On 17th February, addressing the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem, former prime minister Naftali Bennett delivered a line that has since become shorthand for a shift in Israeli strategic thinking: “Turkey is the new Iran.” He accused Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of seeking to “encircle Israel.” He charged Ankara and Doha with nourishing a Muslim Brotherhood axis modeled on Iran’s proxy network, this time anchored by a “hostile Sunni axis with nuclear Pakistan.” Coming from a man positioning himself for an electoral comeback this fall, the remarks could be dismissed as campaign theatre. They are not isolated. Bennett’s framing echoes a document few outside Israel’s defense establishment have read closely. In January 2025, the Nagel Committee […]