In an interview with *Maariv*, Mei-Tal discussed the impact of an electromagnetic bomb: "Imagine a lightning strike hitting the building where you live, not just hitting a lightning rod or antenna, but affecting the entire building. This would disable all electrical cabinets, water heaters, water and electricity systems, home appliances, personal computers, televisions, and even life-saving medical systems. It's like a power outage, but in this case, the systems could also burn out internally like an electrical short circuit."
Mei-Tal emphasizes that, "In my personal opinion, this represents a significant escalation in the potential threat landscape. It should be regarded as a near-unconventional weapon threat. Just as no sovereign nation would tolerate the threat of unconventional weapons, the same applies here. This is because electronic processors in 2024 manage and operate all vital systems in Israel—infrastructure, medical systems, and military applications."
At the end of his remarks, Mei-Tal compared the potential impact: "Think of the analogy from the 1960s describing a nuclear explosion where only the cockroaches survive. Similarly, in an electromagnetic attack, the 'cockroaches'—electronic components in electrical circuits—will not survive. It will impact all of us in our daily lives and in emergency preparedness. It's like a poker game where someone raises the stakes; the whole table stops and watches to understand the next move or if they are bluffing. I think we need to look them in the eyes."
