Two Years Since October 7: Disillusionment, Change and Struggle

A New Collection of Articles on Central Current Issues

Two years have passed since the Simchat Torah massacres of October 7 2023. The barbaric acts committed by Hamas in the southern communities, described as a “pogrom” and an event reminiscent of the darkest periods in Jewish history, comprised the largest mass murder against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

Since that dark day, the State of Israel has experienced one of the most challenging periods in its history, fighting a “multi-dimensional seven-front war against Iran and its proxies.” This war, together with a global wave of de-legitimization, has forced Israelis and Jews in the Diaspora into a profound journey of disillusionment. The expectation of absolute security, which characterized the years of independence, has been shattered to pieces.

These two years have required all of us to reexamine fundamental assumptions, deepen our commitment to Jewish national identity and the Zionist idea, and think deeply about our future as a people and our standing in the world.

This collection of articles presents a selection of texts dealing with the central burning issues of our time:

• Zionism and the struggle for Jewish freedom and sovereignty against a global ideological assault;

• Foreign relations and geopolitics, examining alliances built on sand versus those that withstood challenges;

• Renewed antisemitism and its implications for Jewish communities around the world;

• National security and the doctrine of war, and the need for strategic change;

• Israeli society and the renewed revelation of the “Sabra,” combining external toughness with internal solidarity.

We hope that these essays will contribute to the comprehensive and honest discussion so crucial to the people of Israel in this fateful hour.

On Zionism:

The Struggle for Jewish Freedom Has Not Ended / Adv. Avraham Russell Shalev