Yaakov Katz
@yaakovkatz · Israeli English-language press & book authors
Yaakov Katz is a former Jerusalem Post editor-in-chief and co-author of Shadow Strike and Weapon Wizards.
The UK sanctions against Israel are not only bad policy - they will do nothing to achieve their stated objective. Friends don’t sanction friends, especially not six weeks before that friend goes to a general election. Discussed this today on BBC Radio. https://t.co/PyNtNoTfCo
While @netanyahu denies the report about the UAE warning on the eve of Oct. 7, every story like this chips away at the “Mr. Security” brand he has worked hard to rebuild since the war and could push some of the undecided voters to change their vote on Oct. 27. Today on @cnni with @rosemaryCNN.
The sanctions imposed by the UK will have zero impact economically or diplomatically. On the contrary, politically, they might even give Netanyahu - whose government’s policies they are ostensibly being imposed over - a boost heading into the upcoming election. And the election is the key here. What are sanctions about? They are a way to convey a message and to punish an entity or individual for certain conduct, with the hope that because of those sanctions, that entity or individual will change its behavior. And here’s the thing: Israel is going to an election in six weeks and, based on the polls, there is a very good chance that a new government will come into office. If you were really doing this because of a policy issue, then you would wait six weeks, see who wins the election, and then, if it is a government that intends to continue the same policies, maybe we can begin to debate the credibility, logic and sincerity of the sanctions. But when you impose sanctions six weeks before an election, and on the eve of a Labour Party conference where you clearly want to show up with something you can present as a foreign-policy success, then it becomes obvious that this is about something else entirely. It is not really about changing Israeli policy. It is about politics.
Sanctions is not something friends impose on friends but the timing of the pending UK sanctions - six weeks before Israel’s election that might vote in a new govt with different policies - shows this is about something else and not trying to change Israeli behavior. https://t.co/imWusZ7JHg
I strongly recommend listening to this @JewishPolicy podcast I recorded with my good friend @smekhennet about how jihadist extremism has evolved since 9/11, what the West learned – and failed to learn – from the War on Terror, and whether the world is safer today. https://t.co/QIeIBw3DHh
Another example of Netanyahu doing what he does best: avoiding responsibility. His latest claim is that if he had been woken up at 4 or 5 a.m. on October 7, he would have made decisions that could have prevented the Hamas invasion. Why wasn’t he woken? Because, he suggests, the security chiefs knew he would force them to act and they didn’t want that. There are a few problems with this argument. First, it is highly unlikely that Netanyahu would have done what he now claims. Had he been woken, he would have heard from IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar and Military Intelligence chief Aharon Haliva. All three would have given him essentially the same assessment they themselves mistakenly believed: Hamas was probably not preparing for a major attack, and even if something happened, it would likely be limited in scope. With every senior security official giving him the same assessment, does anyone seriously believe Netanyahu would have ordered Israel to launch an offensive against Hamas at 4 or 5 in the morning? Far more likely, he would have told them to remain vigilant, continue monitoring the situation and reconvene in a few hours. That, essentially, is the mistake that was made, and what @amirbohbot and I describe in "While Israel Slept". It was a catastrophic mistake, and the country paid an unbearable price for it. But Netanyahu’s effort now is to portray October 7 as solely their mistake: a tactical intelligence failure that had nothing to do with him, his policies or the strategy he pursued for years - containing Hamas, allowing Qatari money into Gaza and repeatedly choosing not to send in the IDF to remove Hamas from power. Keeping the debate focused on the tactical failures of that night serves him politically. It keeps the spotlight away from the larger strategic and political decisions that he had made. The second problem is even more fundamental: this is a terrible illustration of leadership. Leadership is supposed to mean accountability and understanding that subordinates can make terrible mistakes, but ultimately the buck stops with the person at the top. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened politically had he chosen a different path after October 7. What if he had gone to funerals of the victims and shiva houses? What if he had stood before the Israeli public and said simply: I failed. What if he had publicly shown grief for the 1,200 people massacred on his watch and accepted even a measure of responsibility? Perhaps politically it would have helped him. Perhaps showing compassion and accountability would have brought back some of the Israelis who have turned away from him. It is an interesting thought experiment, but that is all it is. Netanyahu’s political MO has long been clear: never accept responsibility, never admit failure and, above all, never say sorry.
The refusal by @naftalibennett and @AvigdorLiberman to commit to recommending the leader of the largest party in their bloc to form the next government suggests they may have another plan in mind. Why are they refusing to make that commitment - and what does it tell us about the opposition’s chances of unseating @netanyahu? https://t.co/MdtYMQIy7f
My good friend Peter is not one for hyperbole. He spent some 25 years in the IDF, knows the West Bank like the palm of his hand, and warns here that what is happening there goes far beyond politics. This is a new and different kind of extremism - one that endangers Israel itself.
