Editor's Notes: It's time for a right-wing vision for Israel

• Published date: 12 April 2024
• Author: ZVIKA KLEIN
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

In addition, since the beginning of the war, Israelis have become more right-wing when it comes to their approach to the conflict

A survey for the "Reservists Until Victory" association, which advocates for continuing the conflict in Gaza, showed 92% of participants support fighting until Hamas is weakened. Conducted among 700 Jewish Israelis in January, 87% backed the fight against Hamas and for total control over Gaza, with only 7% opposed.

Opposition to returning the Palestinian Authority to Gaza was strong across major political parties, with majorities from Likud, National Unity, and Yesh Atid against it.

Additionally, 71% said they favored Israel encouraging mass emigration of Gazans out of the Strip, with 17% opposed.

Those who are right-winged believe the government has failed

That said, a survey by the Israel Democracy Institute earlier this week found that a vast majority of Jews, with 83% of those identified as right-wing, believe that the policies of Israeli governments in recent years, notably under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have failed, particularly regarding Hamas.

This sentiment spans political affiliations, with a consensus that these policies had a role in Hamas's success on October 7.

While the overall Jewish agreement is high, the study highlights a significant divide in perception between Jewish and Arab communities, with a notably lower agreement rate of 55% among Arabs.

Netanyahu is the longest-serving Israeli prime minister in our short history as a state and has been one for most of the past two decades.

While heading the Likud political party, the largest and most prominent movement on Israel's right, there must be something wrong with the way he managed Israel on many fronts – some of which allowed the October 7 attacks to take place.

Kohelet Forum is scaling back operations

IN ADDITION to the above, an interesting development occurred last week: The Kohelet Policy Forum, Israel's most prominent conservative think tank, announced that it has decided to scale back its operations.

Responding to a report in Israel Hayom newspaper, the forum said:"The scope of Kohelet Forum's activity increased over the years, and we were privileged to establish new departments that dealt with diverse policy issues, within which dozens of researchers worked.

Since [the October 7 attack on] Simchat Torah, the forum and its employees have been focused on contributing to the national collective effort."

Before the war, one of Kohelet's chief...