Iran\u2019s weaponization<\/a> process may be nearly irreversible in the short term. \u201cThey weren\u2019t far along \u2013 but now, they\u2019re back to square one. Even if they have some enriched uranium left, they won\u2019t be able to weaponize it for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\nBeyond the offensive operation, Steinitz turns to what he calls Israel\u2019s \u201cunderrated triumph\u201d: its air defense systems. In particular, he emphasizes the role of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, where he currently serves as chairman of the board.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people talk about the war, they focus on ballistic missiles, which some of them managed to hit Israel,\u201d he says. \u201cBut let\u2019s not forget \u2013 Iran launched around 1,200 drones and cruise missiles. And only one hit anything significant.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Steinitz, that near-perfect interception rate \u2013 99.9% \u2013 is unparalleled globally. \u201cIn Ukraine, they\u2019re thrilled with a 40% interception rate. We had a single drone strike a building in Beit She\u2019arim \u2013 that\u2019s it. The rest were downed.\u201d<\/p>\n
He attributes much of that success to Rafael\u2019s multi-layered systems, including Iron Dome, David\u2019s Sling, and cutting-edge air-to-air missiles like the Python and Derby. \u201cThese are not only Israeli systems \u2013 they\u2019re the best in the world,\u201d he says with visible pride. \u201cEven our American counterparts admit it behind closed doors. \u2018we are the biggest\u2019 they tell me \u2013 but you are the best.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps Rafael\u2019s most remarkable contribution is yet to fully deploy: the company\u2019s high-energy laser interception system, based on a proprietary \u201cadaptive optics\u201d technology developed over the past five years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a game-changer,\u201d Steinitz says. \u201cFor 60 years, the world has tried to build a functional laser defense system \u2013 and failed. The US, Russia, China: none succeeded. Rafael did.\u201d<\/p>\n
How Rafael broke through fundamental barriers<\/h3>\n THE BREAKTHROUGH, he explains, lies in overcoming a fundamental barrier: the atmosphere. \u201cLaser beams scatter in air. That\u2019s why surgical lasers work at close range \u2013 but not over kilometers. Rafael\u2019s adaptive optics technology compensates for atmospheric distortion in real time. It\u2019s like creating a \u2018smart laser\u2019 that corrects itself mid-flight.\u201d<\/p>\n
In practical terms, this means intercepting artillery shells, drones, or rockets from up to 10 or even 20 kilometers away \u2013 instantly, at the speed of light, for pennies on the dollar.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Iron Dome, each interceptor costs around $100,000. David\u2019s Sling costs $700,000 per shot. Arrow-3? Up to $4 million,\u201d he says. \u201cBut a single laser interception? Just three dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n
But cost isn\u2019t the only advantage. There\u2019s also speed. \u201cLasers travel at the speed of light. There\u2019s no delay, no chase. You shoot, and the missile explodes almost instantly \u2013 before it even reaches Israeli airspace.\u201d<\/p>\n
The result? A country that can intercept threats without triggering citywide alarms. \u201cWith Iron Dome, we sound sirens in Tel Aviv just in case interception fails. With lasers, the missile explodes above Gaza before it even becomes a threat. In many cases, citizens won\u2019t even know they were targeted.\u201d<\/p>\n
If missile interception is one front for him, satire is another. And it turns out, Steinitz\u2019s new book The Governmental Comedy is as much a commentary on government dysfunction as it is a personal memoir.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe book is inspired by two people,\u201d he says: \u201cHenry Kissinger \u2013 former US secretary of state \u2013 for his deep philosophical reflection on diplomacy, and Ephraim Kishon \u2013 one of the most widely read contemporary satirists in Israel \u2013 for his brutal, hilarious critique of Israeli bureaucracy. I wanted to write something that captures both: the seriousness of security decisions and the absurdity of how they sometimes unfold.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\nYuval Steinitz’s book, ‘The Governmental Comedy.’ (credit: Courtesy)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The result is a collection of stories that move between war rooms and wild bureaucratic drama. \u201cSomeone told me that it\u2019s the most serious and most laugh-out-loud book ever written about Israel,\u201d he says proudly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was 2003. Then-prime minister Ariel Sharon replaced the Shas Party (A religious Sephardic one) with Shinui (a secular party). Suddenly, there were too many Ashkenazim [Jews of Central and Eastern Europe ancestry] in government. I was bumped to make room. So I said, okay, make me chair of Foreign Affairs and Defense. It was supposed to be a consolation prize but became one of the most important roles I ever held.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steinitz clear-eyed on Israeli security failures<\/h3>\n DESPITE THE humor, Steinitz is clear-eyed about the failures of Israel\u2019s security establishment \u2013 especially regarding October 7, 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor 25 years after the Oslo Accords<\/a>, nobody seriously considered the possibility of a military-style Palestinian incursion into Israeli territory. Not from the PA, not from Hamas,\u201d he says. \u201cI published an article in 1998 predicting such a scenario, but it was dismissed. Even I started doubting it might happen.\u201d<\/p>\nHe points to systemic arrogance within military intelligence. \u201cWho was I, a former Golani sergeant, to question an IDF major-general? But that\u2019s the problem. Civilian oversight is viewed as interference, not as a safeguard.\u201d<\/p>\n
His account of the 2007 Syrian nuclear reactor is a case in point. As chairman of the Intelligence Subcommittee, he raised alarms that were initially ignored by the Mossad and Aman (Military Intelligence Directorate). \u201cThey said there was nothing. But we insisted, and eventually the reactor was exposed by the Mossad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steinitz is no stranger to internal cabinet battles, some of which appear in his book. During Operation Protective Edge (2014), he led a push to launch a ground invasion of Gaza and dismantle Hamas entirely.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey had only 10,000 fighters back then \u2013 no tunnel networks, nothing like today,\u201d he says. \u201cThe security establishment warned it would be a disaster. I argued that if we didn\u2019t act then, we\u2019d pay a much higher price later \u2013 and here we are.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a former finance minister, Steinitz recalls in the book other unexpected victories. \u201cPeople thought the two-year budget idea was crazy. Today, Israel is the only country in the world that adopted it \u2013 and it helped us rank first in the IMF\u2019s post-2008 crisis recovery index.\u201d He smiles at the irony. \u201cDespite all the chaos, we manage to function. Maybe it\u2019s not because of the system, but despite it.\u201d<\/p>\n
His book, in this sense, is not only a chronicle \u2013 it\u2019s a therapeutic journey. \u201cAfter I retired, I could finally see the comedy in it all,\u201d he says. \u201cYes, we were dealing with life-and-death decisions. But sometimes, the process looked like something out of \u2018Yes, Minister.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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