Prof. Alon Korngreen: Our Caves
Prof. Alon Korngreen applies Plato's cave allegory to Israeli society in 2026. He argues that each faction—Haredi, Hardal, Religious Zionist, secular—lives in its own cave, convinced it sees the light while others are bound to shadows. Korngreen describes the characteristics of each cave, noting that after October 7 the caves dug in and were not breached. He concludes with a personal test for the reader: if you thought 'that's exactly them'—perhaps you are still sitting facing the wall.
Prof. Alon Korngreen, a biophysicist and brain researcher from Bar-Ilan University, analyzes Israeli society in 2026 through Plato's cave allegory in an opinion piece. He argues that every faction in Jewish society—Haredim, Hardalim, Religious Zionists, seculars—lives in its own cave, convinced it is the one who left and saw the light, while others are prisoners bound to shadows. Korngreen describes the Haredi cave as deliberately built with thick walls of holiness, discipline, and community, with the outside world seen as a danger of temptations. The Hardal cave, he says, includes windows with a filter of history as a redemption process. The secular cave is particularly dangerous because it denies its existence, while transparent walls of algorithm, editor, and social circle surround it. He notes that after October 7 the caves were not breached but dug in, and each cave processed the disaster into a version that strengthens its shadows. Korngreen concludes that he has no five-point solution to polarization, and offers one test: if the reader thought 'that's exactly them'—they may still be sitting facing the wall.