One year on from the devastating Oct. 7 attacks on Israel's border communities and the brutal ensuing war in Gaza, Al-Monitor is marking the anniversary with special coverage. It includes interviews with prominent Palestinian and Israeli figures along with reports from Gaza, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

JERUSALEM — One year after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, the rift within the Israeli Jewish society continues to expand, with Israeli society moving to the right and embracing its religious identity.

On the eve of Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli society was already perched on top of a powder keg. Protests against planned government legislation to weaken the country’s courts developed into countrywide demonstrations that divided society to the point where no issue could muster consensus.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's sixth government, a coalition of extreme right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties, encountered fierce opposition from the moment it was formed in late December 2022. Secular, liberal Israelis saw it as an immediate threat to the country’s democratic traditions, depriving them of the control they enjoyed for decades for their military service and contribution to the country’s economy. They set out to fight for what they viewed as an existential war against the forces who meant to turn Israel from a prosperous democracy into a country ruled by conservative authoritarianism.