Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring one key issue currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World.

This week, The Times of Israel deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan speaks senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur.

Since Wednesday afternoon, 100s if not 1,000s of Israelis are marching in support of the hostages in Gaza and their families from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. They’re meant to finish their march at the end of Shabbat, Saturday night, with a massive protest in Jerusalem. 

We look at when protests in Israel have achieved their goals in the past 50 years and how these outcomes shifted Israeli society. And we examine how the current protests staged by families of hostages held in Gaza may have shaped the war. 

So this week, we ask Rettig Gur, What Matters Now.

What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: Families and friends of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza call for their return as they begin a four-day march from Tel Aviv to the Prime Minister's house in Jerusalem, in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)