The View From the Israeli Right

The View From the Israeli Right

The Israeli journalist Amit Segal discusses Benny Gantz’s departure from the war cabinet, Israel’s shift to the right and whether a new theory of security is emerging in Israeli politics.

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On Tuesday I got back from an eight-day trip to Israel and the West Bank. I happened to be there on the day that Benny Gantz resigned from the war cabinet and called for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to schedule new elections, breaking the unity government that Israel had had since shortly after Oct. 7.

In Israel now, the left is not viable. Nor is there a party or coalition of real size that I would even call center-left. There is a coalition that Netanyahu leads stretching from right to far right and a coalition that Gantz leads stretching from center to right. Pinning down the differences between Gantz and Netanyahu is a challenge.

So one thing I did in Israel was deepen my reporting on Israel’s right. And there, Amit Segal’s name kept coming up. Many consider him the most influential political analyst on the right and deeply rooted in the right. He has a book coming out in English called “The Story of Israeli Politics.”

Segal and I talked for an episode of my podcast. This is a transcript of our conversation, edited for length and clarity.

We’re talking on the day that Benny Gantz resigned from the war cabinet. How do you read the politics at the moment?