Yaakov Katz is a veteran journalist and author, the co-founder of MEAD, the premier Middle East-America policy forum, and a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute. Between 2016 and 2023, Yaakov was editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post where he continues to serve as a columnist. Yaakov also writes for the Jewish Chronicle, is the host of the JPPI podcast & appears regularly on CNN and BBC as an analyst. Yaakov’s newest book (co-authored with Amir Bohbot) “While Israel Slept – How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East” is a national bestseller in the US. His previous three books are “Shadow Strike – Inside Israel’s Secret Mission to Eliminate Syrian Nuclear Power”, “Weapon Wizards – How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower” and “Israel vs. Iran: The Shadow War”. His next book – “The Fortress and the Home” – is slated for publication by St. Martin’s Press ahead of Israel’s upcoming 80th Independence Day in the spring of 2028. Prior to taking up the role of editor-in-chief, Yaakov served for two years as a senior policy adviser to Naftali Bennett during his tenure as Israel’s Minister of Economy and Minister of Diaspora Affairs. Originally from Chicago, Yaakov has a law degree from Bar Ilan University and spent a year as a fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife Chaya and their four children.