Maj. Gen. (res.) Noam Tibon spent 35 years in the IDF, commanding the 202nd Paratroopers Battalion, the Nahal Brigade, the West Bank Division and Northern Command. On October 7, 2023, ten years into retirement, he and his wife Gali drove from Tel Aviv to Kibbutz Nahal Oz to reach their son Amir, his wife Miri and their two granddaughters — stopping along the way for Nova survivors and wounded Maglan soldiers. Two weeks ago he was placed sixth on B'Yachad's Knesset list. We spoke at Beit Ariela, across from what was Hostages Square for nearly three years. On Netanyahu's claim that nobody woke him: "This is another lie by Benjamin Netanyahu, trying to run away from his responsibility for the biggest failure in the history of Israel. But it will not work." Tibon says Netanyahu received multiple serious warnings before October 7th — from the Egyptians, from Mohammed bin Zayed, and from Yair Lapid — and that the Shin Bet pushed him again and again to kill Yahya Sinwar, which he refused. We also talked about the six hostages murdered in the tunnel in Rafah, what Rachel Goldberg-Polin told him, the Philadelphi corridor, the haredi draft, young American Jews, the protests against his own film in Toronto, and the tzitzit he was handed at the entrance to Nahal Oz. Chapters00:00 Introduction — Beit Ariela, across from Hostages Square00:38 What could have prevented October 702:39 "Nobody woke him up" — the three warnings03:39 The Shin Bet, Sinwar, and Qatari money04:51 The six hostages murdered in the tunnel07:31 "Don't count Hersh as someone you brought back"09:53 Philadelphi, and how he would have fought the war11:54 Gaza, and who is calling the shots13:05 "We will not sit with them" — B'Yachad's red lines14:25 The haredi draft and sharing the burden18:05 October 7, and the three things he took from it22:36 The tzitzit24:46 The poison machine26:18 Losing young American Jews30:32 Toronto, the protests, and Israel's missing diaspora policy32:03 Mamdani, and who gets to define Zionism34:40 NAZA MentionedAmir Tibon, The Gates of Gaza — winner of the Sami Rohr PrizeThe Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, dir. Barry AvrichNAZA, dir. Yuval Abraham and Rachel SzorThe Haaretz report on the bin Zayed warning to Netanyahu, September 8, 2026 The Middle Ground is written by Eli Kowaz in Tel Aviv. Get full access to The Middle Ground at middleground.kowaz.com/subscribe
