Shimon Rafaeli is a researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS) who served as a political adviser to Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer. He previously worked at the National Security Council.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations, political science, and history.
His work focuses on analyzing Israel’s foreign relations, modern antisemitism, and regional geopolitical shifts. He is the founder and host of A Journey Between Ideas, a podcast that addresses the challenges facing the State of Israel and the Jewish people in the twenty-first century.
He began his path in the Haredi yeshiva world, where he studied in prestigious institutions of religious learning, a background that shaped his historical and conceptual understanding of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. He later went on to do military service.
Israel’s growing strategic role stems not only from military capability but from demonstrated reliability—positioning it as a credible partner for the United States and a key actor in an increasingly unstable global order
