There’s not one Israeli in this country who doesn’t want to see the hostages returned safely to their families. Every single one of us yearns for this very same thing.
The way some of the debates around the deal have been presented has made it seem like those who oppose it are somehow lacking in compassion or regard for the lives of the hostages.
I think it is possible to want the hostages freed and be against the deal on the table. We are a small country – the actions taken by the government directly affects each and every one of us and the future of our families. When a deal like this is met with opposition, it is not borne out of a lack of compassion – it stems from a place of deep concern for our collective future.
Do we have such a short memory that we’ve forgotten that Yaḥya Sinwar, the architect of the October 7th operation where our citizens were taken captive, was himself released back into Gaza in a hostage deal? If the families of the current hostages today were aware that their loved ones would pay the price for freeing Gilad Shalit, would they have supported that deal? How come it is considered wrong to ask this question when we are presented with a similar conundrum?
Have we taken stock of the losses we have sustained over this last year, and asked ourselves what we have been fighting for? What does victory look like in this scenario? Is returning to an October 6th status quo with Hamas ruling Gaza and Hezbollah still lurking in the north worth all the lives we have sacrificed in this war? Did the ten soldiers killed in Gaza just last week, who gave their lives to defeat Hamas, die in vain? And yet again, why is it considered heartless to ask these questions when presented with this situation?
I of course support an effort to sign a deal that guarantees the return of ALL the hostages. Hamas is in a weak negotiating position – I believe there is a way to achieve this without agreeing to terms that will allow it to rebuild. I believe there is a way to achieve this without providing them with a way to credibly claim some form of victory. I believe there is a way to do this without giving convicted murderers the ability to roam freely near our borders like we did with Sinwar. And I believe that is what our prime minister had been trying to accomplish up until this point.
From my perspective, when foreign leaders levy enough threats at us that we “choose” to sign a shitty deal that we could’ve likely signed months ago, it is not praiseworthy. It is not a victory worthy of celebration. It is yet another instance in which our “greatest ally” has pushed us into a corner and forced us to accept an unacceptable situation. It is another instance of our “greatest ally” forcing us to play nice with people who seek our destruction. It’s another clear example of how we lack true independence.
I can’t fault people for supporting the deal or celebrating the imminent return of the hostages. This situation is wrought with pain and complexity, especially for the friends and families of those who have been held captive in Gaza for over a year.
Like every Israeli, my heart will no doubt rejoice at the sight of our hostages coming home. But also like many Israelis, my heart will also be weighed down by the knowledge that we have given our enemies a victory and empowered them to continue their underhanded tactics against us. If Hamas regains control of Gaza as a result of this deal, we not only will have lost so many of our youth to a fruitless war, but will have created the conditions for more heartache and bloodshed for our children.
As I type this, my red alert app is dinging once again from rocket fire coming from Gaza. It is not possible for this cycle of violence to end until we stop falling into the same traps that keep us locked into it – and this includes cutting off our nose to spite our face in order to bring hostages home.
Our enemies know this, predict this, and rely on this – until we can change that equation, Israel is doomed to repeat this pattern over and over and over again. I am holding out hope that after our hostages are safely returned, we will finish what we started and ensure that Hamas can never again come to power in Gaza – but the impression I get from both social and mainstream media is that the end of the war is underway. And it is this knowledge that prevents me from receiving the news of this deal with joy.
As relieved as I am for the families who will be reunited with their loved ones, I worry for the future of all of our families. When we acknowledge the unfortunate reality that each time we fail to defeat our enemies, the task will inevitably fall to our children, it is difficult to think of this situation as a true win for the people of Israel.
