Israel is a country where arguing isn’t a form of conflict – it’s a way of life. People argue in line at the grocery store and over family dinners, in the Knesset and on the beach, on the radio, in Telegram chats, and just standing at a crosswalk. Who was right in 1948? Who started it in 1973? Who really owns this land, and where’s the line between self-defense and aggression?
These conversations never stop – not for a day. Some repeat generation after generation, others are born out of new tragedies, new wars, new promises, and new disappointments. They feel endless, like the history of this place. Sometimes heated, sometimes just tired. But always alive.
What you see here are fragments of that never-ending polyphony. Not conclusions, not positions. Just lines – no explanations, no reconciliation, no closure. Just like in a real Israeli argument.
“Tell me something – is it true that Israel doesn’t fight states anymore? That all the wars in recent decades with militant groups and terrorist organizations?”
“Yeah, kinda seems that way. The last war with Lebanon and Syria ended in 1985.”
“And is that why Israel is against a Palestinian state?”
“Wait a second, you want to give up the Golan? Do you even know what it was like there before 1967? That’s our security!”
“Well, first of all, no, I don’t want to. And second, are you really talking about security?”
“Of course I am! Those are dominant heights!”
“Okay, now imagine this: not a single shot fired from there for five straight years. Not one. Do we give it up?”
“No way. I don’t trust the Arabs. The minute we leave, they’ll start shooting again.”
“Okay, now picture American troops stationed there, the whole zone under international control. Five years and zero attacks. Officially, would you agree to give it up?”
“No. Still no. I don’t believe it.”
“See, but that actually could happen, and there are plenty of examples around the world. I think you just don’t want to give up what blood was spilled for. Security’s got nothing to do with it.”
“Look. The formula’s simple. There are a few million of them. Can we kill them all?”
“No.”
“Can we deport them?”
“No.”
“Can we assimilate them?”
“No.”
“Sterilize them?”
“No.”
“Exactly. Because all of that, they already tried on us – it didn’t work. And what did it lead to?”
“Tell me something, would you want to live in a Muslim state?”
“No.”
“Could you?”
“No, and I wouldn’t want to!”
“Exactly. And they don’t want to live in a Jewish state. Not in any way, under any conditions. So why are you trying to force them?”
“You know, since the dawn of time people came up with this sacred, universal thing. A border. Over here, we pray to Cthulhu. Over there, they don’t kill mammoths. Here we keep Shabbat, and trains don’t run. Over there, alcohol’s banned and polygamy’s allowed. That’s normal. A border is just the area where our rules apply. The ones we invented.”
“What’s your point?”
“Here’s the thing. There’s not a single piece of land left on Earth that doesn’t belong to some country. Not one. Except Antarctica, and maybe duty-free zones between borders. If you find one, show me. I’ll move there tomorrow.”
“Okay… and?”
“So, who does the West Bank belong to, exactly?”
“Wait, hold up, you’re planning to build a wall 18 kilometers from our house?”
“Okay, what makes you feel safer – a wall, or a checkpoint?”
“Probably the wall.”
“There you go.”
“Let me paint you two pictures, and then I’ll ask a question. The first one. Imagine a massive fence, guard towers, drones, laser cannons, and a no-go zone 500 meters out on either side. Anyone who gets close gets shot, no warning. Got it?”
“Whoa.”
“Second picture – we all live together, side by side. Our villages, their villages, shared fields, shared roads. We plant together, we build together. Sure, sometimes under the watch of armed guards, but still. Got it?”
“Hmm. Okay… and?”
“Now tell me, which of those two is considered “left-wing” ideology in Israel, and which is “right-wing”?”
“[suspicious] What are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying this is a flipped world. A fake narrative that saturates everything around us.”
“Why do we settle beyond the line and fight there?”
“Because that’s where our holy sites are – they’re the essence of our nation!”
“But I heard the Haredim don’t want to serve in the army. So do the holy sites not matter to them? Or do they know a way to keep the sanctity without having to fight for it?”
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