This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit danielgordis.substack.com

As we noted yesterday, the issue of Hezbollah’s drones has become the newest headline in a war that has had more than its share of horrors. I asked Yaakov Katz, our “go to expert” on armaments, among many other things, to explain to us the following:

* What are these drones, what can they do, and where do they come from?

* How is it possible that Israel is so vulnerable to this new weapon and is so entirely unprepared?

* What can the army do—and what is the army actually doing—to protect soldiers in the north, who are being killed by these drones at an alarming rate?

* There are rumors that Hamas in Gaza and terrorists in Judea and Samariah (the West Bank) also have these drones. If that’s the case—and it is—how vulnerable are those of us who live in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv? The answer is not comforting.

* What about Ukraine, which is a laboratory for drone warfare? What have they learned how to do and how is it that we’ve learned nothing from them? Or have we?

Iran’s nuclear arsenal is obviously a long term threat that Israel cannot ignore, but Hezbollah’s drones, and presumably Hamas’ drones and those on the West Bank, are an immediate threat. There’s no one better to explain to us how we got here, how bad or not bad the situation is, plus what we might be able to do, than Yaakov Katz.

The link at the top of this posting will take free subscribers to an excerpted portion of today’s conversation.

For paid subscribers, the link at the top will take you to the full conversation; below, paid subscribers will also find a transcript for those who prefer to read, as always.

If you would like to share our conversation about what Israelis are feeling and expressing at this unprecedented moment in our history, we invite you to subscribe today.

Yaakov Katz is an Israeli-American author and journalist and a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute in Jerusalem. Between 2016 and 2023, Yaakov was editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post where he continues to write a popular weekly column. Yaakov also writes a regular column for Newsweek and the Jewish Chronicle, is the host of the JPPI weekly podcast and appears regularly on CNN and BBC as an analyst on Israel affairs.

Yaakov is the author of four books: “Shadow Strike – Inside Israel’s Secret Mission to Eliminate Syrian Nuclear Power”, “Weapon Wizards - How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower”, “Israel vs. Iran: The Shadow War” and “While Israel Slept- How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East”.

Prior to taking up the role of editor-in-chief, Yaakov served for two years as a senior policy adviser to Naftali Bennett during his tenure as Israel’s Minister of Economy and Minister of Diaspora Affairs.

In 2013, Yaakov was one of 12 international fellows to spend a year at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University.

Originally from Chicago, Yaakov has a law degree from Bar Ilan University. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife Chaya and their four children.