Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis

Shortly after I shared a post on whether we are each willing to acknowledge that we were wrong, a reader wrote to ask if I was willing to admit I was wrong for urging American Jews to take a stand against judicial reform back in early 2023. This reader’s note was so thoughtful that I decided to share my response—and my deep uncertainty about the answer—more widely.

Tomorrow, I will share a presentation that I hope addresses this reader’s excellent question, but that will also focus on what I believe is an even more pressing question that emerges from that note: How many of us are willing to acknowledge the magnitude of the crisis the Jewish people now face—and the terrifying fact that we long ago jettisoned the tools we need to face it?

In these trying times for the Jewish people and the Jewish state, Rabbi Doron Perez—one of whose sons fell in battle on October 7 while his other son was seriously wounded the same day—shares with us a vision for Jewish life characterized not only by personal humility, but by ideological humility as well. “The truth,” he believes we all need to acknowledge, “does not begin and end with me.”

One might expect that the tragic events of these past years, and the horrific personal loss that Rabbi Perez and his family suffered, might have produced a worldview characterized by certainty about how we should proceed, or by rejection of those he believes are misguided. But that is not who Rabbi Perez is. In today’s conversation, we receive the gift of hearing a vision for Jewish and Israeli life that could be key to renewing our people and our country, precisely in this season when we focus on renewing ourselves.

I was deeply moved by what Rabbi Perez had to say, and I am grateful to him for taking the time to share his thoughts, dreams, and vision of religious tolerance with us at this critical moment in Jewish history.

If you would like to share our conversation about what Israelis are feeling and expressing at this unprecedented moment in our history, we invite you to subscribe today.

Rabbi Doron Perez is the President of the World Zionist Organization and the Executive Chairman of the Mizrachi World Movement .

Rabbi Perez has Rabbinic Ordination, a BA in Jewish education and an MA in Jewish history and has authored two books: Leading the Way – a collection of writings on some of life’s most important issues and The Jewish State – from Opposition to Opportunity – a manifesto on Zionism and Jewish statehood, available in English, Hebrew and Spanish . He has recently co-authored book on the Shema about Jewish commitment and conviction.

His second son, Captain Daniel Perez was killed in action on October 7th. His body was held in Gaza for two years before being returned to Israel for burial.

His focus as President of the WZO is on rebranding Zionism and initiatives to build Jewish unity , especially in wake of October 7th .

The link at the top of this posting will take free subscribers to an excerpted portion of today’s conversation.

For paid subscribers, the link at the top will take you to the full conversation; below, paid subscribers will also find a transcript for those who prefer to read, as always.

In the midst of political intrigue as elections grow near, the very real possibility of hostilities between Turkey and Israel, Israel’s continuing itch to “finish the job” with Iran, Hamas’ clear deception about its willingness to disarm, the ongoing Jewish violence in Judea and Samaria and much more — the story of th…

Walking into the Bennett headquarters in Ra’anana is exhilarating. One can favor the candidate, or not. One can plan to vote for the party, or not. But to see the energy, the optimism, the devotion to Israel and the huge number of young people working feverishly throughout the day is to be gifted a huge dose of optimism about this struggling country of ours.

At the entrance, through the class door: ביחד נתקן — “Together, we will repair.”

In the section of the office where people are working on the campaign’s social media: לנצחון אין מחר — “Victory has no tomorrow. Bennett.”

In one of the major hallways: עוד 86 ימים נתקן את ישראל — “In 86 days, we will repair Israel.”

I was at the campaign headquarters to interview Yonatan Shalev, who is slated to become the youngest MK in Israel’s history. In our conversation, Yonatan describes his military service in the war, the familial tradition of serving the country from which he comes, what he believes Israel needs next — and why he’s aligned himself with Bennett.

What the future will bring, we’ll know in a couple of months. That Israel is filled with passionate, young talent is beyond question.

If you would like to share our conversation about what Israelis are feeling and expressing at this unprecedented moment in our history, we invite you to subscribe today.

Yonatan Shalev is a social and political activist and co-founder of Katef el Katef (“Shoulder to Shoulder”), a movement advocating for greater equality in military and civilian service in Israel. A former combat soldier and commander in one of the IDF’s special forces unit, Shalev served in operational activities in Gaza and Lebanon and continues to serve as a reservist.

