Not since the Yom Kippur War of 1973, when Egypt and Syria nearly brought the Jewish State to its knees, has Israel's sense of invincibility been so shaken.
How did Israeli intelligence convince itself that Hamas wasn’t preparing for conflict? How did the military fail to recognize how easily its electronic surveillance could be neutralized? Why did political leaders disregard mounting warnings that Hamas was stronger than they believed?
For nearly two years, these questions have loomed over Israel and the global Jewish community. Now, two of Israel's most respected journalists, Yaakov Katz and Amir Bohbot, are offering the answers the government still hasn’t provided.
In their new book, While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East, they present a damning account of the cracks within Israel’s military and political leadership—so confident in their invincibility and strategic superiority that they dismissed critical warnings of a growing threat. The book offers crucial lessons for how Israel can avoid the overconfidence that led to tragedies like October 7 and the Yom Kippur War.
We are honored to welcome Yaakov Katz, former editor in chief of The Jerusalem Post, for a conversation with Bret Stephens of The New York Times.