October 7 Attacks Shift Israeli Society Further Rightward

Three years after the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, the event continues to fundamentally reshape Israel's politics, wars, and its place in the world. This incident is widely considered a pivotal moment in modern Israeli history, inflicting deep trauma on Israeli society.

Highlights

• The October 7 attacks shattered the myth of Israeli military invincibility, causing widespread shock within society.
• Israeli society has shifted further to the political right over the past three years, with polls indicating increased support for harsh policies against Palestinians.
• Political leaders have exploited the trauma and fear from October 7 to foster general animosity towards Palestinians and legitimize far-right policies.
• The war in Gaza and settler violence in the West Bank have contributed to Israel's growing international isolation.
• Israeli experts state that this situation has erased years of progress in Jewish-Palestinian relations and set back mutual trust by a hundred years.

Details

Daniel Bar-Tal, a political psychologist at Tel Aviv University, notes that October 7 shattered the strong sense of confidence in Israel's supposed technological and military superiority. When Hamas and other groups stormed into Israel, nearly 1,200 people were killed, and approximately 250 were taken captive. This event altered the perception that the Israeli public was isolated from the consequences of military actions, and claims that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might have had prior intelligence about Hamas's plans caused surprise.

Israeli sociologist Yehouda Shenhav-Shahrabani states that while many Israelis experienced genuine fear after October 7, political forces have exploited this fear to erase nearly every achievement made over the years in Jewish-Palestinian relations. Polls indicate that Israeli society has lurched further to the far-right in the past three years. For instance, in a May 2025 survey, a vast majority of respondents supported expelling Gaza's residents, with a significant minority also backing the "mass killing" of all residents in cities invaded by Israeli troops.

Why it matters

The October 7 attacks marked a watershed moment in Israeli politics, providing fertile ground for the escalation of existing far-right tendencies. This has led to the normalization of violence and discrimination against Palestinians, while also negatively impacting Israel's international standing. Experts emphasize that this process has severely damaged social trust and the willingness for dialogue, making it extremely difficult to overcome this setback.