How Israel Fights: Inside the Mossad with Zohar Palti | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution

Uncommon Knowledge

Hoover Institution

Politics, History, News, News:politics, Science

4.8 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 23 March 2026

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Peter Robinson is joined by Zohar Palti — Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution and former head of the Intelligence Directorate in Israel’s Mossad— for a rare, inside account of how Israel thinks about war, deterrence, and survival. From the shock of October 7 to the current campaign against Iran, Palti explains why Israel sees both nuclear capability and ballistic missiles as existential threats—and why waiting is not an option. The conversation explores the logic of preemptive war, the limits of intelligence when it comes to predicting regime change, and the realities of fighting a modern conflict—from missile defense and drone warfare to the vulnerability of global energy routes. Palti also reflects on Israel’s internal challenges, the resilience of its people under constant attack, and the enduring partnership with the United States. A candid, strategic, and deeply personal look at how one of America’s closest allies fights—and why it believes it must. Recorded on March 11, 2026. Subscribe to Uncommon Knowledge at hoover.org/uk

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	How Israel fights and why. The former head of the Intelligence Directorate in the Mossad,
0:06.7	Zohar Palti, on Uncommon Knowledge Now.
0:20.5	Welcome to Uncommon Knowledge.
0:22.4	I'm Peter Robinson.
0:23.8	Zohar Palti spent nearly four decades in Israeli national security,
0:28.2	first in the Intelligence Corps of the Israeli Defense Forces,
0:31.3	then in the Mossad, where he became head of the intelligence directorate,
0:35.2	and then in the Ministry of Defense,
0:38.7	where he served as director of the Policy and Political Military Bureau.
0:42.3	Mr. Palti holds a BA and M.A. from Tel Aviv University.
0:46.6	When Mr. Palti retired from the Israeli Ministry of Defense in 2022, our own Department
0:52.0	of Defense awarded him the Medal for Distinguished Public Service.
0:56.8	Sohar, thank you for joining us today.
0:58.4	Thank you for having me.
0:59.4	Zohar, you left Israel just a day or two before the current conflict began.
1:06.3	Is that correct?
1:07.3	All right.
1:08.3	A couple of very brief opening questions.
1:11.6	One to give us a feel for life in Israel right now.
1:14.5	The second, the world.
1:17.1	You've been in this country since before the conflict began.
1:21.1	Just to give us a brief glimpse of life in Israel, you're on the phone with your wife.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Hoover Institution, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Hoover Institution and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.