"We Were Unprepared": A Former IDF Spokesperson on What Really Happened Behind the Scenes

Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) Jonathan Conricus is a former IDF international spokesperson and current Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) who returned to uniform on October 7 to represent Israel on the global stage. In this episode of East to West, Jonathan sits down with host Sarah Martinez Amir to discuss the fierce battle for public opinion and narrative control fought alongside the war on the ground. He reflects on the shock of October 7th, Israel’s early strategic communication missteps, and Hamas's deliberate tactic of using GoPros and live streams to drive global media narratives. The conversation also covers the film NAZA and IDF targeting ethics, the issue of terrorist operatives masquerading as journalists, his intense debates on shows like Piers Morgan Uncensored, and what complete victory, demilitarization, and deradicalization in Gaza actually require.