The Most Interesting Jewish and Israeli Storylines to Watch in 2025

If there’s one thing Jewish history teaches us, it’s that the plot is never simple.

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The year 2025 looms with all the complexity and drama of a Talmudic debate, and the Jewish world, in its infinite variety, is poised for another year of pivotal shifts, soul-searching, and perhaps a few unexpected plot twists.

As the Jewish story unfurls in the year ahead, expect a narrative rich with complexity, humor, and resilience. After all, if there’s one thing Jewish history teaches us, it’s that the plot is never simple.

Here are five storylines that deserve a front-row seat in the evolving narrative of Israel and the Jewish world:

1) The Diaspora’s Response

If 2024 taught us anything, it’s that antisemitism isn’t just the monster under the bed; it’s moved into the guest room and started rearranging the furniture. The Jewish Diaspora finds itself grappling with an unsettling reality: antisemitism isn’t just an occasional ugly headline anymore — it’s a fixture of public life.

Just in the last few weeks:

• Israel’s former justice minister, Ayelet Shaked, was barred from entering Australia, where she was slated to address a conference organized by the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council. Also, two Israeli soldiers were denied entry into Australia after being required to fill out a document regarding their role in “war crimes.”

• A synagogue in a Montreal suburb was targeted in what police suspect was an arson attack, the second time the building in this Canadian city was hit by an incendiary device in little more than a year.

• Next month, on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the prime minister of Israel — the prime minister of the Jewish state, which represents the victims of the greatest atrocity in human history — will not be there. Why? Because if Benjamin Netanyahu steps foot on Polish soil, he would be arrested according to Poland’s deputy foreign minister, based on the bogus International Criminal Court’s decision that Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant should be tried for “crimes against humanity” and “war crimes.”

• According to David Hirsch, a professor of sociology at Goldsmiths College, University of London, “Fields such as the humanities and the arts are becoming hostile towards anyone who has any connection to Israel and towards most Jews.”¹

• The Pope’s presence at an event depicting Jesus as a Palestinian Arab, prompting Israel’s minister of diaspora affairs to write him a letter saying, “It is a well-known fact that Jesus was born of a Jewish mother, lived as a Jew, and died as a Jew.”

• A social media campaign has picked up around the globe this week calling for Israel to release Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, claiming he was “abducted by Israeli forces” and accusing Israel of so-called “genocide” in Gaza. (The IDF said it suspects Abu Safiya of being a Hamas terrorist.)

• Israeli players were barred from next month’s World Indoor Bowls Championships in England after a campaign by pro-Palestinian groups. The Norfolk Palestine Solidarity Campaign said the move was the result of joint action with “Scottish Sports for Palestine” and “Show Israeli Genocide the Red Card.” (The decision was ultimately reversed after organizers finally came to their wits.)

• For a period of time on Monday, anyone tuning into the X account of Ford Motor Company could see three pro-Palestinian tweets that had nothing to do with the car company’s business. “Free Palestine,” said the first message. Another followed a minute later: “Israel is a terrorist state.” Moments later, a third: “ALL EYES ON GAZA.” (The messages were eventually deleted and Ford said in a statement that they had not been permitted.)

So how will the Diaspora respond in 2025?

Jewish communities across the Western world are bracing for an intensified era of advocacy and action. Security will be priority number one — synagogues doubling as fortresses is becoming the new normal.

There’s also the looming question: Could 2025 mark the beginning of a new Jewish exodus?

Israel’s allure as a safe haven will undoubtedly grow stronger, particularly for those in Europe where antisemitism is approaching alarming levels. Aliyah² numbers are likely to tick upwards, but don’t expect a mass exodus just yet. Diaspora Jews are deeply entrenched in the cultural, political, and economic fabrics of their home countries, and many see staying put as a form of defiance.

Leaving would feel like giving the antisemites what they want, and if there’s one thing Jewish history teaches, it’s that Jews don’t like to play into that script.

photo: Levi Meir Clancy/Unsplash

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2) Shifting Sands in the Middle East

The Abraham Accords continue to redefine regional alliances, but 2025 could see the next chapter in this evolving drama

Post-October 7th, Iran has never been weaker — its economic struggles and diplomatic isolation are reaching critical levels, making it more unpredictable and desperate to assert influence.

Plus, the four Russian-made S-300 air defense systems that Israel has reportedly destroyed in strikes on Iran this year — one in April, and three in October — had been the only such systems possessed by the Islamic Republic as of the beginning of this year. The UK’s Chief of Defence Staff also said that Israel’s October attack incapacitated Iran’s ability to produce ballistic missiles for a year.

And, with post-Assad Syria emerging as a surprising player in the region, Damascus could be eager to rebuild and reintegrate. It may find itself drawn into economic partnerships that seemed unthinkable a decade ago.

Saudi Arabia remains the crown jewel of normalization efforts. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is pragmatic, but Riyadh has played its cards cautiously, using normalization as leverage with Washington. Should the geopolitical stars align — perhaps with the right concessions on the Palestinian issue or security guarantees from the U.S. — a Saudi-Israeli handshake might just be possible.