Following his military service, Shalev helped establish Katef el Katef and became a prominent voice among a younger generation of Israelis calling for a more equal distribution of civic responsibility. In 2026, he entered politics, joining Naftali Bennett’s political movement and becoming one of its prominent young figures.

The link at the top of this posting will take free subscribers to an excerpted portion of today’s conversation.

For paid subscribers, the link at the top will take you to the full conversation; below, paid subscribers will also find a transcript for those who prefer to read, as always.

Today we meet a world — part of the army, part of society, heroes who also need the help of others — in the form of combat medics.

They are young people who have seen it all. They carry the weight of decisions they made — successes they had but also failures that were unavoidable — with them for years.

Here’s a brief introduction to the world about which they will tell us today:

If you would like to share our conversation about what Israelis are feeling and expressing at this unprecedented moment in our history, we invite you to subscribe today.

Elad Ariely is a 25-year-old industrial design student with a background in product management and social entrepreneurship. In addition to his studies, he works as an independent paramedic industrial designer and is actively involved in developing innovative products at the intersection of backpack design and combat medicine.

During his military service, Ariely served as a combat paramedic in several combat units in Israel Defense Forces and he experienced October 7th as an active duty paramedic. Beyond that, he continued his service and served over 400 days in reserve since his release.

Ariely is the founder of “Always Beside You – The Home for Military Paramedics”, a nonprofit organization established to support current and former military paramedics through mental health programs, pre academic support, helping mitigate the transition from army to civilian and more. After a two years as the first CEO of the organization, he currently serves on the organization’s board, helping shape its long-term strategy and growth while continuing to advance projects that strengthen Israel’s military paramedic community.

Yotam Cohen is a student at Shalem College, majoring in Strategy, Diplomacy, and Security. Alongside his academic work, he is employed at the headquarters of Israel’s Ministry of Education in the Strategy, Planning, and Policy Division.

During his military service, Cohen served as a combat paramedic in the Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit and later continued in extended service as a commander in the Military Paramedics Course. During the war, he served as a reserve paramedic in a reconnaissance battalion, participating in operations in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, where he provided life-saving medical care to dozens of wounded soldiers.

Following his reserve service, Yotam helped establish “Always Beside You – The Home for Military Paramedics”, an organization dedicated to supporting military paramedics. He currently leads the organization’s initiatives in community resilience and mental health support.

For the “Always Beside You” website (currently only in Hebrew), click here.

If you wish to make a contribution to “Always Beside You”, you can do so here.

The link at the top of this posting will take free subscribers to an excerpted portion of today’s conversation.

For paid subscribers, the link at the top will take you to the full conversation; below, paid subscribers will also find a transcript for those who prefer to read, as always.

In early August, Rom Braslavski, who spent 738 days in captivity in Gaza, heard that the IDF had eliminated one of his captors. Braslavski, who as we see in the video above, learned fluent Arabic from his captors, filmed a quick video in which he warned the other still-living captors that they are living on borrowed time. The IDF got the one guy, he said, but it will also get all the others, too.

Bravado?

Turns out, no. Israel has now acknowledged that it intends to eliminate all 5,000 terrorists who either planned or participated in the October 7 attacks. Some 1200-1300 were killed on the day of the attack. Another 1300-1500 have been killed since then. Some 300 are in Israeli prisons. That still leaves about two thousand more terrorists that Israel plans to eliminate.

The operation is called Operation Nili. As I explain above, “Nili” is an acronym for נצח ישראל לא ישקר, the Eternity of Israel Will Not Lie. That’s a biblical line with a very particular context. The prophet Samuel said it to King Saul, and we examine that context and what it means today.

Nili was also the name of an early Zionist spy ring in the early years of the twentieth century. We look at the story of that spy ring, how and why it ended, and what naming this present operation after them might suggest.

Finally, we look at Operation Wrath of God, in which Israel also promised to eliminate all the terrorists who participated in the Munich Olympic massacre — an operation that did not entirely succeed.

This new operation, then, has biblical antecedents, early Zionist roots and even more recent ones. Today is an introduction to all those elements of a government policy that — precisely as Rom Braslavski promised — still plans to take out a lot of people who, as far as Israel is concerned, signed their own death warrants when they attacked the Jewish State on October 7, 2023.

If you would like to share our conversation about what Israelis are feeling and expressing at this unprecedented moment in our history, we invite you to subscribe today.

In coming weeks, we’ll be launching a video series on the survival techniques that the Jewish people used in the past when it was in crisis. Given that our nation is in crisis once again, what can we learn about what worked in the past and what didn’t — and how might that help us as we think about how to shape our future?

