Key Facts
Career & Education
About
Hanan Shai, originally named Hanan Schwartz, was born in April 1947 in Kibbutz Hanita, Israel, to founders of the kibbutz. Raised in the kibbutz and educated in the Kiryat area, he earned a Master's degree in Political Science from the University of Haifa in 1993 (thesis: 'The Command and Control Method in the Modern Military Organization: Examination of Its Essence and Period'; supervised by Yoav Gelber and Ze'ev Me'oz) and a PhD in Political Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (dissertation on the performance of Israeli leadership in wars; supervised by Yehoshafat Harkabi, completed posthumously after 1995). A Reserve Colonel (Aluf Mishne, res.) in the IDF Signal Corps with regular service from 1965–1994, he enlisted in August 1965 and was commissioned in 1966. His military roles included assistant signal officer in the Six-Day War (1967, Infantry Corps 8, Sinai and Golan), signal platoon commander and signal AGM officer in the War of Attrition (Armor Corps HQ and Sinai Brigade), major and battalion signal officer in the Yom Kippur War (1973, Infantry Corps 188, Golan Heights battles; awarded Chief of Staff Citation), and brigade signal commander in the First Lebanon War (1982, Northern Corps). Post-Lebanon, he headed the Command and Control Department in the IDF General Staff, co-founded the 'Barak' command training program (1989–1994) at the Interforce Command and Staff College with Benjamin Amidror (initiated by Maj. Gen. Yossi Peled), designed the Tactical Command College ('Malta'k'), and initiated the 'Bnei Hil' Master's program in Military and Security Studies at Bar-Ilan University for IDF reserve officers. He also served as an investigator on Maj. Gen. Dan Shomron's commission evaluating the Second Lebanon War. Academically, he is a professor of military strategy and national security, lecturing in strategic, political, and military thought at the Department of Political Science, Bar-Ilan University, and as an external lecturer in military and political strategy at the Department of International Relations, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is a research associate at the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy (email: hanan.shai@misgavins.org), with expertise in military and diplomatic strategy, wartime leadership, decision-making, leadership development, and recent focus on moral tensions in Western democracies affecting crisis response. Awards include the Chief of Staff Citation (1973) and a Certificate of Appreciation for Lifetime Achievement from IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi. Selected publications: 'The Yom Kippur War: A Command Failure, Not an Intelligence Failure' (2008) and 'The Intellectual Challenge in the Struggle Against Suicide Bombing' (2006). Former email (Bar-Ilan, 2011): hanansy@internet-zahav.net. Personal blog: https://www.hananshai.com/. No known controversies, legal issues, or family details.