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Cover of WHILE ISRAEL SLEPT
★★★★★
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Based on 58 Goodreads ratings

WHILE ISRAEL SLEPT

by dismissing the idea that the Hamas\u002Dled incursion of Oct. 7, 2023, was akin to 9/11. Instead, they liken it to the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor as a sequence of misread indicators that something bad was about to happen. So lax was the monitoring of the Gaza border, they note, that Hamas “didn’t use even a single tunnel,” even as Israeli Defense Forces intelligence assumed that Hamas wouldn’t dare cross the border openly. Another missed sign was the removal of protective fabric from rocket\u002Dlaunch pits within Gaza, a prelude to a rocket attack, although Hamas said that it was a drill. “Israel possessed all the intelligence to piece together Hamas’s plans, but the IDF never connected it into a comprehensive picture to understand what was happening right before their eyes,” the authors charge. One proximate cause of the failure, they hold, was the IDF’s complacency about the “iron wall” that divided Gaza and Israel, “believed to be impenetrable,” but the larger issue was that different agencies weren’t talking to each other and sharing intelligence that might have been stitched into a coherent whole. An interesting point, if untestable, is that the division in Israeli society wrought by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s effort to reduce the power of the nation’s judiciary revealed a weakness that lent itself to attack. Controversially, the authors insist that the IDF’s response to the attack took great pains to spare civilian lives and “refrain from preemptive action that could lead to a wider war.” They close with a set of policy recommendations, including taking care not to alienate the U.S., as happened during the Biden presidency, and enlisting Mossad, which operates internationally, to aid with internal intelligence."

Book Details

Publisher:Of
Published:2024-01-01
Pages:140
Format:paperback
Language:English
ISBN:9781250345

Reading Info

Age Range:12-18

About This Book

This gripping historical account chronicles the tense days leading up to the Yom Kippur War, when Israel faced an unprecedented surprise attack from neighboring nations. The narrative masterfully bui...

Our Review

This gripping historical account chronicles the tense days leading up to the Yom Kippur War, when Israel faced an unprecedented surprise attack from neighboring nations. The narrative masterfully builds suspense as it documents the intelligence failures and political miscalculations that left the nation vulnerable, transporting readers directly into the war rooms and battlefields of 1973. Through meticulous research and compelling storytelling, the book captures the existential fear and remarkable resilience of a country caught off guard. Young history enthusiasts will find themselves completely immersed in this real-life geopolitical thriller that reads with the urgency of a contemporary political drama.

What sets this work apart is its balanced examination of both the human cost of conflict and the strategic lessons learned from this pivotal moment in Middle Eastern history. Teen readers interested in military strategy, international relations, and complex global conflicts will appreciate the nuanced perspective that avoids oversimplifying the region's intricate dynamics. The author successfully makes decades-old events feel immediate and relevant, providing crucial context for understanding modern Middle Eastern politics. This is essential reading for any young adult seeking to comprehend how historical turning points continue to shape our world today.

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