Has the War Divided Israel?

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Transcript

00:00I want to start our discussion on the political turmoil and divisions that appear to be growing in Israel.

00:07There are a lot of factors feeding into this, including weariness with the way the war has been fought thus far

00:13and accusations that there's no end in sight.

00:17Hostages remain in Gaza amongst the destruction, the bombardment and the starvation.

00:23Many people, including some guests on this show, have said there are no clear political objectives.

00:28We're even hearing reports of the IDF having to draw down reserve deployments by 30%

00:34because of a drop in turnout from soldiers and soaring fatigue.

00:39So, Asha, let me start with you to kick off tonight's debate.

00:43Has this war ultimately divided Israel rather than uniting it?

00:49Thank you. Good evening. Thank you for having me.

00:52We are now facing a very complex dilemma.

00:56On the one hand, all Israelis want to see the hostages back.

01:00On the other hand, all Israelis agree that Hamas should not remain the dominant power in Gaza

01:06capable of carrying out another October 7th attack.

01:10Now, the Israeli discourse has led to a divide over this question of ending the war,

01:16where the goal of getting the hostages back is obvious.

01:19What is much less discussed is that if the war ends tomorrow,

01:23if the idea does indeed pull back, Hamas will quickly retake the Gaza Strip.

01:28It doesn't matter what kind of technocratic government is there.

01:31Hamas will be the dominant power on the ground.

01:33And we will see another devastating round of fighting in the near future,

01:37more terror attacks, perhaps more kidnappings.

01:40So we all want to get to a day after Hamas.

01:42We all want to see the hostages home.

01:44But it's a question of how you do that.

01:45And that has indeed created a debate within Israeli society.