Hana Bendcowsky says Israel is increasingly isolated and violent, warning that only honest dialogue and social change can keep peace alive
Newsroom (31/03/2026 Gaudium Press ) On the eve of Passover, Hana Bendcowsky says Israeli society is growing more extreme, more divided and less willing to believe in coexistence. She argues that the answer lies not only in politics, but in a deeper change inside society itself
Bendcowsky, who directs the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations at the Rossing Centre, describes a society “becoming increasingly extreme” and losing faith in the possibility of peace. She says the country feels more isolated and more violent in many different ways, a trend she links not only to war and settler attacks in the West Bank, but also to indifference and the absence of firm condemnation.
Her remarks come as Jerusalem enters a crowded stretch of holy days marked by Passover, Easter and the end of Ramadan, with tensions already heightened by war, closures and restrictions. In her view, the atmosphere has become one of exhaustion, fear and shrinking space for honest dialogue.
Violence and exhaustion
Bendcowsky says violence is not always visible in the same way. Some people carry it out “in a practical and systematic way,” while others participate in silence by avoiding uncomfortable truths about Gaza and the West Bank or by justifying what is happening there.
She says this has shaped the past two years and created a climate in which it is “almost impossible” to listen carefully to others or to share in their pain. For Jewish families, Passover is now marked by uncertainty, exhaustion and the strain of trying to celebrate at home amid disrupted routines and insecurity.
Religious restrictions
Bendcowsky also points to the pressure on Muslim and Christian communities. She says Muslims have been prevented from praying in mosques, denied access to Al-Aqsa, and met with a strict and sometimes violent police approach near the Old City walls in Jerusalem.
On the Christian side, she highlights the disruption surrounding the Holy Sepulchre and the restrictions on access that have caused anxiety among Christians worldwide. She apologizes, as an Israeli, for the unnecessary distress caused to Christians and says freedom of worship and access to sacred places must be protected for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.
Dialogue as resistance
Even in a climate of war, Bendcowsky insists there are still people in Israel and Palestine who are willing to listen and should not give up. She says organizations such as the Rossing Centre, Standing Together, Parents’ Circle and Faithful Left are essential because they keep open a space for dialogue when politics and fear are closing it down.
She argues that coexistence cannot be left only to governments or political leaders, because current policies still draw support from parts of society. For that reason, she says, real change must come from within society rather than from elections alone.
Christians and public attitudes
Bendcowsky points to the Rossing Centre’s latest report on religious freedom and Christian communities, which found that the situation had deteriorated slightly by 2025 and that incidents had increased. The report also showed that younger Israeli Jews tend to have more negative attitudes toward Christians, though some views among younger people have become more moderate over time.
She notes that while a small minority may accept disrespectful behavior toward priests or religious symbols, a majority still view such actions as negative and deserving of severe punishment. For her, that means there remains a basis for hope if dialogue, education and public responsibility are taken seriously.
Hope in the Holy Land
Bendcowsky ends on a warning and a plea: the Holy Land cannot be defined only by war and violence. She says the world also needs positive messages that show peace is still possible here, if people continue to defend coexistence and support those who work for it.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Asianews.it
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