State of the State of Tel Aviv, and Beyond

What a Month!

This is the first Saturday in Israel since the Inauguration of President Trump that has not been dominated by a hostage release. Waiting. Watching. Knowing each week that Hamas would engage in heightened sadism and cruelty. Each week, we saw and learned more about Hamas’ cruelty. And each week brought with it fresh, unimaginable horror.

And as much as we need a respite, I fear that it is not coming soon. The hostage negotiations seem to have broken down. Talk of war resuming soon is intensifying. If the hostages are not released imminently, they will likely perish in captivity. Earlier this evening, Sharon Sharabi, whose 53-year-old brother Eli was released on February 8, spoke on the evening news talk show. He said that the physicians treating his brother in hospital say that his survival is a medical miracle. Had he remained in captivity, he would have died within two to three weeks. Starvation. Physical abuse. Wounds from having been shackled tightly since his capture. No sunlight. Atrocious hygiene. Every moment of their existence is an eternity of suffering.

And also on the news tonight was former IDF Chief of Staff, Gadi Eisenkot, who served in the War Cabinet until he stepped down on June 9, 2024. Asked by the host if the extent of the horrific conditions in which the hostages were kept was known before his resignation, Eisenkot said yes. The host, somewhat shocked, asked again. “We knew,” Eisenkot affirmed. He repeated. “We knew.”

That the Israeli military government “knew” but the hostages still languished in captivity is difficult to understand. I suspect that it is one of many reasons that Eisenkot resigned from the War Cabinet. He could not abide by the decisions made and positions taken. And tonight, again, he was clear and uncompromising in saying that we must get every last hostage out. Now.

I had a long discussion about the hostages and so many issues today as well, with State of Tel Aviv regular, the ever-inspiring Jonathan Conricus. The podcast will come out tomorrow. You’ll receive an email here and, if you subscribe to our YouTube channel, a notice from that platform as well.

Below is an excerpt from my latest column in the National Post, published earlier today. To read the full piece, please click on the link below, which will take you to the NP site.

Vivian Bercovici: Israel faces a reckoning of biblical proportions

Having dealt with many of the pressing external threats, Israelis are now looking inward at their own government's massive failures

Israel is consumed by an epic struggle, a reckoning that has been simmering beneath the surface as Israeli hostages have been released from Hamas captivity in recent weeks.

Following the October 7 massacre, Israel girded to defend itself from a massive existential threat: an arc of terror controlled in Tehran that spread through Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and into the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Today, after almost 17 months of unrelenting military, diplomatic, legal, and domestic battles, the national capacity for lies and distractions has been exhausted. The trauma never diminishes; it only builds. And the sights and stories of the hostages returning after 490-plus days in Hamas hell have triggered an explosion of rage.

State of Tel Aviv... and Beyond...

For as long as I can remember, I have followed German politics and society closely. I used to even speak the language decently, but after a few decades of disuse, I’ve lost the touch.

Germany, as I see things, sets the tone for continental Europe. It is the largest country in terms of population and area (aside from Russia, which, of course, spans Europe and Asia). Historically, Germany has been the economic powerhouse of the continent, which brings with it significant political and cultural influence.

There have been some rather concerning trends in Germany since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. German leadership interpreted the reunification of East and West as heralding a permanent state of pacifism on the continent. Common wisdom also believed that Russia would continue to become increasingly democratic. For these and other reasons, Germany embarked on a very deliberate reduction of its military capability, on the assumption that an army was no longer needed. It also established a program with aggressive targets to end its reliance on nuclear and coal-powered energy. This policy decision rendered Germany almost entirely dependent on Russia for oil and gas supply. Remarkably, that was not seen as a risk. Russia, Germany believed, would integrate seamlessly with continental Europe.

Well. Things haven’t quite worked out that way.

In addition to the Russia factor, mass migration from African and Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East has become a hugely controversial issue in Germany. Watching this play out in the recent German federal electoral contest was fascinating.

Germans are terrified to express criticism of the Muslim extremism that has become disturbingly prevalent in recent years. If they are critical, they worry, does that mean they are fascists? The nation is haunted by its conduct in WWII.

But the issue cannot be avoided. Not forever. The Muslim population in Germany presents very pressing challenges. To say the least.

With Muslim extremism, of course, comes antisemitism. And Jew hatred is a topic that makes Germans very, very uncomfortable.

I traveled to Germany in February, and spent a week interviewing and observing. The relationship between Germany and Israel, as well, is deeply important to both countries and plays an outsized role in the current environment. I was very focused on how political issues and positions in Germany are impacting the local Jewish population as well as relations with Israel.

It’s fascinating.

State of Tel Aviv and Beyond is set to bring you more into the “Beyond.”

In the coming week, we will begin to share video and other material from the visit to Germany. Much of the time I collaborated with my good friend and YouTube sensation, the “Apostate Prophet.” I call him Ridvan. That’s his real name. Ridvan Aydemir. He is in his mid-30s, brilliant and fearless. Born in Germany into a devout Sunni Muslim family, when he was 16, his parents moved back to Turkey. It was fine to live among infidels for a period of time, but they were keen to return to their country of origin and Sunni Muslim roots. Ridvan rebelled and eventually left the faith. He now resides in the United States. He has grown over the last seven years or so into one of the most informed and unfiltered independent voices focusing on extremism and Germany.

Ridvan and I plan to return and continue what we’ve started. We were discussing this trip well before Elon Musk made waves in January by publicly endorsing the Alternative fur Deutschland party, referred to as AfD. His stamp of approval drew attention to the AfD—within Germany and also internationally—but did not have the impact he and the party likely hoped it would. From mid-January through to election day on February 23, AfD held firm in the low 20% numbers in the polls. Germans returned a much more conservative—lower “c” center-right government.

Within Germany and elsewhere the AfD is reviled by many as an extremist party with neo-Nazi roots and members. Is that a fair description? As with all things political, it is simplistic. Germany’s relationship with its dark past is complicated. History haunts this country as it tries to address the challenges of an unwieldy migrant population.

Among the many interesting people with whom I met and continue to speak to are Jewish activists in the AfD. About 80% of the 100,000 Jews living in Germany are immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Most are conservative, but safely so. They support traditional parties. More than a few, however, are very active in the AfD. They acknowledge that the AfD was heavily influenced at its inception in 2013 by extreme right-wing neo-Nazi types but insist that things have changed and that the Party has evolved into a serious, right-wing political organization.

German political players and media have shunned the AfD by implementing a “firewall” to prevent any interactions that may legitimize the party. That prohibition is beginning to show signs of strain.

These are critically important days for Germany. Europe. The world. (And no. I am not touching the Trump-Zelensky meeting. I’ll wait until there is a direct connection to Israel. In the meantime, my head hurts from all that is going on here.)

Wishing you a restorative weekend.