Dr. Einat Wilf, a former Labor MK who says she underwent a political awakening, explains in a recent interview with Maariv why she views Mahmoud Abbas as an adversary and why she is forming a new party, Oz, to advance a program that ties peace to Arab and Palestinian acceptance of Zionism.
Wilf says her focus is to confront the “right of return” and UNRWA’s role in perpetuating conflict, arguing that state services should prioritize those who serve the state.
Wilf frames her platform around three points: peace based on Arab and Palestinian acceptance of Zionism, state services for those who serve the state, and a shift from a diasporic mindset to sovereign governance.
‘After October 7, these issues are at the core’
About a year ago, Wilf was invited to a filmed interview about Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinians. The former Labor MK and left-wing figure, who experienced a political awakening, tried to explain why she sees Mahmoud Abbas as an enemy.
“I spoke about his commitment to the Palestinian ethos that believes in the right of return and fights against the existence of a Jewish state for the Jewish people,” she recalls. “It was a long interview, and when I finished, studio staff, from the lighting tech to the director, came up to me and said, this is what we want to vote for. Why is there no one in Israeli politics who represents your ideas?”
Were you surprised?
“No. After October 7, everywhere I went, I saw that the issues I have worked on for 20 years are now at the center. So I decided to bring them to the forefront, and at this stage, the only way to express them clearly, without diluting them with political considerations, is to establish a party and lead it.”
That is quite an ambition.
“For years, people asked me, who in Israel even shares your ideas? I always said, either it is five people who are my best friends, or it is 70% of the Israeli public. There is an old joke about a shoe company that wanted to know whether there is a market in Africa...”
What is your story?
“To advance peace based on Arab and Palestinian acceptance of Zionism, to ensure that state services reach those who serve the state, and to move from a diasporic mindset to sovereign conduct.”
People dismissed these ideas until October 7
Not everyone identified with these ideas. Until October 7 many saw them as marginal.
“A few weeks before the massacre, I sat on a panel... a very senior left-wing journalist said to me, Einat, who cares about the Palestinians today, it is so passé.”
“It was a closing remark, but it reflected a mindset. We had the Abraham Accords, and Hamas was supposedly deterred. Even Bennett said Palestinians are a splinter in the backside. I took my book The War of Return to security officials and ministers. I said our enemies, especially the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, still seek a reality where Jews have no state.”
“We also dealt with the billions for Gaza... pouring money would not buy quiet because Gazans believe Gaza is a base to ‘liberate Palestine.’ We wrote that transferring billions to the Palestinians will not end well.”
What did they answer you?
“They said, give us a few weeks of quiet... why say no return, no UNRWA, no refugeehood. Once, in the Defense Ministry, we explained that someone who grows up believing he will take back his house in Israel will get up each morning and dig a tunnel to ‘liberate Palestine.’”
“I said, listen to them. They say openly that they aim to destroy the Jewish state. The aide said, We need quiet until after the holidays... i left deeply shaken, seeing the addiction to quiet.”
‘I was told I would ignite a third intifada’
And before that?
“As a Labor MK, I was called to a committee and accused of causing a third intifada because I dared touch the core Palestinian issue. I thought we were lying to ourselves.”
Why because of you?
“I tried to cut UNRWA funding. The Defense Ministry resisted. I agreed to expose that there are not really five million refugees, only tens of thousands, but without touching funding... The campaign succeeded. Congress required UNRWA to report actual numbers. Then the Defense Ministry told me, you will ignite a third intifada... It taught me that the lies are agreed upon.”
What did you do with that realization? Did you stay silent?
“No. I spoke and wrote in Israel and abroad... Then, on October 7, everyone understood. Editor Shmuel Rosner asked us to publish an updated book.”
“We wrote Shiva be-Oktober in May, and last Saturday night Kan 11 aired a documentary based on the book. Most importantly, people now say we were right.”
The UNRWA documentary and its reception<strong></strong>
The film UNRWA by Duki Dror, based on Wilf and Adi Schwartz’s book, shows how UNRWA maintains war by nurturing a violent ‘return’ and reinforcing generations of non-refugee ‘refugees.’ The film won a research prize at Haifa’s documentary festival and is available digitally.
“After the Tel Aviv Cinematheque premiere, the director received many angry messages from friends," Wilf said.
