Huge demonstrations in Israel: Many friends abroad have been asking why Israelis are taking to the streets today in the largest demonstrations since October 7. Given that Hamas executed the hostages, why are they demonstrating against the government? The reason is clear: there is a consensus within the Israeli security apparatus, including the defense minister, the chief of staff, and the head of the Mossad, that the government, led by Netanyahu, is making demands that could sabotage a real chance for a deal to return the hostages. These demands, which lack real security value, are seen as politically motivated. It's important to note that no one in Israel is under the illusion that Hamas is necessarily interested in a deal. Israelis understand that Hamas, with its acts of mass murder, abduction, rape, and looting, is responsible for the situation we are in. However, Israelis—and especially the hostage families, and the families of those who have already been returned, alive or dead—expect the Israeli government to do everything in its power to bring them home. This includes being willing to agree to a deal. Israel has already seen significant success in the negotiations, including a tacit agreement from moderating countries and Hamas that this deal would not mark the end of the war. The IDF would be understood to continue pursuing Hamas after an interim deal that was supposed to release between 18 and 30 live hostages, some of whom were executed in cold blood by Hamas between Thursday night and Friday. The majority of Israelis do not trust this government. It has not won a single reputable poll since March 2023, long before October 7, and it certainly hasn't won any since then. Most polls indicate that most Israelis believe the Prime Minister prioritizes his political survival—specifically, retaining the far right in his coalition—over the return of the hostages. This fear of a disastrous election defeat, and the potential end of his political career, seems to take precedence. This is the context behind why hundreds of thousands of Israelis, many of them reserve soldiers, are now protesting during a time of war. They are making a single demand: that the government do everything in its power to bring the hostages back home. They do so with the full understanding that it's not only up to the government, and that the enemy is both cruel and calculated. This demand is far more than political pressure on the government to agree. It’s about the essence of Israel as a society that enshrines the value of solidarity, encapsulated in the Mishnah’s teaching that saving one soul is akin to saving the entire world. The idea that Israel will do everything—not only through military force, which no one doubts, but also through political moderation and compromise—to return Israelis who were kidnapped, sometimes from their beds, by a cruel enemy, is central to the Israeli identity. And it is this part of the Israeli identity that the government has completely managed to unmoor by its actions. It is this part of the Israeli identity that people are demonstrating for.