Einat Wilf
@EinatWilf · Public intellectuals, authors & commentators
Einat Wilf is a former Labor MK and co-author of The War of Return, the definitive critique of the Palestinian refugee-return claim.
They said, we will apply the law; there will be sanctions. They did not apply the law. There are sanctions: the sanctions of the British, French, and Canadians, as in the case of their recognition of Schrödinger's State of Palestine, are another expression (beyond all the domestic political considerations vis-à-vis the Green Party) of the fact that, as the State of Israel, we do not say what we want in Judea and Samaria (nor, of course, in Gaza). For decades, we have maintained sovereign ambiguity there and have not first told ourselves, our citizens there, and the world what we want. Is it ours? Is it not ours? Temporary? Where are we headed? Clarity—nowhere to be found. And this government in particular has specialized in a lethal combination of Abu Ali talk that is not backed by action. They build farms but do not apply Israeli law even to a lame goat. And the excuse: there will be sanctions. So now there are both sanctions and no Israeli law. So what then? A new government will arise. It will establish a committee—right- and left-wing people, military experts, geologists and geographers, and anyone who can contribute—with one task: bring a map. The Knesset, as the body representing the sovereign, will apply Israeli civil law to parts of Judea and Samaria, and under Israeli civil law everyone will be equal citizens. Where Israeli civil law will not apply, an active military occupation will exist for the purpose of changing consciousness and ideology (the Americans in Japan/the Allies in Nazi Germany—no UNRWA, no refugees, no return). Serious political and diplomatic work, with thorough preparation, will be carried out for this process. In short, initiative and clarity on a central issue that right now appears to be one everyone is running away from. The full interview here
Translated from HebrewYou asked about my connection with the Reservists and Economic Party, so it is very simple - ahead of submitting the lists, this remained the only political framework that stands above the blocs, deals with what rather than who, has a chance at real political power, and allows us to advance, in the fields of statecraft, security, and the economy, policies that dismantle structures and conceptions that really do not serve us.
Translated from HebrewI wrote this after the Oxford Union Debate "Israel Never Truly Wanted Peace with Palestine". I now attach the full debate here for your own assessment (my own section is in a previous tweet): https://t.co/WJkBMNHHgU 1) It is easy to dismiss universities or student debating societies, but the war of ideas is being fought in many places and arenas, and this is one of the most important ones. Universities serve to launder lies and blood libels against Israel, lending them respectability and legitimacy. 2) There is enormous importance in showing up to these places prepared. And yes, facts matter. The final vote was 208 to 129 against us, which, given the environment and the audience, was a very impressive result. Several of those who voted with us came up to us afterwards to say how much they appreciated that we had taken the debate seriously, brought facts, and did not resort to shouting. People can be persuaded. Those who give up in advance fail to understand how dangerous it is to leave the arena empty. 3) I also learnt something (again..) about the Jewish condition. It was very clear that on the other side there had been almost no effort to make serious arguments, and little preparation or coordination. From their perspective, there is no reason to bother: they have grown accustomed to simply saying "apartheid" and "genocide" and knowing that applause will follow. But therein lies an opportunity. Laziness and complacency born of having things too easy are always vulnerabilities. We knew we were in a difficult position, so we prepared, coordinated, and made sure to be extremely precise. There is no question that difficulty sharpens the mind. 4) And now something about politics. One of the reasons that I am running at the head of a new political party is that today there is not a single party leader who truly understands the scale of the global war of ideas being waged against Israel and Zionism, and who is prepared to invest the effort required to fight it systematically. That does not mean giving a speech here or there. It means actually building an operation that does not depend on one person, or on one person's command of English: bringing together the best Israelis, and there are many of them, working in multiple languages, who know how to make the case, know the facts, are constantly present in the arena and never leave it uncontested; people who understand how the campaign against Israel and Zionism, and the assault on Jews around the world, actually operates, and who work continuously to confront it.
