Amos Yadlin

Amos Yadlin is a retired Israeli Air Force (IAF) deputy commander, former director of the Shin Bet, and current director of Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). He also served as the head of the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman) from 2006 to 2010.

During his forty years in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Yadlin served ten years as a member of the IDF general staff. He was the IDF’s Chief of Defense Intelligence from 2006-2010. Before that, he served as the IDF attaché to the United States from 2004-2006, and in February 2002, he earned the rank of major general and was named commander of the IDF Military Colleges and the National Defense College. Yadlin is also a former member of the 102 "Flying Tiger" Squadron and flew the A-4 Skyhawk during the Yom Kippur War.

Yadlin earned his B.A. in economics and business administration from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and holds a master’s degree in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He also holds a degree from the Harvard Kennedy School, which offers a comprehensive background in public administration.

As a former deputy commander of the IAF, Yadlin has commanded two fighter squadrons and two airbases. He served as Head of the IAF Planning Department from 1990-1993, accumulated approximately 5,000 flight hours, and flew over 250 combat missions behind enemy lines. These missions included the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Operation Peace for Galilee in 1982, and Operation Opera, Israel’s successful destruction of the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq in 1981.

Before being appointed as Director of INSS in November 2011, Yadlin joined the Washington Institute for Near East Policy as the Kay Fellow on Israeli national security in 2011. He also joined the Zionist Union list for the elections for the twentieth Knesset as its candidate for Ministry of Defense in January 2015. Maj. Gen. (ret.) Yadlin is a staunch advocate for caution and patience in dealing with Iran's nuclear program and proposes unilateral withdrawal from 85% of the West Bank if peace negotiations with the Palestinians fail to produce an agreement. His writings cover a range of topics, including national security, force development, intelligence, civil-military relations, and the military ethics of fighting terror.