When the world woke up two years ago to news of a vicious, widescale terror attack taking place across southern Israel, it was immediately clear that this was different from previous bursts of violence near the Gaza Strip. But we could not yet fathom the massive changes that would soon reverberate around the world.

As negotiators now appear close to a deal to release the hostages and end the war, it’s clear the Middle East will not return to the pre-Oct. 7 status quo. Nor will American society. The changes wrought by the events of that day will linger long after the last bullet is fired.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people, took more than 250 hostages and launched a war that has upended the Middle East, fundamentally altered global politics and culture and reshaped the Jewish community.

Anti-Israel activists descended into the streets of Manhattan one day after the attacks, celebrating with chants of “resistance is justified when people are occupied.” Students at America’s top universities signed onto letters blaming Israel for the bloodshed. Jews looked on with alarm: At our moment of greatest need, this is the response?

Two years later, Jewish Insider is reflecting on all that has changed since the Oct. 7 attacks.

Iran has been weakened and Hezbollah decapitated, while a degraded Hamas, not yet defeated, fights on in Gaza, where tens of thousands have been killed and a humanitarian crisis persists. The U.S.-Israel alliance has come under strain from growing forces on the far left and right who wish to see an end to American military support for Israel. A vast anti-Israel protest movement swept across college campuses, presenting university leaders with a test — how to balance freedom of expression with protecting Jewish students — that many failed.

Yet despite the myriad challenges that have emerged from this war, Jews around the world were instilled with a new sense of pride in defense of Jewish peoplehood. More people are going to synagogue and celebrating Jewish holidays now than before Oct. 7. Judaica sales spiked as people yearned to represent their faith proudly, even as antisemitism surged around the world.

To mark the second anniversary of that solemn day, we are publishing a special project examining five key areas that have been utterly transformed by Oct. 7 and its aftermath: American politics, the U.S.-Israel relationship, higher education, Jewish advocacy and Israel’s relations with the world. We asked dozens of leading thinkers and practitioners to offer their thoughts on the biggest changes that have taken place in Jewish life over the last two years.

You’ll hear from Democratic and Republican lawmakers; officials who served under Presidents Trump, Biden, Obama and Bush; rabbis and writers; Europeans, Americans and Israelis; and activists and philanthropists. You’ll find optimism, frustration and everything in between. We are all still experiencing the ripple effects left in the wake of that indescribable day, even as an end to the war may yet be in sight. We hope these insights help you reflect on the world in which we now live.