About this item
A 2019 National Jewish Book Award Finalist"At the top of my reading list." -- Alan Dershowitz, professor emeritus at Harvard Law School"Reads like an international thriller, but it is actually a compelling factual day-by-day (and sometimes hour-by-hour) account of an incident of acute threat and decisive action by the Jewish state...". -- Jonathan Kirsch, Jewish Journal ReviewThe never-before-told inside story of how Israel stopped Syria from becoming a global nuclear nightmare -- and its far-reaching implications On September 6, 2007, shortly after midnight, Israeli fighters advanced on Deir ez-Zour in Syria. Israel often flew into Syria as a warning to President Bashar al-Assad. But this time, there was no warning and no explanation. This was a covert operation, with one goal: to destroy a nuclear reactor being built by North Korea under a tight veil of secrecy in the Syrian desert. Shadow Strike tells, for the first time, the story of the espionage, political courage, military might and psychological warfare behind Israels daring operation to stop one of the greatest known acts of nuclear proliferation. It also brings Israels powerful military and diplomatic alliance with the United States to life, revealing the debates President Bush had with Vice President Cheney and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as well as the diplomatic and military planning that took place in the Oval Office, the Prime Ministers Office in Jerusalem, and inside the IDFs underground war room beneath Tel Aviv. These two countries remain united in a battle to prevent nuclear proliferation, to defeat Islamic terror, and to curtail Irans attempts to spread its hegemony throughout the Middle East. Yaakov Katzs Shadow Strike explores how this operation continues to impact the world we live in today and if what happened in 2007 is a sign of what Israel will need to do one day to stop Irans nuclear program. It also asks: had Israel not carried out this mission, what would the Middle East look like today?
About the Author
Yaakov Katz is Editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post.
He is a faculty member and lecturer at Harvard University's Extension School where he teaches an advanced course in journalism.
He previously served for close to a decade as the paper's military reporter and defense analyst and is the co-author of two books: Weapon Wizards - How Israel Became aHigh-Tech Military Superpower which will be published by St. Martin's Press in January 2017 and Israel vs. Iran - The Shadow War which came out in 2012.
Prior to taking up the role of Editor-in-chief, Katz served for two years as a senior policy advisor to Israel's Minister of Economy, Minister of Education and Minister of Diaspora Affairs.
Katz was one of 12 international fellows to spend a year at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University (2012-2013) .
Originally from Chicago, Katz also has a law degree from Bar Ilan University. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife and four children.
