Israel is on the fringes of its Third Republic

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The First Republic (1948-1977) was the era of Zionist socialists, builders of the State, guided by the collectivist ideals and the secular and pioneering vision of its founders. The Second Republic, inaugurated by Menachem Begin in 1977, marked the rise of the liberal right and Mizrahim Jews, from Middle Eastern countries, until then marginalized by the intellectual and economic elite of the time, made up of European immigrants, the Ashkenazim. Israel has become a more pluralistic democracy, but also more divided – between the secular and religious state, between Tel Aviv and the settlements, between the vision of peace and total security.

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After two years of war, with the ceasefire, the release of hostages, but still waiting for the body of a murdered Israeli, the country is entering a new phase. A generation of young people, reservists, bereaved families, the festive welcome of former hostages, high-tech workers and until yesterday apolitical citizens are emerging as a new moral and political force. They do not accept extremes. They do not want to expand their territory or live under ideological illusions. They want responsibility, security and a future.

The Israeli far right dreamed of total victory: recolonizing Gaza, annexing territories, imposing its sovereignty without checks or balances. But reality contradicts it. Even with the most right-wing government in history and with an ally like Donald Trump, Israel will not annex Gaza, there will be no Palestinian departure and there will be no settlements. What is underway is a pragmatic plan: a demilitarized Gaza, without Hamas, but Palestinian. Maximalist rhetoric has given way to realpolitik: security, yes; fanaticism, no.

On the other hand, the left and global anti-Israel activism have also failed resoundingly. Accusations of “genocide,” “ethnic cleansing” and “mass starvation” have not been confirmed. Israel was brutally attacked and responded with firmness and determination – but within the limits of modern warfare. The moral collapse of the country was predicted, and what we saw was the opposite: a resilient society, which faced terror without disintegrating. The war did not destroy Israel – it strengthened the country internally and repositioned it strategically.

Meanwhile, Hamas was defeated militarily and symbolically. Hezbollah has been humiliated, its leaders eliminated and its replacements live in fear and caution. The Syrian regime is disintegrating. The Houthis, who attacked Israel from a distance, were hit hard and retreated. Iran, once arrogant, remains silent. On all fronts, the enemy has retreated – not because Israel sought war, but because it survived it, overthrew it and disintegrated, one by one, all the threats emanating from the Shiite axis.

This is the essence of the Israeli Third Republic: maturity. A country that learns to coexist with its strength, without allowing itself to be dominated by it; which rejects right-wing extremism and the hollow moralism of the left. The wounded but lucid Israeli society now understands that survival requires not only weapons, but also a purpose.

The new Israel is neither that of the socialist utopia nor that of the theocratic dream. This is the Israel of ordinary people – soldiers returning from the front, mothers welcoming their kidnapped children at a music festival, engineers who keep the country running even under the sirens. They are the ones who are shaping the new republic, not armchair ideologues.

While many Westerners talk about Israel in slogans, the real country is being reinvented by citizens who have no time for illusions. The post-October 7 period will be remembered as the end of easy rhetoric – both those who wanted to destroy Israel and those who believed Israel could do anything.

In the Middle East, those who survive are those who adapt. And Israel, once again, showed that it knew how to adapt. Between radicalism and nihilism, a new moral center is born: that of responsibility. This is perhaps the true miracle of the Third Republic.