Just a reminder to our subscribers: we provide transcripts of podcasts in which I interview other people. The ones, like today’s, in which I am speaking alone, do not have AI-generated transcripts.

For reasons I explain in today’s video post, above, there’s been quite a bit of discussion among some Israelis of whether or not the claim that these elections are “Israel’s last chance” is really true.

I’ll explain why so much is at stake and yet why, at the very same time, I hesitate to say that.

And then we’ll come to this photo above, which I took a…

At a time when despair and despondency seem almost natural, it is good for the mind and for the soul to meet young Israelis who are not only not giving up, but who believe that it’s up to them to change the direction of Zionism and the Jewish State.

Here is what their website has to say:

Outdated Divisions.

The data is clear: by Israel’s 120th Independence Day, the country’s social fabric will have changed completely. Projections show that less than half of all citizens will be left to carry the shared burdens of the economy, military service, and mutual responsibility.

This is an existential threat.

The old definitions no longer reflect the reality on the ground. They blind us to the true partnership being forged right now, both under fire and in our daily lives. For decades, we have grown accustomed to splitting Israeli society into rigid camps: “Jews” versus “Israelis,” Right versus Left, religious versus secular. This paradigm is leading us straight into the abyss. The danger is not that it divides us, but that it draws the lines in entirely the wrong places.

The Covenant of Service.

To secure our future, we must return to the central ethos of Zionism and replace old divides with a new alliance: the Brit HaMeshartim, the Covenant of Service. This is a pact among all who are actively building the State of Israel: those who serve in the military and the reserves, those who drive our economy, and those who embrace this country as their national home and personal responsibility.

Our goal is not to exclude those who stand apart, but to draw them in. This covenant does not demand uniformity of thought; it demands an absolute commitment to Israel’s survival and prosperity.

This alliance may not be organic, but it is absolutely essential to prevent the dangerous burnout of the serving public.

If you would like to share our conversation about what Israelis are feeling and expressing at this unprecedented moment in our history, we invite you to subscribe today.

Itay Margalit is the Head of Business Development and Partnerships at the Ribo Center. He is currently a student at Shalem College in Jerusalem, pursuing a dual degree in Liberal Arts and Strategy, Diplomacy, and Security.In his previous roles, Itay worked to strengthen the connection between Israel and the Diaspora, including his service as a Jewish Agency emissary (Shaliach) to the Jewish Federation of Cleveland (2021–2023), where he cultivated a vibrant and deeply engaged community of young adults. His professional background also includes coordinating pre-army programs for lone soldiers from around the world, alongside roles at the World Zionist Organization and the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs.A graduate of the Kol Ami pre-army leadership academy (Mechina), Itay commanded the Air Traffic Control course in the Israeli Air Force, leading and training hundreds of soldiers for operational roles. Today, he serves as a board member of the Jewish Agency’s Shlichut Alumni Network.

Shahaf Dvir is the Chief Operating Officer of the Ribo Center, a think-and-do tank promoting the ideas of a “Covenant of Service.” She is currently a student at Shalem College in Jerusalem, pursuing a dual degree in Liberal Arts and Strategy, Diplomacy, and Security.Dedicated to advancing public leadership, political education, and social resilience in Israel, Shahaf previously worked in the Director General’s Office at the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism.During her military service in the IDF’s Education and Youth Corps, Shahaf accrued over five years of command and management experience, specializing in at-risk youth and complex populations at the Havat HaShomer base. She concluded her active duty as a Company Commander for the Education and Command Course, where she led and trained hundreds of soldiers and educational staff.As an active reserve officer (Company Commander), Shahaf recently served as a facilitator for the “Omdim BaSha’ar” program, leading processing and reflection seminars for over 50 reserve battalion commanders returning from combat deployments.

For those interested, here are some additional resources available online:

* The Ribo Center Website: https://ribo.org.il/en/

* Ribo on Substack: https://substack.com/@ribocenter

* Support the Ribo Center’s work: https://ribo.org.il/donate/

* The book We Who Serve (in Hebrew only): https://ribo.org.il/book/

* Op-Ed in The Jerusalem Post: “The war exposed Israel’s broken politics, resilient society“ by Ari Tatarka (Ribo English Director) – outlining the need for a new civic blueprint centered on the common good.

