Prepared by and sent from Jewish Federations of North America’s Israel Office 

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  • Israel marks three years since October 7, 2023
  • Less than three weeks until Israel’s elections, blocs remain deadlocked
  • Foreign airlines slowly returning to Israel

Three Years Since October 7

  • Israel marked the third anniversary of the October 7 massacre on both the Hebrew and Gregorian calendars. The attack fell on Simchat Torah (22 Tishrei), which this year was Saturday. Since that is a festival day, the official Swords of Iron Memorial Day is held on 24 Tishrei, which fell on Monday. Wednesday, October 7, saw hundreds of ceremonies organized by bereaved families, survivors, and civil society groups across the country.
  • At the state memorial ceremonies on Mount Herzl on Monday, Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “In Gaza there will not be any Hamas rule,” and that everyone involved in the attack and in holding hostages “is living on borrowed time.” President Herzog called for an investigation “without bias” into how the attack happened, saying “No passage of time absolves us of this duty.” A bereaved father interrupted Netanyahu’s speech, shouting that he “didn’t protect my son on October 7.” Opposition Leader Yair Lapid did not attend, saying he would not share a stage with government members who had refused to take responsibility.
  • At a separate ceremony at Zikim Base, which Hamas overran on October 7, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said the IDF “failed in its mission to protect the citizens of Israel,” and that the military’s achievements since “do not erase the failure of October 7.” Defense Minister Israel Katz said that according to updated intelligence, 6,000 terrorists crossed into Israel on October 7, of whom about 4,000 have since been killed. He said he and Netanyahu have ordered the security services to kill all remaining participants in the attack, regardless of rank.
  • On Wednesday, President Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog lit a memorial candle at 6:29 a.m., the minute the attack began. At the same hour, Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where most residents are still displaced, held a vigil with a roll call of its dead. Ceremonies were held at Nahal Oz for the 16 female surveillance soldiers killed there, and at the Sderot police station, where 20 officers were killed. At noon, Israelis observed a nationwide minute of silence at hundreds of locations. Herzog also spoke at the Nova festival site in Re’im, where 378 people were killed and 44 taken hostage.
  • About 50,000 people attended a national memorial ceremony organized by the families of victims in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park on Wednesday night. It was hosted by former hostage Eli Sharabi, whose wife and two daughters were murdered at Kibbutz Be’eri and whose brother was killed in captivity. “We lost our sense of certainty,” Sharabi said. Omer Shifroni, co-founder of the Kumu movement, drew loud applause when he called for a state commission of inquiry, saying, “To rebuild trust, we also need the truth.” Opposition party leaders Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid, Yair Golan, and Benny Gantz attended. Netanyahu and government ministers did not.
  • Anti-government protests also marked the day. Demonstrators briefly blocked Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway at 6:29 a.m., gathered at junctions and outside ministers’ homes, and dyed the fountain in Dizengoff Square red. “We won’t forget; we will demand the truth because that is our legacy,” said Einav Zangauker, mother of former hostage Matan Zangauker.
  • On Simchat Torah last Saturday night, Nova festival survivors danced with Torah scrolls at a second Simchat Torah hakafot celebration in Jerusalem.
  • Israel‘s Diaspora Affairs Ministry identified 262 anti-Israel protests and events in 37 countries planned for October 1–14, around the anniversary of October 7. About 121 are scheduled for this coming weekend, October 10–11, mostly in the US, Spain, Australia, the UK, and Italy.
  • Ahead of the anniversary, the Defense Ministry announced that 1,318 security personnel have been killed since the start of the war, most of them in Gaza, Lebanon, and the West Bank. The war has added more than 7,150 people to Israel‘s bereaved families, including 2,143 parents, 355 widows, 880 children, and 3,772 siblings.
  • See below: Three Years On: The Social Impact of the War