“They were angry that he presented a depressing work. But that is the point. After seeing the film, one cannot ignore how refugee and return ideas shape Palestinianism, or that a people next to us was formed around a destructive idea of negating Zionism. Beyond its educational role, the film confirms that my long engagement is central to Israel’s future and security.”
From advocacy back to politics
Since October 7 Wilf has become one of the most effective international voices for Israel, with lectures, podcasts, delegations and meetings filling her schedule. Beforehand, she was a Left-wing figure, a PhD and an MK, then crossed the aisle to focus on delegitimization as a strategic challenge.
“I speak about what the conflict is, what we do and do not do, why anti-Zionism rises in the West, and what Israeli policy should be.” “Since October 7, people tell me they follow every lecture and read everything I write. Suddenly, my work is so relevant.”
So you woke up one morning and started a party?
“It is a process... Now it is not only telling the Israeli-Zionist story but knowing what to do for it. Because I worked on these issues, I knew what should be done in Gaza and could present a day-after policy. Through the party, I am testing whether my ideas can become policy.”
You were already in politics. That chapter seemed closed.
“True, but after October 7, I saw the gap between public and government, and that central issues are not addressed. If no one else advances them, I will, as a party leader.”
Many new parties may split the bloc and lose votes.
“Now is exactly the time for many parties and ideas. Close to the deadline will be the time for mergers to avoid lost votes. For now, I am checking if there is real demand for my ideas.”
But you are not really doing politics. No consultants, polls, or HQ.
“I do not use polls or consultants. Nothing replaces direct contact with the public... If there is no support, I will not run independently.”
How does it feel to return?
“I left not by choice after a Labor split. Today, it is jumping into the fire. I remind myself I do it because I believe in these ideas.”
Where is your party on the map?
“My ideas are not Left, Right, or Center... I will speak to those tired of politics and media wired around one person. Critics focused on the man, not processes.”
But he [Netanyahu] is the leader who drives the processes.
“People did not say what should be done to drive processes. They said what was wrong and who was to blame.”
Does The Democrats Party fit your ideas?
“Everyone asked me to join. I told all that I must present my ideas to the public without diluting them. Joining a party silences you because the goal is to make the chair the prime minister. So I founded my own.”
Where is the funding from?
“Social media is free and is all the fuel. If ideas fit the moment, something good can happen. If not, money will not help. If they fit, donations come in by law.”
Any lessons from your past?
“Do not get excited by everything people say. Some bring ideas, others know the craft. It is rare to have both.”
“I do not know how much political skill I have, but sometimes reality tears, and what worked no longer works. I am testing whether this is that moment.”
Who is on your list, and how will it be set?
“For now, there is no list. If momentum builds, I will submit a list mainly of women from the public sector who know how systems work. If a centrist Zionist government is formed, it will have months, maybe a year, to make dramatic changes. I need people who know budgets, laws, and systems.”
Why ‘Oz’?
“Because of the verse, ‘The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace,’ strength and peace, and because it echoes Nir Oz and Nahal Oz. I also like the name. Short and clear.”
The party’s core ideas
Wilf’s party proposes answers to security, policy, and public issues. The first is to advance peace based on Arab and Palestinian acceptance of Zionism.
“Leadership striving for peace, and understanding that peace and security are impossible while the Palestinian ideology that negates Zionism persists.”
How can you strive for peace opposite an ideology that denies the Jewish people’s existence in its land?
“The Palestinians are not ready for peace or any arrangement that includes a Jewish state. Still, Israel must say it strives for peace under conditions, not ‘no’ to every initiative. The Saudi crown prince said he would advance the Abraham Accords if a path to two states opens, and Israel said, ‘we do not agree.’”
“If we were wiser, we would say, excellent. The path to peace is between two states, Jewish and Palestinian. For a hundred years, the Palestinians have said they are not ready for a neighboring Jewish state. The day they want to live beside us, not on our ruins, they will find we were never the problem.”
“Return the ball to the crown prince. Ask him to help West Bank Arabs abandon the war. Tell the Palestinians, your war against Zionism is over. The Jews will have a state, and you can live beside them, not instead of them. That means you are not refugees and have no right of return, and in return, we will help with budgets and education.”
Do Palestinians oppose two states for two peoples?
“Yes. They say aloud that they want a state alongside Israel. Quietly, they talk about the right of return. Recently, the Palestinian beauty queen’s dress had a huge key. If you listen, they are clear. They meant an Arab state in Gaza and the West Bank, and another Arab state to replace Israel through return. They never compromised. They are consistent.”
