About Us

Who We Are

Commanders for Israel’s Security (CIS) is a movement of over 550 retired IDF colonels and generals as well as Mossad, Shin Bet (Internal Security), Police, NSC and Diplomatic corps equivalents.

CIS has chosen to reserve membership to retired officials of the top four ranks, for it is only at the highest echelons of the security establishment and foreign service that one is exposed to – and gains experience in addressing – the strategic dimensions of Israel’s national security challenges.

CIS prides itself on the fact that our members are all volunteers who seek no reward beyond the knowledge that they place their experience and expertise at the service of securing our country’s future for the coming generations.

Our Mission

Our members are committed to securing Israel’s future as the strong democratic home of the Jewish people. CIS views separation from the Palestinians, leading to an eventual two-state solution, as a most essential condition for a secure future and is convinced that the continued slide toward a one-state reality jeopardizes that vision and must be reversed.

What We Do

CIS promotes awareness to national security issues among the Israeli public. We provide professional analysis and policy recommendations to decision-makers, journalists and others, who are relevant to the formulation of national policies on these matters. Our main focus is the need to reverse the slide toward a devastating one-state reality and promote separation from the Palestinians.

We meet regularly with senior government officials, members of cabinet and Knesset, as well as others who influence national security decision-making. Much of this work is discreet.

At times, CIS chooses to engage publicly. When we do, we act as a primary source for mainstream and social media, with dozens of interviews, op-eds, and background briefings annually.

CIS is convinced that the continued slide toward a one-state reality jeopardizes Israel’s future as the strong democratic home of the Jewish people and perpetuates the conflict. We therefore seek to reverse that trend through an Israeli policy that preserves and improves conditions for an eventual two-state solution. We seek to affect that change via a security-based initiative for a gradual civilian separation from the Palestinians while maintaining security control until a two-state agreement ushers in robust security arrangements.

Activity Summary 2015 – 2019

In early 2016 we published Security First, a comprehensive plan that called upon Israel to take the initiative, irrespective of whether a partner exists on the Palestinian side.  The plan recommended that Israel launch a series of measures – security, economic and political – on the West Bank, in Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip while maintaining security control over the territory.  The goal of these measures was to preserve conditions for the eventual resumption of negotiations on a final status agreement with the Palestinians, based on the principle of two states for two peoples.

Following up on Security First we published two additional plans, authored by our own team of experts, to expand upon our initial recommendations:

In 2019 we published Gaza:  An Alternative Israeli Strategy, a groundbreaking proposal that offered a road map to achieving a comprehensive arrangement with the Hamas and restoring Palestinian Authority governance to the Gaza Strip.

Commanders for Israel’s Security submitted these position papers to members of Knesset, cabinet ministers and senior government officials, and presented them at national and international forums, press conferences and media appearances.

We launched five, largescale public campaigns aimed at embedding the idea of separation from the Palestinians and raising awareness of the dangers of a single state for Israelis and Palestinians.  Each campaign included dozens of ads on billboards, in print and digital media, wide exposure on social networks, newspaper articles, op-ed pieces, radio and television interviews.  In 2017, we joined together with Darkenu to organize a major rally in Tel Aviv commemorating the late Yitzhak Rabin, on the 22nd anniversary of his murder.

The efforts of Commanders for Israel’s Security, both among political leaders and the public at large, have helped make people cognizant of the fact that separation from the Palestinians is the only means at our disposal – at least until negotiations on a final status agreement are renewed — to halt the slide towards a single state, one that would be neither Jewish nor democratic.  We have further helped people understand that separation would best serve to enhance personal and national security while ensuring Israel’s vital strategic interests.

Many of our recommendations were integrated into the platforms of Israel’s various political parties during the multiple election campaigns that took place from 2019 to 2022.

Activity Summary 2020-2022

Notwithstanding restrictions on public gatherings and a challenging fundraising environment due to COVID19, Commanders for Israel’s Security achieved the following over the past two years.

While the White House promoted the Trump Plan in early 2020 and some Israeli politicians announced their intention to annex parts of the West Bank, we launched a wide-ranging public campaign in the spring and summer of 2020 to highlight the dangers of unilateral annexation.  The campaign, which included dozens of ads on billboards and in other media, called upon those politicians to “look the public in the eyes” and admit they have no idea what the consequences of annexation would be.

In addition, members of Commanders for Israel’s Security edited a comprehensive study on the military, economic, political and legal implications of unilateral annexation.   The study, which we submitted to members of the government and the Knesset, received extensive media coverage, including on Israel’s main, television news broadcast.
The findings of this study, and the widespread public attention it attracted, played an important role in creating a climate of public opinion that helped persuade decision-makers to shelve plans for unilateral annexation.

In early 2021 Commanders for Israel’s Security sponsored the Haaretz Conference on Strategy and National Security.  The conference, whose panels featured prominent members of the movement, was broadcast live on the Haaretz website.

During this period, we held some 40 meetings with members of Knesset and organized two roundtables for Knesset members to discuss vital security matters.   In additional to physical meetings we sent bi-weekly memoranda to Knesset members on various policy issues, particularly the Palestinian question.

We subsequently published another, major policy paper, Initiative 2025.  This report brings together the various proposals formulated by the movement in a single, strategic program, updated to reflect recent developments such as the Abrahamic Accords.  In Initiative 2025 we call upon the government to adopt a strategic approach aimed, on the one hand, at halting Israel’s slide towards a single state for Israelis and Palestinians and, on the other, at promoting optimal conditions for the renewal of negotiations with the Palestinians on a final status agreement.

2023 to present

As of 2023, the newly elected government launched a two-fold attack, with a drive to undermine Israeli democracy while pushing the throttle with legislative, organizational and behavioral moves designed to ensure ultimate annexation of the West Bank. Identifying a clear and present danger, CIS joined forces with the spontaneous mass protest movement to counter the constitutional revolution and contributed by underlining the dangerous implications for Israel’s security.

Naturally, the trauma of Black Shabbat, October 7, refocused attention. Many members turned to voluntary contribution to essential tasks. For example a group of experienced diplomats mobilized to assist the hostage families in addressing international media and dignitaries.

Following the pogrom, CIS mobilized its vast experience to analyze the security situation and has produced analyses and advocated for policy (re)direction on an ongoing basis. These have included

  • An early and on-going push for an all-for-all hostage-prisoner exchange
  • Drawing attention to the risks of Israeli action (including its policies on demographics and humanitarian assistance) to US-Israeli relations and to its regional partnerships, most notably with Egypt and Jordan
  • Highlighting the dangers inherent in pursuit of a long war devoid of a defined strategy, a vision and policy for ‘the day after’
  • Arguing the keystone conclusion – the imperative to change paradigm with respect to the Palestinian challenge, from an approach based on ‘managing the conflict’ to the pursuit of progress towards resolution, focused on ‘civil separation’
  • Encouraging exploitation of the historic opportunity to help redraw the region’s security architecture, in a way that would position Israel as a member of a regional alliance that includes leading peace-oriented Arab nations and involving American leadership.