Political disputes and polarization have, of late, returned to the forefront of the public and media discourse in Israel. While one could view this trend as seemingly signaling a return to some kind of normalcy, which is a positive aspect during wartime, it also poses significant challenges to the resilience of Israeli society. A polarizing discourse harms social solidarity, undermines trust in state bodies and the decision-making process, and casts doubts regarding the motives of civil-society organizations. Considering this,...
The war between Israel and Hamas, which started on October 7, will most likely continue for some time; this means there is an operational need to increase the personnel available to the IDF. In this context, the army is proposing to extend compulsory military service for men to three years, to significantly expand the length of annual reserve duty, and to raise the age at which reserve duty ends. This article clarifies and explains the legal memoranda published on this issue, which have far-reaching social implications. Adopting...
Resilience is the ability of any system to successfully manage a serious disruption, limit the damage and functional setbacks, bounce back quickly, move forward, and achieve improved functionality. The tragic events of October 7 and the resulting two-front war certainly constitute a serious disruption that is testing the resilience of Israeli society in general, and of the communities evacuated from their homes in the western Negev and the northern border in particular. The evacuations, although deemed necessary for security,...
Weekly surveys conducted by the Data Analytics Desk at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) since the outbreak of the Gaza war have examined, inter alia, the degree of public support in Israel for the goals of the war. Findings can help assess the extent of internal solidarity within Israeli society regarding the war with Hamas, and in turn, the extent of national resilience. The findings show that thus far there is a steady and extremely high level of support for the goals of the war, headed by toppling the Hamas rule...
Israel’s reserve forces have now been mobilized for three months. Their ability to continue to serve is based on the spirit of the people, the atmosphere in the country following the events of October 7, and the moral and economic support of the home front. However, these elements may diminish over time – not as the result of a specific event, but rather as the outcome of a process that is difficult to identify. Many reserve soldiers have sacrificed their lives, and others are willing to continue to risk their lives in this just war....
Nearly three months since the war in Gaza began, Israeli society continues to weather the collective trauma imposed by Hamas’s murderous attack on the western Negev. The shocking nature of the attack greatly undermined the sense of personal security and societal resilience, and posed a great challenge to Israel’s civilian capabilities to bounce back and stand up to the severe challenges of the war. The current war is perceived by a vast majority of the Israeli public as just and unavoidable, and there is overwhelming support...
The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) conducted a public opinion survey on relations between Jews and Arabs in Israel during the war in Gaza, also known as Swords of Iron.[1] What follows is a summary of the main findings. Over half the Jewish and Arab public in Israel feel a change for the worse in relations between them since the start of the war (Figure 1). Of the Jewish public, 11.5 percent feel a change for the better, 29 percent feel no change, while about half (50.5 percent) feel a change for the worse; 9...
The trauma of October 7 shaped the Israeli public’s collective sense of an existential threat, and consequently fostered a broad consensus that Israel is in the throes of a just and unavoidable war against Hamas. This is the basis for the overwhelming public support both for the IDF and for the war’s objectives, as defined by the government. Yet a long war, and certainly if it spreads to other fronts or encounters serious obstacles, would pose a considerable threat to Israel’s societal resilience and might challenge public...
Demonstrations against an incumbent government are not new in Israel. However, the demonstrations against the proposed judicial overhaul, which was first presented in the Knesset on January 4, 2023, have been unprecedented in terms of their scope, spread, and duration over the last eight months. Since the judicial initiative was announced, there have been 1816 demonstrations across approximately 200 locations throughout Israel. According to the police, these demonstrations involved more than 7 million protesters; the protest...
Troubling tensions have surfaced recently between Israel’s political leadership and the heads of the security establishment, mainly regarding the operational fitness of the IDF in light of the measures taken by senior reservist officers, particularly in the Air Force. Such tensions are not new, but in the context of the profound existing socio-political crisis, the fact that they have penetrated the discourse among those who are responsible for national security severely harms their trust toward one another, and that of the public in...
The unprecedented attacks against senior IDF officers and the heads of Israel’s other security organizations are not just an attempt to blame them for the severe damage to the fitness and cohesion of the military caused by the widespread public protest against the government’s legislative plan. Nor did these attacks start when the plan was unveiled or when the government began to advance it. In some cases, these attacks are a deliberate attempt to tarnish the image of commanders as authorities in the security realm in order to...
The Israeli government acknowledged the existence of institutional racism in 2017 when it established the Government Unit to Coordinate the Combat Against Racism (hereafter: the Unit). Originally created to fight institutional racism against Israelis of Ethiopian descent, it now works with all groups that have experienced institutional racism. While the establishment of the Unit was a correct, ethical, and practical move, the failure to codify its authority and responsibility in law and the lack of a proper budget for its operation...
