Full Breakdown
ISDF Expands Its Security Mission to Counter Antisemitism and Internal Threats
By Drooid · · How we work
Origins and Structure
The Security Policy Institute at Israel’s Defense and Security Forum (ISDF) was founded six years ago by Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amir Avivi. It brings together former senior figures from Israel’s military, intelligence and police, including dozens of generals and former heads of the Mossad, Shin Bet and the IDF. “ISDF was established by people who realized that Israel’s security system needed an additional mechanism for oversight, correction, and identifying deviations in national security policy,” — Medina. Today the group counts about 60,000 Israeli members and roughly 8,000 members abroad, primarily in the United States.
Expanded Fronts of Operation
While traditional concerns such as Gaza, Hezbollah, Iran’s nuclear program and Palestinian terrorism remain central, ISDF is now focusing on two new fronts. The first, termed “The War for the Homefront,” targets internal security issues like terror financing, arms smuggling and illegal weapons in the Negev, Galilee and mixed Israeli communities. The second, the “Global Antisemitism & Delegitimization Front,” views radical Islamist movements and elements of the far left as a coordinated “Red-Green alliance” that funds antisemitic narratives in Europe, U.S. academia, think tanks and media. Medina argues that these efforts require an “offensive strategy against antisemitism” rather than passive documentation “Just as Israel learned to fight offensively in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran rather than waiting inside its borders, we need an offensive strategy against antisemitism,” — Medina.
Education, Outreach and Policy Influence
ISDF runs a mechina in the Negev that blends security training with Zionist activism, and it has added programs for police aspirants and ultra-Orthodox (haredi) youth. Its members lecture in high schools, pre-military academies, advanced military courses, police academies and national security colleges. The institute regularly meets Israeli decision-makers—including the prime minister, security minister, Border Police chief and IDF chief of staff—as well as foreign military attaches, U.S. senators and European Parliament members, producing policy papers on IDF operations, buffer zones and evacuation strategies.
Funding and Non-Partisanship Claims
Operating as a nonprofit, ISDF says it has no single donor dictating its agenda and positions itself as “clean, professional, and independent” Israeli analysis. Medina stresses that the organization is not a political body and that its members span the political spectrum, citing senior IDF commanders such as Gadi Eiskot and Yair Golan as examples.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Just as Israel learned to fight offensively in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran rather than waiting inside its borders, we need an offensive strategy against antisemitism,” — Medina
- “ISDF was established by people who realized that Israel’s security system needed an additional mechanism for oversight, correction, and identifying deviations in national security policy,” — Medina
- “We are not a religious movement,” — Medina
- “This isn’t just happening in Europe,” — Medina