Israeli Elections

  • With less than three weeks to go until the October 27 election, the race remains deadlocked. The latest Channel 12 News poll, conducted by the Midgam Institute and published Monday, shows neither bloc close to a 61-seat majority. The results are in line with other polls published over the past week and show the parties predicted to win the following number of seats each:
    Anti-Netanyahu Bloc: 54 Seats
    Yashar (Eisenkot): 23
    B’Yachad (Bennett-Lapid): 13
    The Democrats (Yair Golan): 9
    Yisrael Beytenu (Liberman): 9

    Pro-Netanyahu Bloc: 49 Seats
    Likud (Netanyahu): 21
    United Torah Judaism (Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox): 8
    Shas (Sefardi ultra-Orthodox): 7
    Otzma Yehudit (Ben Gvir): 7
    Religious Zionism-Zehut (Smotrich): 6

    Center Bloc (Leaning Anti-Netanyahu): 4 Seats
    Reservists-Economic Party (Yoaz Hendel): 4

    Arab Parties Bloc: 13 Seats
    Joint List: 8 Ra’am (Abbas): 5

    TOTAL: 120 SEATS

    In this poll, Ofer Winter’s Amcha Yisrael, which won 4 seats in Channel 12’s mid-September poll, fell below the electoral threshold with 1.5%. Both Amcha Yisrael, as well as the Reservists Party above, continue to poll near the threshold. Whether or not either, or both, clear the threshold, could significantly impact the results.

    Other parties not listed, including Benny Gantz’s Blue and White, do not cross the threshold in most polling results.

  • Last Friday, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the Central Elections Committee’s ban on the Arab parties Ra’am and the Joint List, ruling that the evidence did not meet the threshold for disqualification. In a 7-2 decision, the justices also reinstated Joint List MK Ofer Cassif, although they said they “strongly condemn the outrageous statements and actions by Cassif that evoke revulsion.” Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh withdrew his candidacy after the court signaled that a majority was inclined to bar him over an article he wrote on October 8, 2023, that seemed to support the October 7 attacks. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called the court’s approach “too merciful.”
  • On Sunday, the High Court rejected The Democrats’ petition to bar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party from the election. The court ruled on procedural grounds, finding that election law gave the petitioners no right to appeal the committee’s approval of the party, and did not address the merits. It also rejected a bid to disqualify Ben Gvir and Likud MK Tally Gotliv personally, since the request lacked the signatures of one-third of committee members.
  • Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot challenged Netanyahu to a televised debate, proposing that it be moderated by journalists chosen by the TV networks and broadcast on all Israeli news outlets. “What are you afraid of?” Eisenkot asked. Likud responded by warning against a government formed with Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas, Joint List MK Ahmad Tibi, Yair Golan, and Avigdor Liberman, adding: “We won’t let that happen.” Netanyahu has avoided debates in past elections.
  • Channel 12 aired a video of Rabbi Dov Lando, 96, spiritual leader of United Torah Judaism’s Degel HaTorah faction, saying that Zionism “made Arabs hate us,” that Religious Zionist soldiers “kill people for honor,” and that the Jewish people “created a state of destruction and heresy.” The network said the video was recorded about a year and a half ago. Eisenkot said he “forcefully condemn[s] Rabbi Lando’s slanderous words” and called on every Zionist party to rule out a coalition with UTJ. Opposition Leader Yair Lapid called the remarks “a disgrace to every Jew,” and Naftali Bennett called them “antisemitic, anti-Zionist, against the IDF.”
  • At Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu warned that Hamas will try to attack Israel to influence the election, saying “We are prepared for this.” Defense Minister Israel Katz cited “intelligence indicating that Hamas intends to try to carry out assaults and attacks” against troops in Gaza on the October 7 anniversary.
  • Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg ordered Netanyahu to remove from his personal social media accounts a video filmed at Tel Nof air base, in which he warned that enemies may attack before the vote, ruling that it contained “elements of electioneering.” On Sunday, Sohlberg found that five other Netanyahu videos, including one filmed at an IDF base in southern Lebanon, violated electioneering laws, and ordered him to personally pay around $9,500 in expenses.
  • Likud dropped its petition against Fly&Vote, an initiative of the US-based AID Coalition that helps Israelis abroad fly home to vote, in a compromise brokered by Justice Sohlberg. Under the deal, the group will not subsidize tickets or organize flights beyond those already advertised. The group says about 53,000 Israelis living abroad are preparing to fly in for the election. Israel does not allow absentee voting, except for diplomats and emissaries posted abroad.
  • This Sunday, hear directly from representatives of nine political parties as they face the issues and each other in an Online English Israel Election Debate, organized by Yad L’Olim. Participating parties: Likud, Yashar, B’Yachad, Religious Zionist, Yisrael Beiteinu, The Democrats, Otzma Yehudit, Amcha Yisrael, and The Reservists and Economic Party. Register here.

