Ideology-Reality
BY MOSHE KATZ 
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL

June 24, 2026, Israel

When Ideology dominates Reality

It has been over two and half years since the Arab invasion from the South. Massacres were committed, Israelis of all walks of life displayed heroic bravery of Biblical proportions. In fact, most of us agree that the heroism, the self-sacrifice, the bravery, the initiative, the masterdom that was displayed on that day are among the greatest in all of Jewish history. They will go down our annals along with David and Joshua, Samson, The Maccabees, the soldiers of Bar Kochba, and the heros of all the wars of Israel. As it is written in the Bible, and these dees shall be recorded in the Book of the Wars of God.

and yet we are still asking questions, we are still demanding answers, and those responsible are still evading responsibility and avoiding facing the truth. Every obstacle is being faced in the effort to establish an objective non-partisan commission of inquiry.  But answers are slowly emerging. 

Why were all the very clear warning signs ignored by the great Israeli intelligence system?

The Hamas terrorists all changed their SIM cards on their phones hours before the invasion, Israeli Intelligence was fully aware of this, why no reaction?

The lookout girls warned, screamed, cried, begged, and yet their cries and warnings were dismissed and not sent up the chain of command, why?

The Arabs were seen practicing for just such a scenario, in fact Israeli intelligence had an entire program called "The Jericho Plan" where this exact invasion was recorded, exactly as it later transpired, at least a year and a half before the invasion. Why was nothing done about this?

A meeting was held just hours before the invasion as warnings were mounting, but the Prime Minister was NOT contacted by those whom he trusted to provide him with this crucial information. He was sound asleep and unaware while the invasion began. The phone next to his bed never rang.

Leaders of the intelligence community and generals were on vacation in Eilat, sound asleep! Soldiers were sent home as it was a Jewish holiday and a weekend. Local First Response Teams had been stripped of their weapons, for reasons no sane person could understand.

We had the knowledge, why did the Israeli forces not react?

Oct 7, the revolt of the generals, as it is now known, their ideology of peace, that Hamas wants Quiet. These key players in the Israeli Intelligence and military believed that Hamas has been deterred from going to war against the all-powerful Irael, Hamas wants peace, Hamas wants more employment. These leaders believe the correct strategy now are: Steps that will lead to "relaxation", i.e. reduce forces, reduce military presence, do not show "Aggressive" behavior, either physically or verbally. They believe it is time to tone things down. The Army should not be seen as provoking or scary, do not provoke your attacker. 

The generals decided that they knew better what is good for the country, and therefore they would mislead the legitimate elected officials so that they could act independently and get the results that they want, which is no war, and getting rid of the government they so despise. They are lead by an "educator" (Shimon Naveh) who preaches that is ok to mislead and manipulate political leaders in order to get the results that you want, as you know better than them anyhow. You know what is best for the country, and even though no one voted for you and you hold no political position. 

They also felt that it would be OK if a "small" regular type of attack took place, we could handle it. And yet, despite the warnings no special precautions were taken. The Israeli defense forces were literally caught sleeping in the pajamas, unarmed and unprepared. At one base twenty young girls were massacred, totally defenseless. Others were taken captive and later sexually abused. 

In the aftermath of this tragedy, the guilty needed excuses. One of the most pathetic points was on the morning of October 7, 2023, while the attacks were still underway, while hundreds of ordinary Israelis grabbed their personal weapons and drove down to the southern border, these guilty parters, the architects of this disaster, were already lawyering up and building their defense case. 

One Theory which the Conspirators have used in their "defense", is that they simply made an honest mistake, a miscalculation. They did not believe that the Arabs had any intention of war, as that negated their "Ideology", rather, the Arabs were making all these preparations as a precautionary measure against a "possible Israeli attack", and if those who possess this knowledge would "react hysterically" and attack the Arabs, we would be dragged into an unnecessary war. And therefore, these key players made the treasonous decision not to inform the person who had the legitimate authority to make this decision, i.e. the Prime Minister of Israel Bibi Netanyahu. 

Fear of "miscalculation. What if we are wrong? 

What if the Arabs were not really planning an invasion, and we "jumped the gun" and responded incorrectly, and now we are dragged into a war that nobody wants (on our side). What would the world think if we responded to an attack too early, we would be seen as the aggressors once again! We must not tell our "trigger-happy" leaders. 

