Episode 55: The real war is not in Gaza, with Dr. Einat Wilf

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Oct 29, 2025

Dr. Einat Wilf, a former Knesset member and political scientist, discusses the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She argues that the true battle lies within the ideology of Palestinianism, which often undermines Palestinian interests. Wilf critiques the failures of Israel's diplomatic efforts and explores the challenges of deradicalizing Gaza, emphasizing the need for significant political changes. The conversation also touches on the impact of global propaganda and the significance of the Abraham Accords in shifting regional dynamics.

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INSIGHT

War Is Primarily Ideological

The real war is ideological, not just military: Palestinianism seeks the eradication of Jewish sovereignty rather than mere self-determination.
Israel incorrectly fought mostly in Gaza while ignoring the global propaganda and ideological battle that sustains the conflict.

INSIGHT

Refugeehood As Core Identity

Palestinian identity was formed around perpetual refugeehood and negation of Jewish sovereignty rather than a constructive state-building project.
Repeated Palestinian rejections of statehood show the movement prioritizes Israel's elimination over Palestinian self-determination.

ANECDOTE

No Parallel In History

Einat Wilf recounts researching movements and finding no parallel where a liberation movement repeatedly rejects statehood without internal dissent.
She uses this to illustrate Palestinians uniquely reject concrete statehood opportunities time and again.

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Trump's peace plan explicitly calls for deradicalization of the Gazan population. Countries like Saudi Arabia and Indonesia are hoping to take part in Gaza's rebuilding in part so they can help push back against the radical Islamism of Hamas, which those countries see as a larger threat to themselves as well.

Can Palestinian society be deradicalized? What might that even mean? Is the problem a religious one? A political one? Can Israel play a part, and how would that look?

We turned to Dr. Einat Wilf, a leading thinker and writer on Israel, on the conflict, on the history of the two peoples, and on Israel's foreign and education policies. Wilf has long argued that Palestinian society is in thrall to a particular ideological narrative that goes beyond Palestinian self-determination and fixates on the demand for a complete eradication of Israel - and that Palestinian ideologues and elites have been advancing that desire for generations, nearly always at the expense of Palestinian interests and wellbeing. She also believes they will continue to do so until this impulse is understood, named and tackled head-on.

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Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.