Lessons from Clausewitz about the Information War against Israel

During the war that was launched against Israel on October 7, 2023, it became commonplace for those following events closely to speak of an “eighth front.” While the IDF was fighting enemies in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, and Lebanon, and responding to missile and drone attacks from Yemen, Iraq, and Iran, this eighth front was located in the realm of international opinion and public perception. The weapons used weren’t rifles and rockets, but images, social media, and press releases. Here Israel’s enemies fought not to kill and maim, but to demoralize and to break spirits. This unconventional war for hearts and minds directly shaped Israel’s ability to fight on all other fronts and proved itself just as lethal.

While this kind of warfare is accelerated in a digital age where propaganda can travel across the world in a matter of seconds, there is nothing new about it. It would have been familiar to the great Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz, who, 200 years ago, understood that this front can be decisive. To Clausewitz, war is never only about the clash of forces. It is a contest of wills. When the will of a people collapses, the war is already lost, regardless of battlefield outcomes. Clausewitz can serve as our guide to understanding the challenges this kind of war poses.