War In West Asia: Why Israel Turned Increasingly Intolerant 

The Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, shocked, devastated and hardened Israeli society. The pre-dawn strike made deep psychological inroads in people’s psyche and revived historical memories of the suffering of the Jews through history.

The Hamas strike re-drew the emotional and political boundaries of Israeli society and made people more intolerant to those perceived as Israel’s enemies. The blurring of distinction between Hamas and ordinary civilians of Gaza has led to people accepting as collateral damage the atrocities of the IDF in Gaza.

“Israeli political leaders, especially Netanyahu, have spent decades building a narrative of Iran as an existential threat to Israel. In the aftermath of the Hamas attack on October 7 2023, Israel’s military momentum has been about decimating Iran’s network of allies and taking the war to Iran. Israel’s goal remains regime collapse, which will eliminate the ‘Iranian threat’ forever. The Israeli society is willing to absorb the pain and costs of a prolonged but ‘final war’,’’ says Deepika Saraswat, scholar with the Delhi-based Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.

Now nearly three years after October 7, the change is reflected in public support for prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war of choice on Iran. An unprecedented 93 per cent of Jewish Israelis backed the government's strikes against Iran, according to the Israel Democracy Institute.

The conflict is no longer measured in humanitarian cost, whether in Gaza, Lebanon or Iran. People buy Netanyahu’s line that Iran is an existential threat to Israel’s survival, based on daily reminders of “Death to Israel’’ chants by supporters of Iran’s theocratic regime. Most Israeli Jews support Netanyahu’s stand of eliminating every potential threat to the Jewish state.

Yet as David Issacharoff, writing in Haaretz says that in his school days around 2010, “death to Arabs’’ chants in Hebrew were common, whether in the school bus or in the sports field. His comments are a part of a piece published on the new law passed by the Knesset on death penalty for Palestinian prisoners that was celebrated with the popping of champagne after the bill was passed into law. The fact that Israel could pass such a law is an example of the mindset of the country today.

“Legal viability aside, the new law reveals a deeper question, reflecting a perverse dissonance in Israeli society: Why are Jewish terrorists spared the noose while Arab ones are hanged?” writes Issacharoff.

Much of this has to do with the rise of the right-wing in Israeli society combined with the Hamas attack that shook the nation. Netanyahu’s government is supported by right-wing religious and nationalist hardliners, including segments of the Orthodox community. The influence of these sections have grown in recent years, leading to the passage of the bill on death to Palestinian prisoners that goes against all constitutional and ethical validity.

Orthodox influence on the government is again reflected in Netanyahu’s bid to fast track a bill that continues to exempt Haredim men from draft military service. Haredim, or ultra-Orthodox Jews, are known for their strict adherence to religious law and dedicating their lives to Torah study. They are exempt from compulsory military service. At a time when Israel is at war, when the IDF is overstretched, Netanyahu is still bent on pandering to the orthodox demands for exemption.

Post the Hamas attacks, the Leftists in Israel have been on the back foot. The Left-liberals who had previously advocated peace with the Palestinians and were against taking over Palestinian lands in the West Bank are now silent. Criticism of policies once hotly debated like West Bank settlements has notably receded from mainstream discourse.

Since October 7, the percentage of Israeli Jews defining themselves as leftists fell from 13.3% to roughly 10.6%, with a sharp increase in those viewing themselves as right-wing. The Israeli Left has been pushed to the margin in a society that now prioritizes security over soul-searching. Many Israelis now echo Netanyahu’s rejection of a two-state solution for Palestine, reflecting the hardening position on territorial issues. This has much to do with the influence of Orthodox and ultra nationalist groups that promote the vision of Greater Israel from the “river to the sea.’’

Ambitions of the ultra-religious groups that support Netanyahu’s government have grown since the spectacular military victory of the IDF since the Gaza war. Israel is now seen as the most lethal military force in the region. This has in turn led to the belief among hardliners that a Greater Israel of the Old Testament could become a reality. As US ambassador Mike Huckabee said in an interview to Tucker Carson, American podcaster and former Fox News anchor, that an Israel from the ``Nile to the Euphrates’’ was promised to Moses in the Bible.

And it is not just the religious minded who have these dreams. Benny Gantz, Israel’s centrist opposition leader, hinted in a recent interview that after Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, Turkiye could be the next target. Every government as well as opposition appears to be on the same page on extending Israel’s hegemony in the region.

Yet Iran’s resistance has surprised many in Israel. Over a month into the joint Israeli-U.S. war with Iran, Israelis are divided: 45.5 percent want the campaign to continue until the Iranian regime falls, 30 percent favor a cease-fire after maximum military damage, and 19 percent support an immediate cease-fire.

Israeli society has undergone a tremendous transformation since the Hamas attacks of 2023. What began as a response to trauma now risks becoming a permanent shift, reshaping not just policy but the moral boundaries of a people.