Political considerations

The idea that the generals knew better than the politicians and therefore they should take charge and mislead the government so that they, the generals, can be the real decision makers.

Ideology always trumps Reality, as Gadi Taub says, where your Ideology, your "Conception" is strong enough, you force the facts into your theory so that it all fits. 

Ronen Bar, at the time head of the Israeli Security Agency, referred to in Hebrew as Shin Bet, does not call the Prime Minister because he is afraid of Bibi making a miscalculation and going down a different path.

Herzl "Herzi" Halevi, Chief of Staff, also decided not to call Bibi, Halevi knew he was not Bibi's choice and there were strong political and personal differences between them. The Prime Minister of Israel was not notified. (And yet today the Left blames Bibi for not responding as in - It was under your watch, you are the Head, you are responsible. This, despite the fact that the people responsible for notifying him denied him the crucial information. i.e. they are charging him with the crimes they themselves committed.)

Treason was committed by key Israeli players who were strongly influenced by European values and politics and worked against their own people, and in fact when they disagreed with certain plans of the Israeli government, such as the plan to attack Iran, they leaked it to foreign sources in order to exert pressure on Israel not to follow through on these plans. In simple terms, Treason!

Even the former head of Mossad, Meir Dagan, was guilty, these are organizations who are not decision-making organizations, but rather executors of government decisions but they chose to act on their own, as if they were the elected officials, as if they knew better what is best for the people. This is called Treason. Therefore, he leaks this information to the CIA. Treason.

There is another factor in this rebellion against the legitimately elected political leaders, since the rebels believe they are right and they do not accept the democratically elected officials, when they do hand over security information, it was not the "raw" material, unanalyzed, just the facts, but rather it was the "processed" material. Thus, this Preprocessed material is no longer objective facts, but presented as conclusions, where only one possible solution is presented. In other words, the decision makers had the decisions made for them by those who are supposed to hand over unprocessed, raw, facts for evaluation. This itself is an act of treason and rebellion.

Krav Maga Relevance

Let us now apply these lessons to our own perception of reality, and why most normal people have no interest in training in Krav Maga, or any form of self-defense. 

It was said about the key players in Israel who mislead and deceived the Prime Minister - They have a certain way of viewing reality, and adapting facts, twisting facts, to fit their ideological view of what reality should be. They are totally committed to this ideology. They view reality through their personal order of priorities. We know better than what others see as reality. They believe they have a higher moral goal that allows them to twist the facts. They do not realize that the guns are pointed in only one direction, against us. 

I look at people I know, rational, normal human beings. They watch the news. They see the increase in street violence. And yet legitimate Krav Maga schools struggle to survive and keep their doors open to the public. The valuable service these instructors provide remains unused as they might have to seek other jobs just to pay the bills. 

Why?

Because, just like those responsible for allowing and enabling the October 7 attacks, these people see Reality but adjust it to fit their Ideology. I recall a story about two Liberal European girls who wanted to prove that the fear of radical Arabs is unfounded, so they traveled through several Arab countries. They were raped and murdered. In a similar case, a woman whose mother was murdered by an illegal immigrant decided to befriend him, support him, and fight for his release. When he was released early due to her efforts, she gave him a job. He raped and murdered her.  

How is this possible? for the same reason that people do not train in Krav Maga: if the facts don't fit Reality, you adjust your perception of the facts to fit your imagined idealized reality.

I personally know of several Jews who were attacked in New York due to Jew-hatred, where are the thousands, or the hundreds, flocking to Krav Maga classes? Where are you!

How can we see a threat and ignore it? Simple, by twisting the facts to suit our reality; What are the odds that I will be attacked? C'mon it is so unlikely. Most people are good. The police are always watching. Etc.

But then October 7 hits us, and a few wake up briefly, and then go back to sleep. Why? Because reality is uncomfortable, we do not want to change our lives, after all we are not martial arts types, so we change how we view the facts, as Gadi Taub says, where your Ideology, your "Conception" is strong enough, you force the facts into your theory so that it all fits. 

And that my friends, is all I have to say for today.