* Contact & Inquiries: Itay Margalit, [email protected]

The link at the top of this posting will take free subscribers to an excerpted portion of today’s conversation.

For paid subscribers, the link at the top will take you to the full conversation; below, paid subscribers will also find a transcript for those who prefer to read, as always.

We’re doing something today that we’ve never done before, having a guest on IFTI tell her story in Hebrew. When I heard about Michal Asaban’s son and Michal’s work with the mothers of other grievously wounded soldiers, I was reminded that in these complex, life-changing, and family-altering events, heroes emerge in many different forms.

To make it possible for Michal to share her story with us, she tells it in Hebrew and we’ve provided English subtitles. This conversation is available in its entirety to all our subscribers.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, we will hear (in English) from two young Israelis who believe that to heal Israel, what we need now is not unity, but profound conversations about and disagreements over the most important issues in Zionism.

The Ribo Center, which they have helped create, is meant to revitalize Israel’s conversation about the ideas at the core of Zionism — and like many initiatives we’ll see in the coming weeks, it’s all coming from young people in their 20’s and early 30’s — the generation that has truly saved the State of Israel.

The headline above, translated from this Hebrew article, is the kind of article we read, feel good about, and turn the page.

But of course, between the life-altering moment of the terrible wound to the young man being able to get engaged, there is a world of endless surgeries, supporting the patient, caring for his siblings and friends and, as we’ll see, even supporting other parents who are in a similar situation.

We hear today from Michal Asaban, Yotam’s mother, on how her life changed after her son’s injury, and how her response changed the trajectory of her life’s work.

If you would like to share our conversation about what Israelis are feeling and expressing at this unprecedented moment in our history, we invite you to subscribe today.

For the “Lioness Moms” website, click here.

For those who would like to offer support, click here.

Now that Israel is less than three months away from elections, things are beginning to heat up. Are Israelis thinking about and voting on the same issues that people abroad believe they are, or think they should be? If people here are “one issue” voters, what’s the issue? And given that it’s the blocs that matter and not the parties, how is one to choose?

Glimpses into Israel’s campaigns from the inside …

David Horovitz and the Times of Israel called it weeks ago, in what now seems like an almost prophetic headline … now that elections are upon us and the polls are showing that Netanyahu (for the moment, at least) has but bleak prospects of forming a coalition, he is likely to get more desperate and things are like to get ever uglier as we grow closer to October 27.

Israelis got a taste of the new lows that are likely soon to follow (other parties might do the same, and we’ll point to those, too) with the video above, which much of the Israeli press referred to as an “own goal” — meaning that it was so gross that Israelis far beyond Eisenkot’s supporters voiced their disgust.

Even some Likud voters were shaking their heads in disbelief.

Netanyahu, of course, said he’d known nothing about the video prior to its being posted (of course) and the Likud promptly issued a revised version.

What was wrong with the video? It ends with the following two screens:

ON THE LEFT: [Gadi] Eisenkot has no chance of forging a government

ON THE RIGHT: without Yair Golan and the Arab parties.

OK, fair enough, right? Yair Golan, who runs what is left of the old Labor Party (Ben Gurion’s party, mostly of blessed memory), has stepped in it a few times, and we’ll see the references to that below. And having Arab parties be in the coalition? That’s controversial for many Israelis, not because they’re racists, but because many of the people on the Arab party lists are explicitly opposed to Israel’s being a Jewish state. Mansour Abbas, the head of the main Arab party who appears in this video (when Eisenkot runs to hug him) has explicitly stated that Israel is a Jewish state and will always be one, but many of those below him on the list are very different.

So what’s wrong with the video?

The video, clearly, is an AI creation. That’s obvious. As Eisenkot runs (seemingly) to embrace a young man wearing a T-shirt that says אחדות ישראל, “Israel’s Unity,” Eisenkot actually ignores him and goes on to embrace Abbas.

So what? Well, the young man in the video (again, an AI creation) looks a LOT like Eisenkot’s son who was killed in the war; 25-year-old Master Sergeant Gal Eisenkot was killed in Gaza in December 2023. The suggestion that Eisenkot would “ignore” his own son and his son’s values to embrace Abbas was so gross that the video evoked expressions of disgust almost across the political spectrum.

The video has been taken down, replaced with a new version a young woman (instead of the young man) who bears no resemblance to anyone.

This was likely merely “coming attractions” for what we’re bound to see ahead …

What, then, is the problem with Yair Golan, or with Eisenkot forming a government with him?

