How much has UNIFIL accomplished?
Date: August 20, 2025
Time 12 noon, Eastern Standard Time, 7 p.m. Jerusalem Time
Featuring Lieutenant Colonel Sarit Zehavi of the Israeli Alma Center
On Monday, the United Nations Security Council started to debate a French Resolution extending the mandate of UNIFIL for approximately one more year. The UN Security Council is supposed to vote on this on August 25th, approximately 5 days from now. UNIFIL was established in 1978 to patrol Lebanon’s southern border with Israel. How much has UNIFIL accomplished? Has it turned a blind eye as Hezbollah’s activities, as well as its arsenal, along Israel’s northern border has grown?
Also, looking towards Syria, the United Nations Human Rights Council is investigating the government of Ahmed al-Sharaa as being guilty of war crimes, particularly against the Druze and the Alawite neighborhoods. What sort of policy can Israel embark upon with Syria to be able to give its citizens defensible borders?
About Our Speaker:
Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) Sarit Zehavi is the founder and president of Alma, a nonprofit and an independent research and education center specializing in Israel’s security challenges on its northern border. Sarit has briefed hundreds of groups and forums, ranging from US Senators, Congressmen/women, and politicians to senior journalists and visiting VIP groups in Israel and overseas. Sarit scripts numerous position papers and updates focusing on Lebanon, Syria, and Israel’s national security challenges. She served for 15 years in the Israeli Defense Forces, specializing in military intelligence, holds an M.A. in Middle East Studies from Ben-Gurion University, and is also a member of Forum Devora, promoting the equal representation of women in key decision-making positions in the fields of national security and foreign policy. Her unique achievements led her to be selected by the Jerusalem Post as one of the Top 50 Most Influential Jews of 2021.
Sarit lives in the Western Galilee.
