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Yaakov Lappin

Yaakov Lappin

Yaakov Lappin is an Israel-based military affairs correspondent and analyst. He is the in-house analyst at the Miryam Institute; a research associate at the Alma Research and Education Center; and a research associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University. He is a frequent guest commentator on international television news networks, including Sky News and i24 News. Lappin is the author of Virtual Caliphate: Exposing the Islamist State on the Internet. Follow him at: www.patreon.com/yaakovlappin.

An Israeli Defense Forces Merkava Mk IV main battle tank. Credit: Israeli Defense Ministry.
Feature
How a Lebanese-American philosopher is inspiring IDF innovation
“We must be a little futuristic. We are in competition with the enemies of Israel,” says Brig. Gen. Oren Giber, head of the IDF’s Merkava and Armored Vehicles Directorate.
Aug. 6, 2023
Yaakov Lappin
Khamenei, Assad
Israel News
Hezbollah could take possession of Syrian chemical weapons
Iran is working to seize control of an extensive network of Syrian military industry facilities.
Aug. 3, 2023
Yaakov Lappin
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (second from left) and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant near the border with Lebanon, March 16, 2023. Photo by David Cohen/Flash90.
Analysis
The dilemma of a preventive Israeli strike on Hezbollah
As the Iran-backed terror army provokes Israel on the border and builds its arsenal, experts assess that Iranian pressure, and the domestic crises in Lebanon and Israel, are emboldening its leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Aug. 2, 2023
Yaakov Lappin
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi attends a Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, July 18, 2023. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.
Analysis
IDF now must wait and see if reservists fulfill no-show threat
10,000 IDF and 1,142 IAF personnel declared prior to the passing of a key judicial reform bill that if it became law they would stop reporting for duty.
July 25, 2023
Yaakov Lappin
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi addresses the Herzliya Conference, May 23, 2023. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.
Analysis
IDF chief takes a firmer line on no-show reservists
However, without some form of stabilization of Israel’s political situation, the question is whether it will be enough.
July 20, 2023
Yaakov Lappin
A Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 Strike Eagle departs for a training mission over the Nevada Test and Training Range in the U.S., Jan. 27, 2011. Photo by Senior Airman Brett Clashman/U.S. Air Force via Wikimedia Commons.
Feature
Israeli-Saudi security cooperation ‘would be Iran’s nightmare’
Despite the absence of formal normalization, Riyadh and Jerusalem are ripe for greater cooperation, observers say.
July 19, 2023
Yaakov Lappin
Israel concludes its first successful trial of ground-based laser interception system 4 on April 14, 2022. Credit: Courtesy of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
Analysis
Laser air defenses coming to Israeli border communities soon
After nearly two decades in development, Israel’s Iron Beam laser defense system is scheduled to become operational within the next year and a half.
July 18, 2023
Yaakov Lappin
The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. Photo by Bernard Gagnon via Wikimedia Commons.
Feature
A decade into the shadow war in Syria, Israel still disrupting Tehran’s takeover efforts
But Iran and Hezbollah are still highly active in Syria—and elsewhere.
July 17, 2023
Yaakov Lappin
Hassan Nasrallah
Analysis
Hezbollah, seeing division in Israel, launches calculated provocation
Likely with Iranian encouragement, Nasrallah seeks to humiliate Israel, but with each new match he lights, the chance of a conflagration increases.
July 13, 2023
Yaakov Lappin
Terrorists attend the funeral in Jenin of comrades who were killed during an Israeli military operation, July 5, 2023. Photo by Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90.
Analysis
As PA forces enter Jenin, Israel watches cautiously
Hundreds of terrorist gunmen fled the city last week; still, major questions remain over its fate and that of the Palestinian Authority.
July 11, 2023
Yaakov Lappin
An Israeli Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35 Adir (Lightning II) stealth multirole combat aircraft with weapons bay open over Hatzerim Air Base near Beersheva, June 27, 2017. Photo by Yissachar Ruas/TPS.
Analysis
How the Israeli Air Force is preparing for multi-arena war
The IDF’s strategic arm needs to be able to take on rocket and missile bases over the borders and nuclear sites in Iran, all at the same time.
July 9, 2023
Yaakov Lappin
A Palestinian fires a rifle during the funeral in Jenin of terrorists killed during an IDF raid, July 5, 2023. Photo by Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90.
Analysis
Jenin operation achieved most of its goals, but the IDF will be back
Most of the city’s terrorists avoided engaging the brigade-sized force of special IDF units, with many apparently hiding in hospitals.
July 6, 2023
Yaakov Lappin
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