In their book, Yaakov Katz, the former editor of The Jerusalem Post, and Amir Bohbot, a lecturer at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and senior researcher at Bar-Ilan University, present evidence of circumstances in Israel that they believe ultimately led to the events of October 7th. The book is entitled While Israel Slept; its title means exactly what it implies. It discusses the issues that kept the Israeli government and even the military from taking action that could very well have prevented those events.

The book is an easy read, but can be rather confusing to the reader who is not familiar with the many agencies and departments involved in Israel’s security, and the interlocking causes for even the military’s understanding, consideration, and anticipation of the events of October 7th. The authors try to give the reader an understanding of the interactions of these various defense agencies and departments. They also review operations in which these different agencies engaged in the past, and discuss their outcomes.

What is more, the reader learns about the founding of Hamas, which leads to a deeper understanding of what the terror group is about and something of how it operates. Katz and Bohbot also provide some information regarding the development of Hamas’ leadership and military wing.

While Israel Slept is about how Israel’s defense agencies’ failure to share information and work together, and lack of understanding of Hamas’ attitude toward Israel just prior to its October 7th attack, along with that of the government, were circumstances within the country that allowed for the October 7th attack to take place.

The conclusion examines how Israel can avoid another October 7th, including maintaining a positive alliance with the United States. The last paragraph tells us, ” It is time for Israel to rise above internal discord and recognize that unity is its strongest defense.”