IDF Brig. Gen. Ofer Winter reveals hard truths about Israel post-Oct 7

"The hostage deal is a national disgrace," declared Brig. Gen. (Res.) Ofer Winter during a heated address at Reichman University. "People accuse me of being against the hostages. But this isn't a binary issue—it's not simply one or zero."

"For years, I've lived with other people's perception that I don't want peace. But peace has always been the vision of the Israeli people, not just recently. We should remember our heritage—Isaiah's vision where 'A nation shall not lift a sword against another nation.' I hate fighting, and I only fight because I have no choice. I'm neither naive nor stupid. For years, Arabs have threatened to defeat us, and Hamas has explicitly vowed to slaughter us. People fail to grasp the fanaticism we're facing. I am genuinely committed to peace and true unity."

Winter continued: "Since October 7th, I've carried an internal pledge that I won't return to the mindset of October 6th. I want genuine unity and have no desire to quarrel with anyone. I've made that decision—but I will engage in debate. We must be able to disagree and argue without breaking apart our home or throwing away everything. No page of Talmud exists without disagreement. That's how we move forward. We have both the right and duty to argue, but we don't destroy our foundation in the process."

Winter’s address at Reichman University reflects a nation at its crossroads. His invocation of Isaiah’s ancient prophecy—where swords are beaten into plowshares—clashes with the grim reality of a man who admits he fights because he must, not because he wants to.

In a country where October 7 has become a dividing line between yesterday’s illusions and today’s reckonings, Winter refuses to let the debate calcify into silence or fracture into chaos. He calls for argument, for the messy, Talmudic clash of ideas that has long sustained Jewish resilience, urging Israelis to hold fast to their foundation even as they disagree. Whether his vision of "genuine unity" can bridge the chasm between peace and survival remains uncertain.

But in a time of national grief and division, Winter’s voice—gruff, unyielding, and achingly sincere—demands to be heard, a reminder that the fight for Israel’s future is as much about its soul as its borders.