When Jewish extremists are allowed to run rampant in the West Bank - terrorizing Palestinian civilians, torching homes and cars, beating people and vandalizing olive groves - a member of the @knessetisrael smashing a monument should surprise no one. Here is the hard truth - this government enables this behavior by failing to stop it. If it wanted to send a different message, the path is simple: stop the violence, arrest the perpetrators and hold politicians like @tzvisuccot accountable when they participate in it or encourage and legitimize others. Inaction is complicity. And no condemnation from this minister or that one - many of whom remain silent as this violence happens day after day - can change that.
I hate having to state the obvious, but sometimes we have to. Because as long as Israel refuses to identify the problem, it will never be able to seriously fight it. If we cannot say what something is, how can we develop the tools, policies, and determination needed to stop it? https://t.co/05VH2JMT0Y
Shmuel is the leading pollster for Channel 13 and just today came out with a new poll. Important episode to understand the Israeli elections.
Important update: Rabbi Shai Finkelstein, the impressive leader of the Nitzanim community, wrote a moving letter with rabbis and leaders of another 11 synagogues in the area condemning the attack and expressing solidarity with Kol Haneshama. This is exactly the type of rabbinic leadership we need in Israel. The Chief Rabbinate? Like I have said countless times in the past - they can be shut down. Let rabbis like Finkelstein and others who have signed here set the tone. Here is the text of the letter: The High Holy Days are approaching, and the month of Elul invites all of us to awaken, to engage in introspection, to seek forgiveness and goodwill, and to pray for life, peace, and fellowship. Precisely at this time of year, it is especially painful to see that there are those who choose a path of hatred, violence, and destruction. The overwhelming majority of our people seek to live together with respect, peace, and mutual responsibility. Yet at times, a small number of people, acting with hostility, are enough to sow fear, alienation, and despair. Sadly, the Kol HaNeshama synagogue has been forced to confront a serious act of vandalism. We wish to stand with you at this difficult time and to express both our pain and our solidarity. An attack on a synagogue and on a sacred space, regardless of the identity or affiliation of those who worship there, has no place in Jewish society, and certainly not in Jerusalem. We drew strength from your words that “vandalism and violence will not extinguish our light.” We are confident that this will indeed be the case. Your light will continue to shine, and together with the lights of other communities throughout Jerusalem, it will continue to illuminate the shared space that belongs to us all. Our communities in southern Jerusalem join you in calling for listening, greater understanding, tolerance, and mutual respect. Disagreement must not become hatred, and difference can never justify harming an individual, a community, or a place of prayer. As we approach the High Holy Days, we pray that all of us will know how to increase peace, bring hearts closer together, and remember that honoring others and respecting their places of worship are part of honoring our people and honoring Heaven. We stand with you and wish you, and all of us, days of healing, fellowship, and peace.
When a synagogue is attacked or vandalized in the United States, it makes headlines across the Israeli media. When it happens at a Reform synagogue in Jerusalem - Kol HaNeshama - barely anyone seems to notice. Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. For years, progressive Jews have been demonized and delegitimized in Israel. When chief rabbis and politicians speak about Reform Jews with contempt, we should not be surprised when that turns into violence. Here is an idea - there is an Orthodox synagogue next to Kol Haneshama called Nitznaim, led by a nice charismatic rabbi. He has an opportunity to show Israelis something else. A suggestion - The Nitzanim community should stand this Shabbat morning in solidarity with their neighbor.
PM @netanyahu is trying to balance two competing interests - and to do so he is buying time. He does not want to be seen as the obstacle to Trump’s Gaza plan, which helps explain the silence over the Kushner-Hamas meeting as well as when it comes to his reservations re the 15-point plan. But with elections approaching in October and the polls not looking great, he also cannot afford to be seen as capitulating to Hamas. Today on @CNNI with @PoloSandovalCNN.
There are strong arguments both for and against senior American officials meeting with the leader of Hamas. It is hard to swallow (can you imagine US officials negotiating with Bin Laden?) but also necessary to obtain a lasting ceasefire. But let’s be clear about one thing: if a Democratic administration were in the White House today, and it were a Democratic president’s people sitting down with Hamas, Jerusalem would be anything but quiet.
Why did @Netanyahu reverse on the Trump plan to disarm Hamas, what drove the decision, what does it means for Gaza, will it create a new rupture with Washington and would @gadi_eisenkot or @naftalibennett do anything differently? New @JewishPolicy podcast with @DavidMakovsky.
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