Yakov Katz

Here at a conference, General Assembly of Jewish Federations in North America.

Were you presenting?

Well, I think it depends where.

People are still very much intrigued and want to understand what happened and how this very powerful military that I think we all recognize

is really one of the most powerful and strong militaries and intelligence apparatuses in the world, how it failed so miserably.

Because at the end of the day, Stephen, I think you get this.

Strategic surprises will always happen.

They'll happen again to Israel.

They'll happen here to the United States.

We don't have to go that far back in time, right?

September 11th is a perfect example.

These things will always happen to countries around the world.

And how do we avoid them?

How do we prevent them?

Or if they happen, how do we identify them happening and know how to provide the right answer and right response immediately so it doesn't spiral into a war, for example, that Israel has been embroiled in now for two years?

If they see something bad happening and they'll go out there and they'll race down to southern Israel, take a sidearm and go out and try to fight to save people they don't even know.

That's the beauty of Israel, right?

And that's something that's incredible.

But beyond that, and you're asking how it's been received, look, it's still a very painful moment in Israeli history.

It's one that while a lot of the people in the military and in the intelligence agencies have been replaced in the government, same government, same ministers, same people who are still in their roles.