The Rise of the Right Wing in Israel

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Documentary, History, Society & Culture

4.7 • 15K Ratings

🗓️ 16 October 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

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Summary

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a plan to end fighting in Gaza, just over two years after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023 and Israel’s subsequent bombardment and invasion of Gaza. As we wait to see what happens next, we’re revisiting our episodes looking at the history of major players on both sides of the conflict. Last week, we looked at the history of Hamas; if you missed that, go back and check it out. This week, we’re bringing you the story of the rise of right wing politics in Israel and President Benjamin Netanyahu’s political career. This episode first ran in 2024.

Guests:

Amjad Iraqi, senior analyst for Israel/Palestine at the International Crisis Group and former senior editor at +972 Magazine.

Natasha Roth-Rowland, historian and director of research and analysis at Diaspora Alliance, an international organization that combats antisemitism.

Sara Yael Hirschhorn, historian,visiting professor at the University of Haifa and fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation,
0:07.4	working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theshmit.org.
0:14.6	Israel and Hamas have agreed to a plan to end fighting in Gaza, just over two years after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on
0:22.9	October 7, 2023, and Israel's subsequent bombardment and invasion of Gaza. Since the agreement
0:30.2	was announced, Israel's military has pulled back its forces. Hamas has released all remaining
0:35.9	living hostages, and Israel has freed Palestinian prisoners.
0:40.5	As we wait to see what happens next, we are bringing you episodes looking at the history of
0:45.6	major players on both sides of the conflict. Last week, we ran our episode on the history of
0:51.4	Hamas. If you miss that, go back and check it out for sure.
0:55.8	This week, we're revisiting our episode on the rise of right-wing politics
1:00.5	and Benjamin Netanyahu's political career, which we first ran in 2024.
1:05.8	Thank you. On October 5, 1995, 10,000 of
1:13.6	thousands of Israelis crowded the streets of Jerusalem.
1:30.5	They began in Midtown and marched towards the doors of the Knesset, where Israel's parliament
1:36.7	meets.
1:37.5	It's not Mr. Rabin that we knew in the past, entirely different men.
1:48.6	The former defense minister, Ariel Sharon, was there,
1:50.3	along with the rest of the demonstrators,
1:53.7	to protest Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin,
1:56.8	who negotiated and signed the Oslo Accords,
1:58.8	a peace deal with Palestinians.
2:03.7	A peace deal, these demonstrators viewed as a national betrayal.
	...

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