How do you bridge the desire for peace and the aspiration for two Palestinian states?
“It will not happen tomorrow. It is a vision and a process. Jabotinsky’s Iron Wall must be upgraded. Enter their arena and say the truth: you do not really want a state, you do not want us here.”
What is the practical meaning?
“If we had acted correctly in Gaza, we would say the war does not end with disarming Hamas but when the ideology disintegrates and no one in Gaza is a refugee and nothing will be built or enter until everyone is removed from UNRWA’s refugee rolls.”
“Unfortunately, we did not work with countries that fund UNRWA. We talked only about disarming Hamas, while its greatest weapons are ideology, refugeehood, right of return, and international legitimacy. We do nothing about that ideology, or worse, we fund it through UNRWA and Hamas.”
If UNRWA ceases and Palestinians understand there is no right of return, will hostility disappear, and will we live in security?
“We will get closer to security. Once Palestinians understand that ideology is dead and the Jews are here to stay, they can live alongside us, and a political arrangement will be possible.”
Can an ideology be killed?
“Yes. Ideologies die and are replaced. When people see their ideas have no market, they seek other worldviews. From ruin can come change, personally and collectively.”
‘State services for state service’
What stands behind the second idea?
“Welfare rests on solidarity. We put Haredim and Arabs under the welfare umbrella without solidarity. Since October 7, solidarity means defending Israel. First, everyone is enlisted. Those who refuse lose benefits and services. No need for a culture war. If you will not defend Israel, we will not give rights.”
Also for Arab citizens?
“Israel did them no favor by exempting them. This is their state. They must defend it. Many security problems with Arab Israelis stem from putting them aside.”
And moving from a diasporic mindset to sovereign conduct?
“We behave as if still in the Diaspora. On the legal issue, both the government and the Supreme Court must return power to the Knesset, the sovereign.”
What happens when the Knesset weakens compared to the government?
“That is a problem. Strengthen oversight. Expand the Knesset. One committee per MK. Regular question hour. Increase the ability to summon ministers and officials.”
Breaking with the Left
Wilf began as part of the Peace Camp... believed that once Palestinians had a state, peace would come. All this changed when she encountered Jew-hatred and understood the link between Zionism and antisemitism. October 7 intensified this.
“I wrote that in Palestinian eyes there is no difference between me and a hilltop youth. If I want a Jewish state and reject a right of return that ends it, they see me as seeking their harm. I even wrote that the Left needs a Palestinian defeat, because for them a Jewish state is a defeat.”
Is there a Zionist Left today?
“Labels hardened. The radical Left seeks one state and the end of Jewish sovereignty, represented by Hadash-Ta’al. Others think Israel is the refuser. There are a few. Some in Labor believe the PA is moderate. Also few.”
Netanyahu says half the Knesset is Left.
“Rhetoric. The real Left disappeared. Despite Israel’s attempts at arrangements, Palestinians made clear they do not want that. October 7 was the final nail in that belief.”
‘Anti-Zionism in the West was built over years’
How did anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian movements penetrate Western academia and politics?
“The Soviets, Qatar, and Arab states have long worked in academia, NGOs, and UN bodies to legitimize anti-Zionism. Doctorates on Zionism as colonialism. Professorships for calling Israel apartheid. October 7 exposed what was built for years.”
“It is a long process. We fell asleep. An Egyptian colleague said what happened in academia after October 7 was symbolic participation in a pogrom. Academia did not see Jews as victims because for it Zionism is the ultimate evil. I have heard for 15 years that a better world will come without Israel and Zionism. The Palestinians are heroes because they will erase the collective Jew.”
What did you learn from public confrontations?
“Sometimes I thought, there are billions. But with research and knowledg,e I am calm. Their ideology is clear. It is not about settlements or genocide in Gaza, but a belief that without Israel and Zionism the world will be better.”
How can we deal with it?
“We cannot be alone. We are small. We need allies. Anti-Zionism will not stop without enough Americans, Canadians, Britons, and French fighting it.”
How do you recruit them? They are against us.
“Every society that lets anti-Zionism take over is failing, and Jews leave it. The key message Jews must bring to the West is that anti-Zionism is not about Israel or the conflict. It attacks society as a whole.”