Orde F. Kittrie

.@FDD sanctions expert @miadmaleki spent years choking Iran's economy through secondary sanctions. He tells Israel Hayom why that same toolkit, and blockchain especially, could never protect an export economy built on Nasdaq listings and Silicon Valley contracts. israelhayom.com/2026/10/25/m…

Interview @IsraelHayomHeb with @FDD sanctions expert and former @USTreasury official @miadmaleki on the risk of financial and economic warfare against Israel. israelhayom.co.il/news/world…

Interview with @MiadMaleki, a former senior official at the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), who helped design the maximum-pressure sanctions campaign against Iran and is now a senior fellow @FDD. His central argument is that Israel would be far more vulnerable than Iran to serious financial sanctions because its economy is deeply integrated into Western financial markets. The article makes several important points: 1. Sanctions could extend far beyond the West Bank. Israeli banks finance construction and provide mortgages in the settlements. Foreign financial institutions could sever relationships with these banks rather than risk exposure to sanctions. 2. Banks may overcomply. Even narrowly targeted sanctions can have wider consequences because financial institutions avoid activities that might expose them to U.S. penalties. Maleki cites the rapid freezing of sanctioned settlers' bank accounts in 2024. 3. Israel cannot realistically circumvent Western sanctions. Unlike Iran, Israel depends heavily on Western investment, dollar transactions, technology exports, and international financial integration. Cryptocurrency would not provide a viable alternative. 4. Banking sanctions are the greatest danger. Maleki distinguishes between sanctions on individuals, trade restrictions, and financial sanctions. He argues that measures targeting banks would be the most consequential. 5. The political threat could grow. The article discusses potential congressional action after the November 2026 midterm elections and the possibility that a future Democratic president could reinstate and expand sanctions. 6. The consequences could be severe. Maleki warns that broad financial isolation could undermine Israel's standard of living and its access to international markets. The article's central warning Maleki says: “Israel will not become Iran, but it will not be able to remain Israel either.” He argues that Israel, with $165 billion in annual exports, 56% of them services sold to Western companies, cannot build an alternative economy insulated from Western financial pressure. He concludes that the distance from such a scenario depends on Israeli conduct in the West Bank and whether support for Israel in Washington remains bipartisan.

Benjamin Netanyahu has done much for Israel over a long career and deserves to be remembered as one of its most consequential leaders. I particularly admire his leadership against Iran’s regime and his economic reforms that helped unleash Israel’s technology boom. But his failure to grasp the potentially devastating threat of U.S. financial and economic warfare against Israel—and his faith in a “resistance economy” as the answer—are deeply troubling. I say this as someone who helped design the Iran sanctions playbook over more than two decades and remains passionately committed to defending democracies like Israel, Taiwan. Ukraine and others. I know firsthand the power of these weapons. If the current coalition returns to power with the same policies, and Democrats take the White House in 2029, this financial warfare campaign against Israel is inevitable.

The fundamental flaw in this response is its failure to confront the potentially devastating consequences of U.S. financial and economic sanctions against Israel. Latin America and cryptocurrency are no credible substitutes for access to the American financial system and economy. Israel’s prosperity and resilience are undeniable, but they offer no immunity from future economic shocks. Past success is not a predictor of future success.

Some common sense. 📰🚨 Bank of Israel responds to Netanyahu’s remarks on Saturday: “Cryptocurrencies cannot serve as a way to circumvent sanctions. The right course of action for Israel’s economy is to preserve our economic relationships with our major trading partners and focus on preventing sanctions and their negative impact on the economy.”

There is no viable “bypass economy”whether through blockchain or other sanctions-evasion mechanisms that could shield Israel from a comprehensive U.S. financial and economic sanctions campaign. Israel has meaningful political and policy options to mitigate that risk. Believing you can circumvent American sanctions is not one of them.