How Oct. 7 Changed Israel

The world changed when Hamas attacked Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023, catalyzing devastating conflict throughout the region. But within Israel, political sentiments have changed surprisingly little. To some, the attack fulfilled long-term right-wing warnings that Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza would yield disaster; and the attack was incontrovertible proof that Palestinians will never live in peace with Israel. Israeli left-wingers, for their part, have long held that a festering military rule over Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, and failure to reach peace, would inevitably lead to violent conflagration. For them, Oct. 7 only proved that they had been right all along.The standoff raises crucial questions. In three years since Oct. 7, how has the attack changed Israeli society? And how will the answer affect upcoming elections in Israel?The world after Oct. 7To be sure, there have been cataclysmic changes in Israel, and the Middle East at large, since Oct. 7. The war in Gaza that began that day has become Israel’s longest war. A relatively stable ceasefire with Lebanon from 2006 to 2023 ended when Hezbollah, a Shi’a militia group, fired on Israel the day after Hamas’ attack; after ...