“So do not dare propose that ‘Israel Never Truly Wanted Peace with Palestine’. If anything, we wanted it too much. So now, it is your turn to answer the question: When did you ever truly want peace with the one Jewish state?” (my 10 min speech with English captions from the Oxford Union Debate):
I wrote these words the day after the Oxford debate, “Israel has never wanted peace with Palestine.” I am attaching here the full debate for your consideration (my part of the debate with Hebrew subtitles is in a previous tweet) 1) It is easy to dismiss universities or student debate organizations, but the battle for minds is being waged in all kinds of places and arenas, and this is one of the most important of them. Universities serve as “launderers” of lies and blood libels against Israel and give them respectability. 2) It is enormously important to arrive at these places prepared and yes - facts matter - the result was 208 to 129 in our favor, which, given the setting and the audience, is a very impressive achievement. Some of those who voted for us came over at the end to tell us that they greatly appreciated our taking the discussion seriously and bringing facts rather than shouting. People can be persuaded. All those who give up in advance do not understand that leaving the arena empty is extremely dangerous. 3) Something about the Jewish situation - It was very clear that the other side made no effort whatsoever to present serious arguments, there was no preparation or coordination - and from their perspective there is no reason to, because they are already accustomed to applause being guaranteed as soon as they say “apartheid” and “genocide.” On the other hand, this presents an opportunity - laziness and contempt arising from things being too easy are always vulnerabilities. We, who knew our position was difficult, prepared, coordinated, and made sure to be very precise - there is no doubt that difficulty sharpens thought. 4) And now something about politics - one of the reasons I am running for party leadership is that today there is no party leader who truly understands the scale of the challenge posed by the battle for minds being waged against Israel and Zionism around the world and is willing to invest the effort to fight it systematically - that is, not just give a speech here or there - but actually build an apparatus (not dependent on one person or one person’s English) of the best Israelis (and there are many) in a variety of languages, who know how to engage, know the facts, are constantly present in the arena and never leave it empty for a moment, understand how the war against Israel and Zionism and the assault on Jews around the world operates, and make sure to act all the time.
Translated from Hebrew“Then don’t you dare say that ‘Israel never wanted peace with Palestine.’ If anything, we wanted peace too much. The question that really needs to be asked is: When did the Palestinian Arabs ever want peace with the only Jewish state?” From my speech in the Oxford debate (10 minutes with Hebrew subtitles)
Translated from HebrewIf the Qataris are proud that their content in Gaza has significant influence High Impact, something tells me there's nothing to be happy about, but maybe that's just me…
Translated from HebrewI will say again: all the discussions about what Israel would have done in the hours before the invasion and the massacre—the “wake me up, I would have done it, generals”—are based on looking at the Israeli navel as if there were no enemy on the other side watching and learning. If Israel had prepared for the invasion, Hamas would not have carried it out that same day, and then the assumption would have grown stronger that it was once again a Hamas Abu Ali exercise, and therefore that they should be given more money, and the invasion would have taken place on another Israeli holiday. This is a crooked security concept that exists from the prime minister down through the defense establishment (still!) which deals only with whether the enemy is shooting at me right now or not, and refuses to confront the fundamental questions of the ideology that fuels the enemy's arming, and therefore it is now returning (!) to opening crossings, renovating and expanding, bringing in trucks, trade, sanitation rehabilitation, and everything that simply proceeds as if we had learned nothing. Maybe there is more military offensiveness, but confronting the ideology and what feeds it, cognitive offensiveness—nothing.
Translated from Hebrew"As Heine helps us recognize, this pattern is not new. What unites these otherwise opposed camps is the transformation of politics into an eschatological project in which the Jew—or the Jewish state—appears as the primary obstacle to be removed to enable emancipation or absolution." A great and troubling essay on Heine and his prophetic and prescient analysis already in the 19th century of the collective psychosis that was brewing in Europe. The danger of a world that falls into the ancient pattern that the collective existence of the Jew (which then has to be eliminated one by one) stands between the world and whatever utopia it imagines, is present once more: https://t.co/S9Bh5mUVMX
Since the return in October, Daniel Dushi and I have been having an ongoing conversation about everything happening here on his excellent podcast. Dushi is a wonderful interviewer, and I am always happy to return to a conversation with him. So here, for your reading and listening, is our latest conversation—the fourth one (!)
