Zohar Palti
Chair of Strategic Dialogue at the European Leadership Network
Zohar Palti is an Andrew Viterbi Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy in Washington, DC, Chair of Strategic Dialogue at the European Leadership Network (ELNET), and a consultant for private companies in the United States. Mr Palti retired from government service in 2022 after nearly four decades in some of Israel’s most sensitive national security positions. Among these positions, Mr Palti served as the Director of the Policy & Political-Military Bureau at Israel’s Ministry of Defense, where he was responsible for shaping the policy in the ministry. Prior to this, he headed the Mossad Intelligence Directorate (equivalent to Major General) and was the counterterrorism chief of the organisation. Before this position, Mr Palti spent 25 years in the Israel Defense Forces Intelligence Corps. Mr Palti has held several research positions, including Senior Research Fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center (2016-17) and Visiting Military Fellow at The Washington Institute (2004). In a rare honour for a foreign official, Palti was awarded the US Department of Defense Medal.
Updated: April 3, 2025