Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleWelcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with The Times of Israel’s senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur, marking the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught on southern Israel.
To gain a sense of the Israeli public sentiment after two years of war, Rettig Gur analyzes a new survey conducted by Agam Labs and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, led by Nimrod Nir and Dr. Gayil Talshir.
This conversation can be viewed here:
The researchers found, in surveying 2,170 Jewish Israelis and 459 Arab Israelis, that there is a drastic shift in Israelis’ perceptions of their society and politicians.
More from What Matters Now
September 17, 2026Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib: Hamas is to blame for October 7 and Gaza's ‘collateral damage’
September 10, 2026Yohanan Plesner: 3 existential issues facing Israel’s voters
September 4, 2026Jonathan Greenblatt: Surging antisemitism brings ADL to a moment of reckoning
August 21, 2026Yossi Klein Halevi: Why Jewish extremism is so seductive - and dangerous
August 12, 2026Richard Priem: The ‘age of security’ has ended for US Jews
In one of the more dramatic findings, the report states that the initial unity found in the early months of the war has flipped to a division: from 77% in 2023 saying the war “united society” to 66% in 2025 saying it made society more divided.
Pointing to Israel’s strengths and human capital, Rettig Gur leaves us with an optimistic framing of the internal work that needs to be done, even as Israel has largely defeated its greatest enemies.
And so this week, we ask Haviv Rettig Gur, what matters now.
What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.
Check out the previous What Matters Now episode:
The Times of Israel Community.