Israeli Defense and Intelligence Before and After October 2023: The Cultural Roots of Strategic Surprise and Resilience

This book provides a cultural analysis of the Israeli defense and intelligence establishments before and after the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023. The Hamas attack was one of the most colossal intelligence and security failures in modern times, and brought Israel to one of the darkest points in its history. The book outlines the traits of Israeli strategic and intelligence cultures, such as hubris and a lack of critical thinking, which account for this failure. It also examines the traits responsible for Israeli security resilience during the regional war throughout 2024–25, which peaked in the campaigns against Hizballah, in September 2024, and Iran, in June 2025, such as flexibility and practice preceding theory. Drawing on academic and professional literature in English and Hebrew, as well as elite interviews with former Israeli practitioners, the book offers a novel cultural perspective on October 7 and its aftermath, a topic that will be of considerable interest for many years to come. By discussing the cultural roots of Israeli strategic surprise and resilience, the book contributes to the study of the interaction between culture and security performance and to our understanding of cultural change over time. This book will be of much interest to students of intelligence studies, strategic studies, Israeli politics, Middle Eastern Studies, and international relations.