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The protests for Israel’s hostages have become one of the largest grassroots movements in the country’s history. Highways are blocked, strikes are called, and ministers’ homes are surrounded by demonstrators demanding one thing: a deal to bring the hostages home.

Some see the protests as proof of Israel’s moral resolve. Others warn they hand Hamas leverage by exposing division and desperation. And the government now faces a wrenching dilemma: how to weigh public pressure against military objectives and national security.

In this episode, Dr. Michael Oren - historian, author, and Israel’s former ambassador to Washington - joins host Aviva Klompas to examine what the protests reveal about Israel’s national character, whether they help or hinder the war effort, and how history may judge this moment.