Journalist Slams "Cheap Demagoguery" Over Pre-Oct. 7 Warnings

Journalist Doron Berger, described as not being sympathetic to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has sharply criticized the public discourse surrounding intelligence warnings prior to the October 7th Hamas attacks. Berger stated that the entire narrative about these warnings has become disproportionate and is transparently timed to influence upcoming elections.

He characterized the discussion as "cheap demagoguery," asserting that based on materials he reviewed in Hebrew, English, and Arabic, the warnings were entirely general and unrelated to the specific events of October 7th. Berger cited examples of vague alerts like "earthquake in Gaza" or "chaos in prisons," questioning how these could possibly foreshadow the invasion, massacre, rape, and hostage-taking that occurred.

Berger also ridiculed the idea that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar would have directly communicated a warning to Netanyahu, likening it to a nonsensical scenario. He suggested that while there might have been an "ambiguous warning" from Egyptian intelligence, such general alerts are common, citing ongoing warnings about potential attacks on Israelis worldwide.

He argued that if an attack were to occur in Italy, for instance, commentators would inevitably claim the government failed to act on prior warnings. However, Berger did not absolve the government or the security establishment of responsibility for failing to identify Hamas's long-term trajectory. He defined a true warning as specific indicators observed in the hours immediately preceding the attack, which senior security officials apparently failed to comprehend, dismissing earlier vague statements as "complete nonsense."