Dr. Joseph Draznin
Research Fellow, International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), Reichman University; Deputy NSA for Foreign Policy, Israel; Former Min.-Counselor for Defense Affairs, Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C
Dr. Joseph (Yossi) Draznin currently serves as Deputy National Security Advisor for Foreign Policy. In this capacity, he is involved in the formulation of Israel’s national security policy and coordinates the positions of various defense and foreign policy agencies. He manages dialogues with foreign interlocutors and oversees Israel’s foreign defense relations. He is also an Associate at the Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at Reichman University.
Dr. Draznin previously served as Director General of the Ministry of Community Affairs until July 2021 and as Director General of the Ministry of Regional Cooperation in 2017. In these roles, he led efforts to enhance regional economic cooperation between Israel and Gulf states, Jordan, and Egypt, in collaboration with the international community. In 2016, he worked as Advisor to Minister Tzachi Hanegbi at the Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Communications, and in 2014, as Advisor to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. He also worked extensively in the private sector, leading international strategic business development initiatives in the commercial, defense, and security sectors, particularly focusing on the U.S., India, Africa, and Israel.
Between 1999 and 2004, Dr. Draznin served as Minister-Counselor at the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C., where he was responsible for U.S.-Israel defense cooperation, defense industry collaboration, homeland defense, foreign policy, and national security. Prior to that, he was Assistant Deputy Director-General for Foreign Affairs and Arms Control at the Ministry of Defense, where he focused on U.S.-Israel strategic and defense dialogue. From 1984 to 1989, Dr. Draznin also served as Assistant Intelligence Attaché at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Draznin’s areas of expertise include relations between mass media and terrorism, Palestinian terrorism, the role of media during wartime and conflicts, and U.S.-Israel strategic cooperation. He has taught the course “U.S. Homeland and Counter Terrorism Policy” at Reichman University (formerly IDC Herzliya).
He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland. His dissertation focused on the relationship between the mass media and terrorist organizations, specifically analyzing news coverage of terrorism from a media perspective.
Dr. Joseph Draznin was born in Kibbutz Mefalsim, Israel, on February 1, 1956. He is married to Anat, and they have two children.
