The Strategic Failures of October 7, One Year Later: A Symposium

A diverse group of writers engage in a vigorous debate over what went wrong on October 7, who's really to blame, and how that should influence Israel today and long into the future.

On October 7, 2023, the terrorist forces of Hamas invaded the Israeli communities surrounding Gaza. Despite vaunted intelligence and military power, Israel’s borders were susceptible to the breach, and its citizens were left undefended. In October 2024, Mosaic brought together a group of Israeli analysts for a vigorous debate about the strategic and political concepts, the overarching habits of mind, the bedrock assumptions, the policymaking procedures, and the ideological contexts that left Israel vulnerable to its enemies.

Shany Mor kicked things off with his feature essay, focused on the failed concepts that left Israel at her enemies’ mercy. Other contributions are from:

Evelyn Gordon on why there was no realistic solution to the Gaza problem before October 7
Rafi DeMogge on Benjamin Netanyahu’s strategy for the Palestinian issue
Gadi Taub on how the failed assumptions of the moribund peace process live on.
Cole Aronson and Avi Bell on what the anti-settler argument gets wrong.
Amnon Lord on the role and career of Benjamin Netanyahu.