Did Oct 7 change Israel forever? Joel Rosenberg and Hollywood filmmaker Dan Gordon discuss national security, political and spiritual trends that followed

“I've heard a lot of Israelis say that October 7th was the day that has changed Israel forever,” said Joel Rosenberg, ALL ISRAEL NEWS Editor-in-Chief and host of THE ROSENBERG REPORT on TBN.

Israeli-American filmmaker Dan Gordon agreed with that statement, especially after his extensive work in the production of the first documentary film series about the Hamas massacre – ‘October 7th, 2023’ will air this month on TBN.

Gordon noted that before that horrific day, Israelis had certain illusions they wanted to believe – a situation that very much reminded him of the prevalent security perception in Israel before the 1973 Yom Kippur War, in which he fought as an IDF soldier.

“I think everybody bought into what they called ‘the concept,’” he explained to Rosenberg. “It's the exact same failure that we had in the Yom Kippur War. There was a concept that Egypt wouldn't attack without air superiority. There was a concept that Hamas actually wanted to improve the lives of their people, wasn't interested in a major war, was shifting from a religious Islamo-fascist group to somehow a governing authority, and that we could manage the situation.”

“We forgot we lived in the Middle East," Gordon continued. "We don't live next to Switzerland. We don't live in Denmark. We don't live next to Kansas. Life would be very simple if we lived next to any of those places. We live in the Middle East. We live in the toughest neighborhood in the world. We live surrounded by certain people  – not all of them – but certainly in Gaza, certainly many in Judea and Samaria, who wish to attain our blood.”

According to the filmmaker, many Israelis were disillusioned on Oct. 7 and changed the way they viewed national security vis-à-vis their enemies in the region.

 “We now remember where we live,” he explained. “We have a responsibility to ourselves, to our children, to our grandchildren, to remain strong and remain vigilant and to still look for a way to live in peace with our neighbors – to not give up on that.”

As for Israeli lawmakers, military and intelligence brass who believed in the ‘concept,’ Gordon believes their time to leave will arrive soon. After the war.

“Everybody at the top, and I think most Israelis feel this way, has to go. It’s in the political echelon, the military echelon, in the intelligence echelon. They all failed,” he stressed.

If the worst slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust had such a significant impact on the security and political perceptions of Israelis, what about its impact on the spiritual level?

Rosenberg said he has been struck by the lack of a significant national call for prayer and fasting in the aftermath of Oct. 7.

“Do you see a sign that there will be a spiritual change?” he asked Gordon.

Gordon noted that Israel is much different from the United States regarding public religion. It is far less common for Israeli lawmakers to invoke God’s help in their statements and speeches. He argued that this is likely rooted in the socialist ethos that prevailed during the country’s early decades.

“We started off with leaders who were primarily socialist, atheists, agnostic, who didn't feel comfortable promoting religion from the public arena,” he explained.

"But spiritual change is underway in Israel, Gordon stressed. “You see it amongst families. You see it absolutely amongst the soldiers in the field.”

When Shabbat comes, he described, soldiers in any IDF unit want to participate and receive God’s blessing.

“No atheists in a foxhole,” Rosenberg responded.

Gordon agreed, adding: “And not only not atheists in a foxhole, but we had a big divide in this country between religious and secular people. That divide doesn't exist in the army. It doesn't exist in the reserves.”

“I remember one thing that was so moving to me,” the Hollywood producer shared. “We're in an armored personnel carrier going with combat engineers to blow up some rocket launchers. And the guy who was the driver of the APC was an Orthodox guy. He turned to the commander of the APC and said, ‘Time for me to pray.’"

 “Now we're in an area where they're bullets whizzing around and we just encountered terrorists who were laying an ambush for us. When we came to blow up this particular tunnel, he popped the hatch. He took his prayer book and said the evening prayers. And the guy who was the commander – who was not religious at all – turned to us to make sure we would be quiet to honor his prayer.

“When the guy came down from praying, he grabbed his hand, put his arm around him and knew he was praying for him.”

Click to read Part 1 of Joel Rosenberg’s conversation with Dan Gordon.

THE ROSENBERG REPORT airs Thursday nights at 9 p.m. EST and Saturday nights at 9:30 p.m. EST – on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), the most-watched Christian television network in the United States.

We recommend to read:

Globally forced two-state solution is rejected only by Israel and the Palestinians, but a biblical 'from the river to the sea' can resolve the conflict

Yehuda V. Frank