As Israel approaches another election cycle, political parties are once again preparing their campaigns, candidates are sharpening their attacks, and voters are being asked to choose between competing visions for the future of the Jewish state. Yet before we cast another ballot, before another politician promises to save Israel from his rivals, before another campaign convinces us that our fellow citizens are the problem, we should stop and ask a painful question: Did we learn anything from October 7?
The Hamas-led massacre of October 7, 2023, will be remembered as one of the darkest days in modern Jewish history. Hamas terrorists crossed our borders, murdered families, burned communities, kidnapped civilians, and shattered the sense of security that Israelis had built over generations.
The direct responsibility belongs to Hamas and those who supported its evil ideology. But if we are honest with ourselves, we must also ask what weaknesses within our own society allowed our enemies to believe such an attack was possible.
The late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks spent decades warning the Jewish people about a danger that did not come from Hamas, Iran, or any foreign power. He warned about a danger that emerges when Jews become consumed by internal division. His message was not political. It was historical.
Again and again, Sacks returned to a central lesson of Jewish history: the Jewish people are most vulnerable when they stop seeing one another as members of a shared covenant and begin seeing one another as enemies. He pointed to three defining tragedies.
The first appears in the story of Joseph and his brothers. The Torah tells us that they could not speak peacefully with one another. Jealousy turned into hatred, hatred turned into betrayal, and betrayal ultimately led the descendants of Jacob into Egyptian bondage. What began as a family conflict became a national tragedy.
The second occurred after the reign of King Solomon. Instead of preserving unity, the kingdom fractured into rival political entities. The northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah weakened themselves through division. Eventually, both fell to foreign powers.
The third and most devastating example came during the Second Temple era. Jewish society became deeply divided into competing factions. The rabbis later described the period as one characterized by sinat chinam, baseless hatred. While Rome stood outside the walls, Jews fought one another within them. The result was the destruction of Jerusalem and nearly 2,000 years of exile.
Sacks drew a striking conclusion. The Egyptians disappeared. The Assyrians disappeared. The Babylonians disappeared. The Roman Empire disappeared. Even the Third Reich disappeared. The enemies who sought to destroy the Jewish people vanished into history.
The Jewish people survived. Yet the moments that nearly destroyed us were often moments when we turned against one another. That lesson should concern every Israeli leader today.
Unity before politics
In the years leading up to October 7, Israel experienced one of the most polarized periods in its history. Political opponents increasingly viewed one another not as fellow citizens but as existential threats. Social media amplified anger. Television rewarded outrage. Protesters and counter-protesters filled the streets. Every camp became convinced that only it could save the country.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters blamed their opponents. His opponents blamed him. The Right blamed the Left. The Left blamed the Right. Religious Jews blamed secular Jews. Secular Jews blamed religious Jews. Everyone had an enemy. Too few were asking how to preserve a common future.
The point is not that one political party caused October 7. The lesson is that political competition must never become national fragmentation.
Every Israeli leader bears responsibility for protecting the bonds that hold our society together. Every political movement bears responsibility for lowering the temperature of public discourse. Every media outlet bears responsibility for remembering that ratings are not more important than national cohesion.
Every voter bears responsibility as well. As Israel approaches future elections, we should ask not only which party will strengthen our economy, improve security, or manage foreign policy. We should also ask which leaders understand the importance of Jewish unity.
The next election should not become a contest over which camp can most effectively demonize the other. It should become a test of who can strengthen the shared destiny of the Jewish people.
As an Ethiopian-Israeli Jew, I believe our community’s story carries a lesson of its own. For centuries, Ethiopian Jews dreamed of Jerusalem despite isolation, persecution, and hardship. Our fathers preserved their connection to the Jewish people even when separated by geography and history. They did not dream of defeating other Jews. They dreamed of reuniting with them. That spirit is desperately needed today.
Sacks dedicated his life to teaching that covenant is stronger than politics, and that Jewish survival depends not on uniformity but on mutual responsibility. He reminded us that we do not have to agree on everything in order to care about one another. Perhaps that was the warning we failed to hear before October 7.
The coming election offers an opportunity to listen. Israel’s future will not be secured only by stronger weapons, more intelligence officers, or better technology.
Those are necessary. But the long-term strength of the Jewish state depends on something deeper: our ability to remain one people despite our differences.
Under the leadership of Gadi Eisenkot, the Yashar Party presents itself as a movement centered on unity, shared responsibility, and national renewal. Its message emphasizes bringing Israelis together across political, religious, and social divides; strengthening national service, security, and aliyah; and building a stronger Israel where all citizens feel respected, included, and united by a common future.
The writer is a former New York City Supreme Court detective, an investigator and educator in conflict resolution and restorative peace, and a moral diplomacy expert. His upcoming book, Moral Diplomacy for a Broken World, is inspired by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.