A country transformed since the October 7 massacre<\/p>\n
The report argues that Israel has entered a new era since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023<\/a>, and the war that followed. Long-standing internal tensions, it says, were intensified rather than resolved by the national crisis.<\/p>\n Researchers note that political polarization had already escalated during the judicial reform battle that divided Israeli society in 2023. The war, rather than healing those divisions, exposed what the report calls \u201cinternal contradictions that had previously been managed \u00a0\u2013 or simply ignored.\u201d<\/p>\n Another major trend highlighted in the study is outward migration. Once politically sensitive and rarely discussed openly, emigration has become a measurable social phenomenon, the report says.<\/p>\n Citing figures from Israel\u2019s Central Bureau of Statistics, Dor Moriah notes that an average of 76,000 citizens left the country annually in 2024 and 2025 \u2013 roughly double the level recorded five years earlier. Over the same period, immigration to Israel reportedly fell by threefold.<\/p>\n Those demographic changes, researchers suggest, could have long-term political consequences beyond the immediate electoral cycle.<\/p>\n Inside the expert survey<\/p>\n The first phase of the project was conducted in late March and early April 2026. Twelve experts participated, including political scientists, a historian, an economist, a sociologist, security analysts, a lawyer, a journalist, a human rights advocate, and a civic activist.<\/p>\n Participants represented a wide ideological spectrum, from the political left to the religious right. Each was asked the same series of questions on domestic politics, geopolitical strategy, economic development, and Israel\u2019s institutional future.<\/p>\n Dor Moriah emphasized that the study was not intended as a representative poll or prediction model. Instead, its purpose was to map the competing frameworks through which influential Israelis understand the country\u2019s future.<\/p>\n \u201cOur objective was to understand which visions of the future actually shape thinking within Israel\u2019s expert community,\u201d the report said, \u201cwhere those visions converge, and where they diverge irreconcilably.\u201d<\/p>\n Experts see different countries<\/p>\n The report\u2019s central conclusion is stark: many Israeli experts appear to be describing fundamentally different versions of the same country.<\/p>\n According to researchers, respondents often agreed on the facts of current events but interpreted them through entirely different ideological and moral frameworks.<\/p>\n A secular political scientist, for example, might describe present challenges as the \u201cerosion of the social contract,\u201d while a religious security analyst might frame the same developments as a \u201closs of national direction.\u201d<\/p>\n Both positions, the study says, are internally coherent \u00a0\u2013 but they rely on different assumptions about authority, legitimacy, identity, and truth.<\/p>\n This fragmentation goes beyond normal partisan disagreement, researchers argue. It reflects a deeper weakening of shared civic language and common national purpose.<\/p>\n Areas of consensus remain<\/p>\n Despite the divisions, the survey identified several points of broad agreement across ideological lines.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/641342.jpeg\"\/)
(credit: dor-moriah)<\/p>\n