Dear Moshe,

After reading your text, I found myself once again reflecting on a thought we have discussed before. Perhaps because your article touches on questions that have occupied my mind for a long time: How is it that people overlook obvious dangers? Why are warnings ignored? And why do societies sometimes find it so difficult to acknowledge reality, even when it stands directly before them? The longer I reflect on it, the more I believe the answer is often the same: the problem is not a lack of knowledge, but rather the human tendency to see the world as we wish it to be rather than as it actually is. Terrorism, hatred, and violence do not attack people physically first. Their first target is the human mind. They seek to destroy hope, poison trust, and convince people to abandon their humanity. Every act of terror ultimately aims to make fear appear stronger than hope, hatred stronger than compassion, and violence the only language left to understande . That is where the real danger lies. History shows that violence rarely begins with weapons alone. More often, it begins with an idea—with the belief that one’s own worldview is more important than reality itself. When people place ideology above reality, fanaticism emerges. The world is no longer seen as it is, but only as it is imagined to be. Perhaps this is one of humanity’s greatest weaknesses. Not the inability to recognize facts, but the temptation to reinterpret them until they fit a preferred narrative. Warnings become exaggerations. Risks become exceptions. Obvious dangers become misunderstandings. Some catastrophes are not caused by ignorance. Some occur despite having all the necessary information. They happen because people see only what they want to see. Perhaps this thought resonates with me so strongly because I recognize it not only in your blog. The more I reflect on it, the more I encounter the same pattern here in Germany—in public debates, in discussions about security, and in the way people react to developments whose consequences they would rather not acknowledge. Over the years, through my involvement with security, self-protection, and Krav Maga, I have come to the same conclusion again and again: most people do not fail because they do not see a threat. They fail because they do not want to accept what that threat means for them. Perhaps that is a very human reaction. Acknowledging danger demands consequences. It demands awareness, responsibility, and sometimes changes that we would rather avoid. I encounter the same challenge in my own professional life. As a senior educational leader, I regularly make decisions that affect many people. Over time, I have learned that the most important question is not, “What aligns with my personal opinion?” or “What would I prefer?” The more important question is, “What serves the people for whom I am responsible? What benefits students, teachers, schools, and ultimately society?” That is why another aspect of your text stayed with me. Wherever responsibility is displaced by ideology, personal interests, or concern for one’s own position, something dangerous begins to emerge. Not only in politics, not only in the military or intelligence services, but wherever people hold positions of responsibility. To me, leadership does not mean always being right. Leadership means being willing to recognize reality even when it challenges one’s own assumptions, and making decisions based on what serves people rather than what serves one’s ego. That is why the struggle against terrorism is not only a military or security challenge. It is also an intellectual and moral one. It is a struggle against the temptation to place wishful thinking above reality and ideology above truth. Your words also remind me of what Krav Maga represents at its core. The greatest challenge is rarely technique. The greatest challenge is the willingness to accept reality, even when it does not fit our worldview. Krav Maga does not begin with a strike, a defense, or a technique. It begins with awareness. It begins with attention. It begins with the ability to see the world as it is rather than as we would like it to be. Recognizing a threat for what it is is often the first and most important step toward safety. Perhaps this principle applies equally to nations and to individuals. The enemies of freedom do not merely seek to destroy lives. They seek to destroy values. They want fear to triumph over reason and hatred to triumph over humanity. That is why our response must not be to become more like them. Our response must be to remain steadfast, vigilant, capable of defending ourselves, and yet determined to preserve the humanity they seek to take from us. For in the end, the world is not preserved by people who have never experienced suffering. The world is preserved by people who have seen suffering and who still choose, day after day, to preserve decency, compassion, and humanity. And perhaps that is one of the reasons why I look at the people of Israel with such respect. You experience threat, loss, fear, and uncertainty not as abstract concepts, but as realities of everyday life. Yet every morning people rise, go to work, raise families, help their neighbors, defend their country, and continue trying to preserve their humanity. That deserves respect. And it deserves support. For despite all differences and despite all political debates, one thing should never be forgotten: you are not only fighting for your own security. You are defending values that matter to all of us—freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and the right to live free from terror and violence. So I would like to end with a simple thought: We see your pain. We see your courage. And we stand with you. You fight for your country. But in many ways, you are also fighting for values that concern us all. 

With respect and best wishes.

Peter, Germany

Moshe2021

Moshe Katz, 7th dan Black Belt, Israeli Krav Maga. Certified by Wingate Institute. Member Black Belt hall of fame, USA and Europe.

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