However, if Saudi-Israel ties fail to materialize, expect a pivot towards smaller Gulf states or even Indonesia. Diplomatic breakthroughs could come faster than Tel Aviv traffic jams — or drag on like a Knesset³ filibuster.

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3) Jewish Identity in the Age of AI

Can a machine kvetch like your grandmother?

Perhaps not, but 2025 will see artificial intelligence increasingly intersecting with Jewish life. From virtual Torah study partners to algorithm-driven genealogy research, the digital sphere is transforming how Jews engage with their heritage.

Yet, this era of digital disruption also raises thorny questions: How does halacha address AI-generated Jewish texts? Can community be fostered in virtual spaces without losing something essential? And will Jewish institutions keep pace, or will they find themselves out-coded by Silicon Valley rabbis?

photog: Mosaic/DALL-E/OpenAI

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4) The Unforeseeable Future of Gaza

The events of October 7th were not just another dark chapter in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; they were a narrative reset. Hamas’ devastating attack shattered illusions of quiet containment, leaving Israel rethinking its security doctrines and Gaza facing the repercussions of its leadership’s strategic gambles.

Now, as we peer into 2025, Gaza’s storyline looks less like a political forecast and more like speculative fiction.

The collapse of Hamas’ grip over the region is one potential plot twist, though replacing it with a stable governance structure seems as far-fetched as a ceasefire proposal that satisfies all parties. Enter the wild card: the Palestinian Authority, perpetually the understudy in Gaza’s political theater.

Could 89-year-old Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, or more likely his successor, step in to fill the vacuum? It’s a possibility, albeit one fraught with skepticism from Gazans who remember the Palestinian Authority’s last attempt at governance, not to mention many Israelis who know that the Palestinian Authority is not much of a more “moderate” version of Hamas.

Alternatively, we might see the rise of grassroots civil society movements in Gaza, disillusioned by militant leadership and desperate for normalcy. This too feels ambitious given the current landscape, but necessity is often the mother of improbable outcomes.

One cannot ignore the role of Israel, which, having borne the brunt of October 7th, may take a more hands-on approach in shaping Gaza’s future. Whether through reconstruction efforts tied to demilitarization or by fostering local leadership amenable to coexistence, Israel’s Gaza policy will be both proactive and reactive.

International players, particularly Egypt and Qatar, will continue their backstage maneuvering. Cairo will aim to avoid spillover instability, while Doha balances its roles as both an intermediary and a supporter of various factions. The U.S. and the European Union, meanwhile, are likely to offer economic carrots, though the strings attached will be as visible as ever.

In sum, Gaza in 2025 will likely be defined by flux — a swirling mix of attempts at rebuilding, lingering tensions, and the faint hum of potential reinvention. It may not make for tidy storytelling, but then again, the Israeli-Palestinian saga has rarely adhered to narrative conventions.

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5) The Future of Israel

By the time 2025 rolls around, Israel may find itself in a rare, if uneasy, intermission between conflicts.

The wars against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon are grinding to their inevitable, ambiguous conclusions. Hamas has been battered, its infrastructure in shambles, while Hezbollah’s stockpile of rockets now comes with a hefty “some assembly required” warning.

But just as Israelis begin to imagine a less rocket-filled sky, the specter of Iran looms larger than ever. The shadow war between Israel and Tehran may very well step into the glaring light of open confrontation, with nuclear anxieties simmering just below the surface.

Domestically, things aren’t exactly calm either. The political tremors that shook Israel during the judicial overhaul battles of 2023 haven’t settled; they’ve merely shapeshifted. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s coalition remains precarious, like a game of Jenga where all the easy blocks are already gone.

The protests may have subsided, but the divisions remain sharp, and the Israeli public’s faith in government institutions is still nursing a hangover. If 2023 was the year of judicial clashes, 2025 could be the year Israelis argue over who gets to write the sequel.

And then there’s the curious case of the Israeli exodus. In 2024, an unusually high number of Israelis packed their bags and sought calmer waters abroad. According to the bureau, 82,700 Israelis were registered as having left the country over the past year, up from around 55,000 a year before. That figure itself was a sharp increase from the previous decade, when approximately 35,000 people left each year.

Whether driven by political frustration, economic uncertainty, or simply the desire for fewer air raid sirens, this brain drain leaves Israel facing questions about the resilience of its tech-driven economy and social fabric.

Yet, for all the turbulence, Israel’s story has never been one of quiet stability. It thrives on contradictions: a nation perpetually on the brink, yet endlessly resilient; a society polarized yet bound by shared destiny.

As the new year begins, Israel finds itself not at the end of a story, but at the beginning of another unpredictable chapter. One thing is certain — there will be no shortage of plot twists.

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1. “"רוב האנטישמים לא חושבים שהם אנטישמים": הגל העכור באירופה.” Ynet News.

2. Jewish immigration to Israel

3. Israel’s parliament