Reflecting on the condition of Israel six months into the war, Micah Goodman discusses the psychological effects of the ongoing horrors on Israelis as well as Israeli relations with the Palestinians and with the Middle East as a whole. But the main topic of his conversation with Amanda Borschel-Dan is the country’s social and political divisions. Mosaic has recently covered these divisions from two very different angles: our interview with Yehoshua Pfeffer about haredi enlistment in the IDF and Rafi DeMogge’s article about the demographic makeup of the soldiers who have lost their lives in the war. It’s worth considering all three items together. In Goodman’s view, Israelis have much more in common than the political map suggests. (Audio, 46 minutes.)

Israel’s goals of freeing the hostages and defeating Hamas (the latter necessary to prevent further hostage taking) are to some extent contradictory, since Yahya Sinwar, the ruler of the Gaza Strip, will only turn over hostages in exchange for concessions. But Jacob Nagel remains convinced that Jerusalem should continue to pursue both goals:

Only consistent military pressure on Hamas can lead to the hostages’ release, either through negotiation or military operation. There’s little chance of reaching a deal with Hamas using current approaches, including the latest Egyptian proposal. Israeli concessions would only encourage further pressure from Hamas.

There is no incentive for Hamas to agree to a deal, especially since it believes it can achieve its full objectives without one. Unfortunately, many contribute to this belief, mainly from outside of Israel, but also from within.

Recent months saw Israel mistakenly refraining from entering Rafah for several reasons. Initially, the main [reason was to try] to negotiate a deal with Hamas. However, as it became clear that Hamas was uninterested, and its only goal was to return to its situation before October 7—where Hamas and its leadership control Gaza, Israeli forces are out, and there are no changes in the borders—the deal didn’t mature.