IAt the Tree Brasserie near Herzl Street in Rehovot, there was a lot on which almost everyone agreed. Some people protested that the ceasefire agreement reached by Iran and the US a few days ago was very bad for Israel. “President Trump betrayed us,” said Avi Perez, 55.
He also believed that Israel was in greater danger than ever before and that it must face it alone. “It’s strange. One day we were in the (bomb) shelter with our children… the next day, everything is considered normal. But nothing has been solved,” said Shaham Novik, 35, studying the menu.
Rehovot, 12 miles from Tel Aviv, has long been held up by surveyors as a symbol of “middle Israel,” if such a thing exists in such a diverse and divided country. Israeli and Pride flags were lining major streets, loud music was playing on one street corner, Orthodox Jews were gathering on another, and weekend traffic was congested around construction sites for a new bus system.
Some people had come to the brasserie for a break from the news, which on Friday morning was making headlines about renewed fighting in Lebanon, where Hezbollah, which has close ties to Iran, killed four Israeli soldiers, including a senior officer, in an attack on a tank, followed by Israeli military airstrikes that killed 18 and wounded 33.
Many Israelis believe that the deal made by the US with Iran is a betrayal. Commentators condemned the agreement as a capitulation and humiliation that was “worse than Israel’s fears”.
There is widespread concern not only about whether Iran will be able to rebuild more strongly than before the conflict, but also whether the accord imposed in Lebanon will limit Israel’s ability to fight Hezbollah, which is seen as a major threat to Israel’s north.
“The Israelis believe that the war in Lebanon is a just war,” said Udi Tene, a political strategic advisor and international campaigns manager in Israel. “Everyone living in Israel understands that Iran and Hezbollah are one and the same.”
There was anger in the northern city of Metulla, a few meters from Lebanon. Restaurateur Daniel Dorfman said, “Everyone was very happy with the war (against Iran) but the US deal is really not good for Israel… It’s a big mistake.”
Others spoke of Israel’s “abject failure” to achieve its war goals of regime change, destruction of Iran’s nuclear program, and elimination of its ballistic missiles.
Worse, after going to war “side by side” with the US, Israel has ended the conflict marginalized by Washington and dismissed as “a small power” by Donald Trump last week.
Instead of being invited to the White House to advise Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu has received abuse and criticism over civilian casualties caused by Israel’s continued attacks in Lebanon, where more than 3,900 people have been killed.
Nadav Eyal, a columnist for the daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, wrote: “The words ‘shock’ and ‘sadness’ fail to describe the feeling in some parts of power in Israel. Now a lot of salt is being poured into their wounds.”
Netanyahu, who is 76 and on trial for corruption, now faces the tough challenge of convincing voters that only he can keep Israelis safe.
Professor Tamar Herman, an expert on public opinion at the Israel Democracy Institute, said: “Netanyahu has shown a kind of arrogance in defining his goals so clearly. When you fail to achieve them, you are seen as incapable of keeping your promises.”
Rehovot, where there are very few Palestinian citizens of Israel, is also a good city for Jewish voters, who represent three-quarters of the electorate in Israel. National elections are now expected to be held in October. “The upcoming elections will be a major turning point,” a senior opposition party official said last week. “It’s hard to say how important this will be for the country.”
Confidence in Netanyahu was deeply shaken, even among supporters, by the failures in the October 2023 attack by Hamas, in which 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and about 250 abducted. Israel’s relentless and bloody war in Gaza, which has killed more than 73,000 people, mostly civilians, has brought international isolation. Israel now controls 70% of Gaza but Hamas still rules most of the 2.3 million population. Continued attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon have proven inconclusive.
Despite the opposition, there are some who remain loyal to Netanyahu. When undecided voters were asked last week who would best stand up to Iran, 43% said the Netanyahu-led coalition.
At the Brasserie, Peres, an engineer, said: “Netanyahu is human, so he makes some mistakes, but he knows how to fix things. He knows what Israel needs. He speaks for his country. Trump speaks for his businesses.”
Such sentiments mean that the upcoming elections are likely to be a close contest. Analysts say Netanyahu, a veteran of such conflicts, may still have an upper hand over all rivals. Harman said: “I think he’s in trouble but I’m not sure what he might have up his sleeve. He’s a political Houdini.”
Lee Novick, 34, a doctor in Rehovot, said Israelis are more divided than ever on many issues. He said, “Netanyahu is trying to divide us and it has worked. This has been going on for years. And meanwhile, no one cares about basic things – house prices, for example, or inflation.”
“When Iran says it wants to destroy Israel I believe it. Why wouldn’t I? But this government is taking advantage of the war through divisive laws and just to stay in power.”
Officials from opposition political parties also said that Jewish Israelis are more divided than ever. “Israelis are talking over each other. There is no consensus,” one said.
However, Harman disagrees and points out that there have been other moments of extreme polarization in recent decades, such as in the 1990s. Instead, he said, most Jewish voters share more than divides them: a belief in an economically liberal model but a strong welfare state funded by progressive taxation, a hard line on security, Israel’s survival as a Jewish state and the belief that any two-state solution to the conflict with the Palestinians is unrealistic.
Immediately, most support the war in Lebanon and fiercely oppose Israel’s laws exempting Orthodox communities from conscription.
“All this talk of polarization is probably a self-fulfilling prophecy to some extent,” Harman said.
In Rehovot, 55-year-old Dahlia Perez said the events of the past week had taught her that “peace will never come”.
She said, “I was hoping for wars to end but I guess we will always have to live by our swords.” “Now we understand that we have no friends and we cannot trust anyone.”
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