While at war with Iran and a civilian population under missile attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “has been working relentlessly towards the goal of making the public sphere of Israel more religious, its governance more autocratic, and the chances of replacing its leader slimmer,” Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn said on the Haaretz Podcast. 

The push for the anti-democratic judicial coup and empowerment of ultra-Orthodox autonomy “hasn't changed despite October 7,” Benn said. He observed that it had slowed significantly on that date, but today, the massacre and ensuing war has given Netanyahu “even more motivation” to “escape any responsibility and accountability for October” as he looks ahead to the election scheduled for this fall. 

In Benn’s wide-ranging conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer on the four-week-old war and its impact on Israeli politics and society, Benn pointed out that the effort was not unusual, with many examples of wartime leaders taking advantage of “less public resistance” to consolidate their power. 

“Governments at war use it to limit civil liberties. We see it in Russia in the past four years, very visibly, where the last remaining bastions of some sort of opposition to President Putin have been wiped out.” 

Read more:

Netanyahu Says Israel 'Expanding' Lebanon Buffer Zone as Country's Death Toll Crosses 1,000

Stand-in Justice Minister Formally Recommends That President Herzog Pardon Netanyahu

Israel Preparing to Shift Pace, Targets of Iran Strikes if Trump Announces Cease-fire

Op-ed by Aluf Benn: The Strange Case of Dr. Bibi and Mr. Benjamin

Analysis by Anshel Pfeffer: In Iran, the Netanyahu Doctrine Is Now Facing Its Ultimate Test

 

While at war with Iran and a civilian population under missile attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&rsquo;s government &ldquo;has been working relentlessly towards the goal of making the public sphere of Israel more religious, its governance more autocratic, and the chances of replacing its leader slimmer,&rdquo; Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn said on the Haaretz Podcast.&nbsp;
The push for the anti-democratic judicial coup and empowerment of ultra-Orthodox autonomy &ldquo;hasn't changed despite October 7,&rdquo; Benn said. He observed that it had slowed significantly on that date, but today, the massacre and ensuing war has given Netanyahu &ldquo;even more motivation&rdquo; to &ldquo;escape any responsibility and accountability for October&rdquo; as he looks ahead to the election scheduled for this fall.&nbsp;
In Benn&rsquo;s wide-ranging conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer on the four-week-old war and its impact on Israeli politics and society, Benn pointed out that the effort was not unusual, with many examples of wartime leaders taking advantage of &ldquo;less public resistance&rdquo; to consolidate their power.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Governments at war use it to limit civil liberties. We see it in Russia in the past four years, very visibly, where the last remaining bastions of some sort of opposition to President Putin have been wiped out.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Read more:
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-security/2026-03-25/ty-article/.premium/netanyahu-says-israel-expanding-lebanon-buffer-zone-as-death-toll-hits-1-000/0000019d-2600-dc71-a7ff-e75ab4f00000">Netanyahu Says Israel 'Expanding' Lebanon Buffer Zone as Country's Death Toll Crosses 1,000</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-politics/2026-03-24/ty-article/.premium/stand-in-justice-minister-formally-recommends-that-herzog-pardon-netanyahu/0000019d-1ef7-d72c-a5fd-9eff2fc30000">Stand-in Justice Minister Formally Recommends That President Herzog Pardon Netanyahu</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-security/2026-03-25/ty-article/.premium/israel-preparing-to-shift-pace-targets-of-iran-strikes-if-trump-announces-truce/0000019d-2690-dc71-a7ff-e7da0e1c0000">Israel Preparing to Shift Pace, Targets of Iran Strikes if Trump Announces Cease-fire</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026-03-25/ty-article-opinion/.premium/the-strange-case-of-dr-bibi-and-mr-benjamin/0000019d-216a-d77a-a7ff-ffea5e910000">Op-ed by Aluf Benn: The Strange Case of Dr. Bibi and Mr. Benjamin</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-security/2026-03-25/ty-article-magazine/.premium/in-iran-the-netanyahu-doctrine-is-now-facing-its-ultimate-test/0000019d-204b-d7c1-a59f-ee5ba7150000">Analysis by Anshel Pfeffer:&nbsp;In Iran, the Netanyahu Doctrine Is Now Facing Its Ultimate Test</a>
&nbsp;

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – a weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – a weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

Your audio guide to Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.

Haaretz Podcast

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – the Haaretz weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer. 

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – the Haaretz weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.