Certainly heads will need to roll, but I am very skeptical of the deliberate miss as those in power now will not survive this in the long term. It’s a major blow.
I think that modern intelligence has a serious information overload problem.
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I think that modern intelligence has a serious information overload problem.
It’s not completely on topic but this will give some perspective on where Jews moved around through history.
They took their eye off the ball. They discounted actual training by Hamas as just showing off. The problem with rolling heads is that those heads are on the most capable people’s shoulders.
it’s politics, so whatever happens will defeat logic and common sense.
Thanks for the book recommendation
balanced? oh......now there's a problem.
Not just "defeat logic and common sense" but rather, instead, indulge a populist appetite for a visible sacrificial offering.
Actually, I'm astounded - flabbergasted, in fact - by the extraordinary lapse in intelligence - this must have been long in the planning and commanded considerable resources, and not to have noticed is an egregious lapse, (and no, current deep divisions in Israeli society notwithstanding, I don't believe that this is a case of deliberate oversight as @daneoni thinks may have been a possibility).
Moreover, despite the information and intelligence overload, one wonders whether people simply switched off as it was a major Jewish holiday.
Agree about the need to inform oneself; however, this is an area where I really do lack specialist knowledge, and expertise.
Re recommendations, mine are ancient (as in around thirty years old - I did some serious reading around the time of the invasion of Kuwait) and not necessarily balanced.
Unfortunately, this (seeking out "somewhat balanced history books") is one of the key challenges when seeking to inform yourself on this area, as most commentators are not balanced, or impartial.
At the time, and a little later, I did read books by Robert Fisk (an excellent and serious and very well informed journalist, but I would not call him impartial; in fact, I have attended talks he gave - again, excellent, exceptionally well informed and sourced, but hardly impartial), and Conor Cruise O'Brien (who was an excellent writer, also extremely well informed - and also not impartial, but from a different perspective).
I must see if I can identify contemporary, or relatively recent - well written, well researched, and reasonably balanced works on this area.
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Hopefully. Although it happened at a politically opportune time for Bibi, who WAS stuck in a quagmire of political opposition
Well this is not doing Netanyahu any good. His unity government is going to be very tenuous and he will have to tread carefully. People are already blaming his legal situation as having taken his attention from security matters. He can't do an Entebbe like his brother.
Just read (in the Guardian) that both BA and Virgin Atlantic have cancelled (or, suspended temporarily) their flights to Tel Aviv.
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Indeed. But I'm aware that there are a load of extra planes in Cyprus at the moment that might do the necessary. Pays to have friends in the RAF.
Here are some suggestions, from past reading/research:
(a fine but lengthy history)
A History of Israel by Howard M. Sachar: 9780375711329 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
First published in 1976, Howard M. Sachar’s A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time was regarded one of the most valuable works available detailing the history of this still...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
(insightful, recent interviews with Israelis)
The Land of Hope and Fear by Isabel Kershner: 9781101946763 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR • An urgent, wide-ranging portrait of the divisions among Israelis today, and the external threats to their country, at a critical juncture in its history. •...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
(an older book that is similar to Kershner's but in more of a narrative non-fiction style)
My Promised Land by Ari Shavit: 9780385521710 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND ECONOMIST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR “A deeply reported, deeply personal history of Zionism and Israel that does something few books...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
(the transformation of Israel's economy)
Start-up Nation
What the world can learn from Israel's meteoric economic success. Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion dollar question: How is it that Israel -- a country...
www.hachettebookgroup.com
(inside look at Israeli intelligence services)
Rise and Kill First by Ronen Bergman: 9780812982114 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The first definitive history of Israel’s targeted killing programs, which have shaped the Israeli nation, the Middle East, and the larger world—from the man...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
(historical look at Israeli intelligence services)
Spies of No Country
“Wondrous . . . Compelling . . . Piercing.” —The New York Times Book Review Award-winning writer Matti Friedman’s tale of Israel&rsqu...
www.hachettebookgroup.com
(if you want to read a polemic)
The case for Israel : Dershowitz, Alan M : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Includes bibliographical references (p. 245-257) and index
archive.org
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And on a tangent, anybody interested in getting an insight into what makes Binyamin Netanyahu tick should look into Operation Thunderbolt/Operation Entebbe, where Binyamin's brother Yonatan was the commander.
