Israel, The Country That Must Not Be Named

I come from an American national security background.

Even today, most of the 2,500+ people in my LinkedIn network are from that world. I know many of them read posts like this one. I see it in the LinkedIn insights. Although they’ll never, ever hit “like.”

(Come on, prove me wrong. You won't.)

Here’s the thing: within the U.S. national security community, there’s one country that is almost never mentioned: the State of Israel.

Israelis are often puzzled when I say this. “What are you talking about? Are you sure?”

But I stand by it. I even have a name for it: The Voldemort Syndrome.

Israel is the country that must not be named.

Yes, America’s political class engages with Israel all the time. More than any other country actually. Trump is literally on his way here as I write this.

But the bureaucracy, the “swamp,” the GS-level career officials, the support staff… they act as if Israel doesn’t exist.

They’ll talk about Ukraine and China until the sun goes down.

But open some of the major “insight portals” and you can Ctrl-F for “Israel” and not find a single mention.

That silence matters. It means countless opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and understanding are left on the table.

But I’m working on a solution. It is becoming clear to me I should work faster on this.