Conflicts

  • The IDF carried out an airstrike on an apartment in Gaza City overnight Friday targeting Ali al-Amoudi, deputy head of Hamas’s political bureau in Gaza, whom the IDF called “the most senior Hamas figure in the Gaza Strip.” Al-Amoudi served as Yahya Sinwar’s right-hand man and was involved in decisions surrounding the October 7 attack. The IDF said the results of the strike are under review, and Hamas sources have cast doubt on whether he was killed. The IDF also said strikes in Gaza City killed two Islamic Jihad commanders, Ahmed Ramlawi and Munir Masri, who were acting “in systematic violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
  • US officials said that the Pentagon has ordered the military to be ready to resume operations against Iran, targeting nuclear, infrastructure, and energy sites. President Trump has not made a final decision, but officials said strikes could come before Israel‘s election at the end of the month, and that the IDF would likely take part. “Iran has been decimated, and things will go one of two ways: the easy way or the hard way,” a White House official said. Vice President JD Vance said Iran must make a “meaningful” cut to its enrichment capacity to end the war, asking, “If you don’t want a nuclear weapon, then why do you need 60% enriched fuel?”
  • The US withdrew all 12 of its B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford in Britain after intelligence warned that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were planning a drone attack on the aircraft and US personnel, including pilots. “We had an idea that there might be a threat, and why would I leave them there?” Trump said. The State Department also expelled two more members of Iran’s UN delegation who had ignored an order to leave the US.
  • Israel‘s Shin Bet and police arrested Mohammad Halaf, 25, of Baqa al-Gharbiya, on suspicion of spying for Iran for small sums of money. Israel has arrested dozens of such suspects over the past two years.
  • In Yemen, Saudi-backed government forces launched a major offensive against the Houthis on Sunday, with the Saudi-led coalition committing 100 fighter jets. Government forces said they had taken control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, which the Houthis had recently seized. The Houthis fired missiles and drones at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, Aramco facilities, and other targets in Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia confirmed damage at two southern airports.

Foreign Airlines

  • While Israeli airlines such as El Al, Arkia, and Israir have continued to fly to Israel (except when the country’s airspace has been closed), most foreign carriers suspended flights on October 7. Among those that have returned, regular flights have often been repeatedly cancelled as the conflict with Iran, and other security concerns, have flared. In recent months, many airlines have returned.
  • Delta and United resumed service in September; Delta to New York’s JFK and United to Newark. European carriers now flying to Tel Aviv include Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, ITA, Air France, Wizz Air, and Aegean.
  • British Airways will resume daily London–Tel Aviv flights on October 25, its first service to Israel since March. Air Canada moved up its return to November 30, with four weekly Toronto flights, and Air India plans to return in December.
  • American Airlines has canceled all Israel flights until at least March 2027 and has not flown to Tel Aviv since October 2023. Ryanair and easyJet have not announced return dates.
  • Following last week’s hijacking attempt, flydubai’s 10 daily flights to Israel have been suspended until the incident is clarified. El Al plans to launch at least two daily Tel Aviv–Dubai flights in November and Israir up to 10 a week, subject to security approval.

