In this interview for EISMENA, Lyna speaks with journalist and former diplomat Rina Bassist about the transformation of Israeli civil society since October 7. The conversation explores how war has accelerated pre-existing fractures: democratic backsliding, the weakening of institutions, the judicial overhaul, the growing power of the far right, and the deepening crisis of trust between citizens and the state. The interview also addresses the social consequences of permanent conflict: the centrality of security in public life, the marginalization of humanitarian concerns, anti-Arab rhetoric, tensions around military service, and the growing sense of exhaustion within Israeli society. It further examines emigration, dual citizenship, brain drain, and the role civil society has played in filling the gaps left by the state. Finally, the discussion looks at Israel’s regional posture — from Gaza and the West Bank to Iran, Somaliland, and Africa — and asks whether permanent militarization is reshaping democracy itself.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:21 Meet Rina Bassist
01:25 Israeli civil society since October 7
02:41 War as an accelerator of internal fractures
03:15 Judicial overhaul and democratic erosion
05:00 The rightward shift of Israeli politics
06:20 October 7 and the feeling of abandonment
07:33 Security, democracy, and reordered priorities
11:05 Humanitarian aid, Gaza, and political blind spots
14:00 Recognition of Palestine and Israeli reactions
16:00 Political deadlock and the exclusion of Arab parties
18:00 Netanyahu, emergency politics, and the far right
23:20 Settlement expansion and the West Bank
27:00 Anti-Arab rhetoric and social radicalization
29:00 Military service, ultra-Orthodox exemptions, and social division
37:00 Emigration, second passports, and brain drain
42:40 Civil society stepping in where the state failed
45:20 Israel’s regional strategy, Africa, and diplomatic isolation
52:00 Permanent militarization and the future of democracy
56:00 Closing remarks