Golan is, by all accounts, a genuine hero. He has a long and stellar military CV and rose very far up the ranks of the IDF. On October 7, even though he was already in his sixties, when he woke up to the news of the attack, he grabbed his gun and helmet and raced from his home to the Nova site, where he rescued numerous people and participated in several battles. He was widely praised — across the spectrum — for his heroism on that day.

So why does he figure so prominently in the video? Because despite his impressive record, he has said some fairly stupid things since then in his rose as the head of the Democrats party. One of the main moments is the one referred to in the ad at the bottom of the front page of Makor Rishon this past Friday.

The key to the anti-Golan/Eisenkot ad is the wording in WHITE in the middle, which says, “A sane country does not kill babies as a hobby.” Golan said that in opposition to some of Israel’s policies in Gaza during the war, but it was obviously way, way too far to go. Israel killing babies as a “hobby”? That’s what Europeans say. Israelis were disgusted with him, too, and like the Likud with the video, he’s tried to walk it back.

But it was record-breaking stupid, and it’s sticking.

Hence the wording in the YELLOW on the left: “Eisenkot [who will clearly need Golan’s seats to form a coalition] will create a government that is dangerous for Israel.” And in the middle in the box, “It’s dangerous!”

Will it do damage? It won’t sway Democrat voters to abandon him.

But that’s not the issue. This entire election hinges on the question of how many right-leaning voters, who are disgusted with Bibi for one reason or another, can be pried away to vote for the center? With Eisenkot himself, few have a major problem. So the way to get them not to abandon Bibi is to focus the campaign not on Eisenkot, but on those with whom he’d almost certainly have to form a coalition.

Hence the focus on Golan.

If you would like to share our conversation about what Israelis are feeling and expressing at this unprecedented moment in our history, we invite you to subscribe today.

Who’s the youthful looking kid in the photo with the Galil rifle? Without looking below, can you identify him?

It’s Naftali Bennett.

Early in the campaign, Naftali Bennett, the former PM, was the front-runner to take on Netanyahu. But as he’s been losing ground to Eisenkot, who now leads among opposition parties, Bennett is wisely doing everything he can to restore the sheen to his image and his campaign.

The following just appeared on his Facebook feed:

Over the photo above, he wrote the following:

Exactly 36 years ago today I enlisted in Sayeret Matkal [DG - Israel’s most elite commando unit]. And it started badly. (A few personal words from me to the August ‘26 draftees):

**

The first weeks of basic training were very hard for me. I was the exception. Most of the guys around me had a father or brother or friend who was a Sayeret graduate, or at least an infantryman, but I didn’t know anyone like that. I came from a different world, the son of two new immigrant parents who barely knew anyone in the country. A bit of an outsider. I felt like everyone else in the platoon understood more, was more prepared than me, and I constantly had to ask in order to understand what needed to be done and when. I got a lot of punishments and extra guard duty because of mistakes. Back then they called it “shell shock from basic training.” Today they simply call it “burnout.”

The beginning was hard for me, but what followed was better. I pushed myself and completed the Sayeret Matkal course, and I went on to serve as a squad commander and platoon commander of fighters in the Maglan unit. Those years made me who I am today.

I’m telling you this, dear draftees, because it’s clear to me that some of you will also have a hard start. And it matters to me that you know: that’s okay. That even a bad beginning can have an excellent ending. And one day the hard period will end, and you’ll look back and be very proud of yourselves.

I love you all very, very much, and I pray that God watches over all of you.

Naftali Bennett August ‘90, Giora Team

It’s all there. Reference to his stellar military record. The fact that he made it on his own, as the son of immigrant parents and as a young guy who hadn’t grown up here. And of course, wishing the new draftees well on the day of the the traditional massive August draft is a reminder that not everyone who should be is getting drafted this month.

Who’s not? Well, the Haredim, obviously. And why not? Bennett’s post is how you mention Bibi without mentioning Bibi.

It’s all just beginning to get interesting, and the coming weeks and months are likely to be action-packed on the. political front. We’ll share more about all this in the days to come.

There was an item in the news yesterday about Bezalel Smotrich, in which it was reported that when asked if he’d ever considered resigning after October 7, he said that he couldn’t think of anything that he had done wrong.

Today’s presentation is not at all about Smotrich, but about the larger issue that his now much-quoted comment raises: given everyth…