Our last day of this trip was focused on intelligence. What it is. Where it failed that led to October 7th. How it needs to be improved. It was an unbelievable day filled with information and emotion.
We began by going to the “Return to October” Exhibition at Glilot (Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center – IICC). I had never heard of this exhibition and our guide, a former senior intelligence officer, quickly told us why. It was closed to the public until recently. Our phones were put away as nothing could be photographed or recorded. He warned us that everything we would see would be authentic and part of what we would see was very graphic. It came from Hamas GoPro cameras, cell phones, and social media. As we began, we were shocked to see the captured Hamas documentation, tactical gear, and weapons. They had items of Sinwar when his body was found. This included his handwritten instructions going back two years before October 7th on what to do. He ordered them to record everything and publish it, thinking it would shock the Israeli people and make it easier to destroy Israel. He requested Hezbollah, Iran, the Houthis, and Palestinians in the West Bank to rise up with Hamas. Having spent to much time here in the North and the West Bank, what could have been is beyond frightening. On top of the Hamas attacks, an attack from the north and the west with Iran, Hezbollah and Houthi rockets being fired would have been devastating.
We saw clips from the Hamas 47-minute video that I have already seen. Horrifying images of attempted beheadings, murder of women, children, and men. Bodies burned alive. People were shot while driving their cars. The picture of Ron Gvili’s body, draped over the back of a motorcycle, clearly dead, was especially haunting since we had just heard from his father the night before. I couldn’t stop staring at it and thinking about what it must have been like for him to see the image of his son like that. What it might be like if I ever saw one of my sons like that. How would I ever recover? Could I do what Itzik Gvili is doing? I really don’t know and don’t ever want to know. We saw summer camp pictures of children being jihadis. The certificates they get finishing the camp program of them in uniform with guns. Baby pictures in uniform with guns. It was horrifying.
We saw a mini automobile graveyard where a few of the cars from October 7th were displayed. After being at the main automobile Our guide was blunt with us about how Israeli intelligence blew it. He told us point-blank that as an intelligence officer, he was personally embarrassed and held himself responsible for missing it. He shared how his son fought in the war and almost died. He is still recovering and many months after being injured is finally walking without a cane.
As we came to the end of the exhibit, there were pictures of every person murdered on October 7th. We walked slowly down the hallway looking at all the pictures and all the names. The hallway was silent and we paid tribute to these innocent victims.
After experiencing this exhibit, it has become a “must see” on my list for people coming to Israel. The impact is incredible. Everything is real. Seeing Sinwar’s handwritten instructions was powerful. Understanding that as awful as October 7th was, how much worse it could be. The entire week we have been learning about the intelligence and security failures and what Israel is doing to ensure it never happens again. So much of it makes sense. Yet I also struggle with what it means long-term for Israel and the possibility of a future peace at some time. There are no easy or simple answers. As complex and complicated as I knew Israel to be before this week, it got even more complex and more complicated from this week.
Pieces of a beautiful and powerful mural by Benzi Brofman at the exhibit.
We left the exhibit and went into a private room where we received a high-level and deep briefing with “Jack”, a former Senior Mossad officer. “Jack” spent thirty years with the Mossad, retiring just before October 7th. He shared rare insights into the operational doctrine of Israel’s intelligence community incuding the proactive counter-threat disruption in distant arenas, and the imperative of maintaining operational agility and technological superiority. He talked about seeing the invisible and doing the impossible and how moving forward that was not the key focus. According to “Jack” the future is much more operational. Instead of focusing on the impossible, he believes Mossad needs to focus on the practical and securing the borders of Israel. It was clear that the possible attack from 3 of the 4 borders along with rockets from Iran and the Houthis had an incredible impact on him.
It was difficult to believe that our week-long time together was ending. This group of mainly strangers had bonded together over our love for Israel and desire to understand more. We gathered at Meitos Restaurant in Tel Aviv (my second time there on this trip and I highly recommend it!). As we ate and talked, we had the opportunity to hear from three amazing speakers.
The first was Advisor Yifa Segal, the head of Law and Governance at IDSF. She addressed us about the details of the international legal warfare (“lawfare”) targeting Israel and the flaws in what is being said and done. Once again, it is clear that Israel is being targeted in a way that no other country faces. In addition, he highlighted the urgent need to defend IDF soldiers on the global diplomatic front.
Our second speaker was Itai Medina, the head of the IDSF Security Policy Institute. Itay shared research-based insights on the long-term security doctrine including some regional realignments that are required to ensure Israel’s generational deterrence. Itai pointed out that Iran isn’t attacking Israel any longer because they are afraid of how Israel will strike back. The deterrence has been re-established post October 7th due to the war in Gaza and Lebanon. He spoke about how critical this deterrence is and how important strength is to ensure the safety and security of Israel.
Our final speaker was Brigadier General (Res.) Erez Winner, the CEO of the IDSF. General Winner emphasizing the critical connection between security leadership, land settlement, combat spirit, and the role each of us play as international ambassadors for Israel’s security truth. One of the things that I struggled with as the trip concluded was the land settlement. I met the ‘settlers’ in Judea and Samaria. They were nice, wonderful people who only wanted to live in their biblical homeland. They were farmers, wine makers, and families raising children in an environment that was meaningful to them. These are not the violent terrorists that I experienced in June and that are attacking villages, burning cars and houses, and murdering people. Yet I find myself wondering what this expansion means for the long-term peace options with our neighbors. How much is actually strategic security and planned growth and how much is just taking biblical land because we want it all? How much is about ensuring the safety of Israel’s borders and how much is about pushing the Palestinians out? I don’t have the answer to either question. It will take me time to process the entire week to challenge myself and come to an understanding that makes sense to me.
Having been here at least half a dozen times since October 7th, this past week helped me understand much more how October 7th happened. The intelligence and security failures were clear and people took responsibility for them. The assumptions Israel made about Hamas caused significant problems that allowed Hamas to attack. The false belief that fences and technology would be enough to deter Hamas was shown to be a fallacy. With the (first) election over and an attempt to form a new government about to begin, these are major issues that they will have to grapple with. I hope that as they grapple with the realities they face, they will remember the words spoken by David Ben Gurion during the declaration of independence.
The state of Israel will promote the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; will be based on precepts of liberty, justice and peace taught by the Hebrew prophets; will uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens without distinction of race, creed or sex; will guarantee full freedom of conscience, worship, education and culture; will safeguard the sanctity and inviolability of shrines and holy places of all religions; and will dedicate itself to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
Am Yisrael Chai!