In September 2025, Binyamin Netanyahu told Israelis their country was in “a sort of isolation” and would need to become a “super-Sparta”: its economy would have “autarkic characteristics” and its arms industry would be able to produce what it needs. This vision of Israel is a long way from the close ties to the West the country’s founders foresaw. Beth Oppenheim’s new web special for ECFR argues that illiberal and ethno-nationalist forces are remaking Israel in their image, in a shift that runs deeper than electoral politics—and that will outlast Netanyahu.
In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes Beth, policy fellow with ECFR’s Middle East and North Africa programme, along with Ariel David, PhD candidate at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Neri Zilber, a journalist and analyst who covers Israel for the Financial Times and hosts the “Israel Policy Forum” podcast. Together, they discuss competing ideas of Israel and what they mean for Europe. What are the big ideas defining national identity and politics in Israel? What is Israel’s vision for the Middle East? And how do Israel’s ascendant camps see Europe?
Bookshelf:
“The ideas of Israel” by Beth Oppenheim
“Mother Mary Comes to Me” by Arundhati Roy
The works of Michel Houellebecq
“6:29 Anatomy of a Failure” by Amos Harel
“The World of Yesterday” by Stefan Zweig
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