Other Developments

  • Israel and Britain reached a last-minute compromise ending the standoff over Britain’s consulate in East Jerusalem, which Israel had ordered closed by today in response to British sanctions on West Bank settlements. Under the deal, about 20 British diplomats are leaving Israel, and a team of no more than seven will remain with a limited scope of activity. Britain will rename the building the “UK Mission, Jerusalem.” Britain had reportedly threatened to expel 27 Israeli diplomats from London if the consulate was shut. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said, “Israel will not allow actions to be taken against it without Israel taking appropriate countermeasures.”
  • Fallout from last week’s flydubai hijacking attempt continued. The Transportation Ministry confirmed it does not run background checks on foreign pilots flying into Israel, relying instead on airlines and their home countries. “We are not an intelligence body,” said Transportation Minister Miri Regev, who said responsibility lies with the security services. Netanyahu ordered National Security Council head Shmuel Ben-Ezra to appoint an official to review all security aspects of foreign civil aviation to Israel. The security cabinet decided flydubai will not resume flights to Israel until the incident is clarified, and Shin Bet agents are reportedly taking part in the attacker’s interrogation in the UAE.
  • Today at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, President Herzog presented the Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism, Israel‘s highest civilian award for valor, to six passengers from last week’s flydubai flight: Yaniv Hayoun, Zvika Manes, and Asaf Rajuan, who stormed the cockpit and subdued the attacker; Dr. Shota Musayev, who treated the wounded captain; Tali Manes, who raised the alarm; and Or Pardilov.
  • In Modiin this week, ultra-Orthodox rioters prevented Military Police from arresting a draft evader, clashing with police until the soldiers left without him. The IDF said enforcement “will continue equally and in accordance with the authorities granted to the IDF.” Naftali Bennett said that, as a condition for joining the next government, he would pass a law barring draft evaders from serving in the security cabinet.
  • Shin Bet chief David Zini told the security cabinet he would seek to restore administrative detention for Jewish extremists if other measures fail to stop violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Several attacks on Palestinian olive pickers and property were reported as the harvest season began. Border Police and the Civil Administration evacuated two illegal outposts, Netzah Shmuel and Ora Yisrael, arresting 12 suspects; three officers were injured.
  • Prosecutors indicted a Bar-Ilan University mathematics lecturer for allegedly plotting coordinated attacks on Arab population centers in Israel. According to the indictment, the man, about 60, from Petah Tikva, tried unsuccessfully to recruit Zehut party leader Moshe Feiglin, then attempted to blackmail him. Feiglin’s party handed his threatening letters to police. Bar-Ilan suspended the lecturer, saying it “condemns and is shocked” by the allegations.
  • Prime Minister Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich cut the fuel excise tax by about 62 cents per gallon, after gas prices hit a record last week. The price of 95-octane gasoline dropped from around $10.25 to around $9.65 per gallon.
  • The first Iron Dome interceptor built entirely in the US was completed at a plant in Camden, Arkansas, run by a joint venture of Israel‘s Rafael and America’s Raytheon. Israel‘s Defense Ministry said Iron Dome has made more than 10,000 interceptions in its 15 years of operation.

Three Years On: The Social Impact of War

  • A new report has been released by Jewish Federations’ partner, the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute, “Three Years After October 7: Israel Has Recovered, but Not Everyone Has.” The study finds that while Israeli society has shown considerable resilience, the emotional, family, and economic costs of the war have not disappeared, and in some cases are deepening existing gaps.
  • The Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute’s new report finds Israel has largely recovered three years after October 7, but the emotional, family, and economic costs are deepening existing gaps.
  • Protected spaces: One in eight Israelis lacks a home protected space, and about one-third of people with disabilities ages 18–80 have no access to one.
  • Parents and children: Among parents, 23% report high post-traumatic stress, and 29% say their children need mental health care (43% for evacuated children).
  • Young adults (18–34): 70% are optimistic about the future, yet about six in ten had their employment interrupted and 52% say the war hurt their ability to meet financial obligations.
  • Older adults and labor market: 49% of Israelis 60 and older reported war-related harm, and while unemployment is a record-low 2.5%, frontline communities and reservists’ households still lag.
  • See here for the full report.