Translated from HebrewAl Jazeera just ran a documentary about UNRWA where I am quoted extensively (compilation here thanks to Mo Ghaoui). So now the question is: 1) Is Al Jazeera really allowing for a serious examination of the disaster that is the ideology of Palestinianism - or 2) They think that combining the worst of Arab and Islamic attitudes towards Jews with western antisemitic and antizionist themes is a good thing?
They are normalizing the idea of Zionist Arabs. Important.
Translated from HebrewThe Israeli specialty for years: Abu Ali talk in public (“Not a single grain will enter,” “occupation, expulsion, settlement,” leveling/destruction) and in practice retreat after retreat after retreat. Once, we knew how to do the opposite.
Translated from HebrewThe only people who were starved in Gaza were the Israeli hostages. The only people who committed genocide were the Hamas-ruled Gazans. Everything else is a highly successful erasure and inversion campaign (the latest installment in a century long erasure and inversion campaign)
"In Hebrew, ShivAH b’October is a play on words. Clearly “October is October,” so the issue is “ShivAH.” Written as in the graphic above, it does mean “return.” However, spelled differently — but with only a tiny change in pronunciation (“Shiv’AH) — it means “seven” and “Shiv’AH b’October” is how Israelis refer to “October Seventh,” the day of the Hamas massacre. In other words, while brilliant, this “play” is anything but funny. With chilling conciseness, the authors point to the core issues of the conflict — which they’ve been screaming for years — the ignoring of which has made peace not only elusive, but illusory." An excellent piece on our book "October Return". If you read The War of Return and wish to receive the update, write to me at einat@wilf.org and I will email it to you. https://t.co/cdBJZkPVkj
Everything is correct. Yulia's work is an important example of how proper Knesset work can force the government to do the right thing even when the government does not really want to.
Translated from HebrewWorse. It’s much more than just another war crime. It all is. The entire way that this war on Israel is fought is by erasing the most fundamental line that upholds the whole idea of laws of war - that there is a distinction that should be visible between combatant and civilian.
״The Soviets did not invent hatred of Jews. But they industrialized it, made it respectable, mainstreamed it, and exported it. They created the version of antisemitism that still shapes UN resolutions, NGO language, protest slogans, and much of the modern “anti-Zionist” vocabulary. “Anti-Zionism” was, and is, the same old hatred under a new name.״
What happened yesterday that everyone is talking about, but that isn’t very important? The Likud primaries (and no, I am really not indifferent to the joy uniting many people in the nation over the Silman matter). What happened yesterday that almost no one is talking about, but that is very, very important? Another capitulation in Gaza. We are already not even waiting for Hamas to be disarmed, which is itself not a serious goal. Following Kushner’s visit yesterday, it was agreed to establish two tracks. So now they are being put on parallel tracks. On one track they will talk about disarmament, while on the parallel track they will already begin dealing with “sanitation”—that is, pipes, cement, and works. Reconstruction, just without calling it reconstruction (and, as you may recall, the pipes and cement on all previous occasions were not exactly used for “sanitation”). And so, quietly, we are once again giving up the opportunity to reshape Gaza. Not only to dismantle weapons, but to dismantle the ideology of its people. Day after day we are missing this opportunity. And it can no longer be said that this is by mistake.
Translated from HebrewThis morning I spent a good twenty minutes on @FoxNews discussing the situation in Iran, Gaza and Lebanon:
A successful day today in the field with the wonderful volunteers of the Oz Party @ozparty2026. Shabbat shalom!
Translated from Hebrew
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