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Many thanks for these suggestions and links.Here are some suggestions, from past reading/research:
(a fine but lengthy history)
A History of Israel by Howard M. Sachar: 9780375711329 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
First published in 1976, Howard M. Sachar’s A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time was regarded one of the most valuable works available detailing the history of this still...
(insightful, recent interviews with Israelis)
The Land of Hope and Fear by Isabel Kershner: 9781101946763 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR • An urgent, wide-ranging portrait of the divisions among Israelis today, and the external threats to their country, at a critical juncture in its history. •...
(the transformation of Israel's economy)
Start-up Nation
What the world can learn from Israel's meteoric economic success. Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion dollar question: How is it that Israel -- a country...
(inside look at Israeli intelligence services)
Rise and Kill First by Ronen Bergman: 9780812982114 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The first definitive history of Israel’s targeted killing programs, which have shaped the Israeli nation, the Middle East, and the larger world—from the man...
(if you want to read a polemic)
The case for Israel : Dershowitz, Alan M : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Includes bibliographical references (p. 245-257) and indexarchive.org
@KaliYoni - could you please possibly post these links in the books thread ("what are you reading today?") as well, as firstly, that is where some of us go to check, or confirm, books that may have been recommended by others, and secondly, it runs the risk of becoming buried (and easily forgotten, or overlooked) in this thread, as so much else gets posted here?
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Beau of the Fifth Column on Youtube had a good analysis of what happened.
Basically Mossad was relying on electronic surveillance and the people they were surveilling went silent. Mossad assumed they weren't doing anything. However, it appears that they realised that they were being monitored, turned off their phones, and communicated via an ancient technique called Face-to-Face-Verbal-Communication, ie talking to each other in person.
As for your living room wall, I cannot comment. Except, eschew paisley...
Agree. Especially about the paisley.
Another perspective (Ronen Bergman, one of the journalists who wrote this analysis, has many excellent sources in Israel's intelligence services and in the IDF):
The four officials said the success of the attack, based on their early assessment, was rooted in a slew of security failures by Israel’s intelligence community and military, including:
- Failure by intelligence officers to monitor key communication channels used by Palestinian attackers;
- Overreliance on border surveillance equipment that was easily shut down by attackers, allowing them to raid military bases and slay soldiers in their beds;
- Clustering of commanders in a single border base that was overrun in the opening phase of the incursion, preventing communication with the rest of the armed forces;
- And a willingness to accept at face value assertions by Gazan military leaders, made on private channels that the Palestinians knew were being monitored by Israel, that they were not preparing for battle.
How Israel’s Feared Security Services Failed to Stop Hamas’s Attack
Israel’s military and espionage services are considered among the world’s best, but on Saturday, operational and intelligence failures led to the worst breach of Israeli defenses in half a century.
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Can't agree more. I want to learn about historical events, but the information I have is primarily from YouTube videos and news sources, which tend to be biased. I'm not well-versed in history and lack an objective understanding of the root causes of various conflicts. (The only history book I've read is 'A Global History: From Prehistory to the 21st Century.') I'm eager to hear your book recommendations.
The situation there is extremely chaotic. It would be best if he could leave there as soon as possible.
Having a wash your hands habit is great, but hand sanitizer is the real deal to avoid getting sick - I learned that in athletics where 'everybody' use it.
The pandemic raised the awareness of it and it was more or less sold-out and empty in all stores quite a lot during the beginning of the pandemic.
Fortunately I had it stocked up, as always. It's cheap too. 😁
The pandemic raised the awareness of it and it was more or less sold-out and empty in all stores quite a lot during the beginning of the pandemic.
Fortunately I had it stocked up, as always. It's cheap too. 😁
I diasgree about the hand sanitizer and prefer frequent hand washing. Also, equally important, is to avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth without freshly washed hands. That's a major vector for infections.
Saw this picture today. Lauren Bacall was definitely one of the most beautiful women that I’ve ever seen. She was pure class without ever a need for being vulgar.
