing a review of these. There are problems with them, but I'm not confident that he's after those.

It's called "Golden Dome" because it'll be absurdly expensive despite its inherent worthlessness.

This is such an outrage. I'm at a complete loss for words. www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

Could 2024 be considered the golden year of #intelligence studies? Based on @intelarchive.io data, the answer is yes. A mini thread about publications on intelligence studies in 2024. +

I recently gave a talk at the Arab Council for the Social Sciences on optical character recognition for historical documents in Arabic. It's now available on Youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG6t...

Queen Elizabeth ‘believed that every Israeli was either a terrorist or a son of a terrorist’. Not a huge surprise given that her confidant, Martin Charteris, was head of staff intelligence in Palestine and led the fight against Begin and Shamir www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_ent...

Does anyone recognise the location of this photograph?

We can't catch a break 📉

Re-upping my starter pack for Intelligence Studies and Practitioners as there have been a number of additions recently. I hope that there can be even more in the future as more colleagues continue to migrate over here.

At least all these nutters taking the helm in the US share our interest in declassification. The ufo and jfk scholars are going to be busy at least.

The only times Israel hasn't aimlessly occupied neighbouring territory for the long term are when the Americans intervened (1956 and 1973). This will exceed 2025 and the settlers will fill the strategy void. Or maybe they are the strategy.

This story is very odd. The main outlets reporting it are Gulf-Arabic, Iran-dissident, and American-right-wing. Sky Arabic's source was, they say, a senior pentagon official. So what is going on? True or not, this is a bad info op. www.jpost.com/breaking-new...

Happy to get copies of my first edited collection, “Intelligence and Contemporary Conflict”. Packed with essays from superstars of intelligence history, and beautifully produced by Bokförlaget Stolpe, the book will be useful for scholars, practitioners and enthusiasts alike. 📣 Ax:son Johnson Inst

A huge thanks to our terrific contributors including @gillhistory.bsky.social @drichterova.bsky.social @stevenbwagner.bsky.social @suzanneraine.bsky.social and many more off Bluesky! Those in the UK 🇬🇧 can already pre-order at www.amazon.co.uk/dp/918988215...

Was very pleased to see both @yair-rosenberg.bsky.social and @mazmhussain.bsky.social on @thedailyshow.bsky.social. Such a refreshingly sane and honest dialogue. Thank you. I cannot understand why comedy central is the only place we can see this kind of content.

warontherocks.com/2023/12/reve... A clear, reasonable and much needed policy approach by @ryanevans.bsky.social

This nugget from the Mitrokhin archive seems especially relevant these days. See op. Pandora.

A secrecy factory…

Meanwhile in the West Bank

8200 stopped covering Hamas tactical signals (hard to believe). Other reporting suggests it wouldn't have mattered. Bergman et al also underplay reports that Netanyahu WAS briefed on warning beforehand. Otherwise i agree with the main breakdown. www.nytimes.com/2023/10/29/w...

Call for papers! "Knock in the Night" #intelligence and #security services in #Authoritarian regimes. Conference will be 26-27 June 2024 CFP due 8 Jan 24. intelligencestudiesreview.blog/2023/10/23/c...

Highly recommended reading by Arie Dubnov. A scathing overview. "The problem is that vengeance is neither a strategy nor a tactic. The Israeli government doesn’t have the right to defend its citizens but the duty to do so. And it failed miserably." www.tarb.co.il/the-war-agai...

Very pleased to announce my latest publication about the role of intelligence in a sordid but important episode in Palestine's history. Espionage and the 1935 Press War in Palestine: Revisiting Factionalism, Forgeries and Fake News academic.oup.com/ehr/advance-...