On Sunday, I wore a dog tag-like pendant with the message “Let Our People Go” as I carried on with my daily life.
I did not go on strike for the hostages, but I did not stop thinking about them. The onus was being placed entirely on the Israeli government instead of demanding pressure on the captors to release those they abducted and continue to torture and starve in Gaza’s terror tunnels. Hugely expensive ads in all the major Hebrew media, sponsored by the Hostages Families Forum and the October Council, called for “everything to be stopped” on Sunday with hundreds of protest activities across the country and a main rally in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. Up to 400,000 people attended the main event (the figure depends on whom you ask).
Undoubtedly, they all had the hostages on their minds, but many of the placards were the usual calls to bring down the Netanyahu government. The politicization of the hostage issue is part of the greater tragedy following the Hamas-led invasion and mega-atrocity of October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 were murdered and 251 abducted.
Like the vast majority of Israelis, I want to see the hostages back in Israel. I doubt I will ever be able to see a redheaded baby or toddler without thinking of Ariel and Kfir Bibas, snatched from their home and murdered in Gaza along with their mother, Shiri.
But, the address for the protests should be any international body that could put pressure on Hamas: the UN; the Red Cross; the EU; Qatar, which still hosts Hamas’s leadership; and Turkey, for example, along with all those countries now calling for the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state. Before granting the Palestinians sovereign rights, get them to release the 50 remaining hostages (Israelis and foreign citizens), 20 of whom are believed to be (barely) alive, and to lay down their arms and rockets.
Ramping up pressure on the Israeli government is counterproductive
Ramping up pressure on the Israeli government is counterproductive. The sight of hundreds of thousands of protesters acting against the Israeli government is not going to move Hamas and make it decide to suddenly lower its demands and release the hostages. On the contrary. Hamas is receiving confirmation of the strength of its bargaining chip (which was the point of taking hostages in the first place). It can raise the price for their release (dead or alive) and keep them as long as possible. Such is the nature of a jihadist terrorist organization.
Israeli threats to take over Gaza City and eliminate the terrorists there are taken more seriously by Hamas than footage of a crowd of demonstrators blocking roads or waving banners at a junction while rhythmically chanting: “Now! Now! Bring them back now!”
The protests are promoted by Israeli media eager to do their bit for the cause, and, cynically, keen for the ratings that go with it. But they are damaging. In an already divided society, it is inexcusable to exploit the pain of the hostages’ families to turn their release into another parade of Bibi-bashing. People who want to identify with the hostages are uncomfortable attending the main events because of the political slant. Feeling coerced in the workplace or academia to go on strike does not gain more sympathy for the cause.
The strike and rallies were in many ways reminiscent of the days of the anti-judicial reform protests – and not by chance. The hardcore activists are the same and their goal continues to be the removal of the Netanyahu government. It’s a legitimate call – but not on the backs of the hostages. And we should never forget that the weakness and divisions on display during the anti-reform protests are among the factors leading up to the October 7 invasion. Hamas, and its sponsors in Iran and Qatar, for sure haven’t forgotten. That’s why every gut-wrenching, heartbreaking video of hostages published by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad includes an anti-Netanyahu diatribe.
Maariv journalist Kalman Libeskind has noted that the videos are usually published on Shabbat – Friday night or Saturday – with the aim of getting more protesters out to the regular Saturday night rallies and placing more pressure on the government.
In his column last week, Libeskind pointed out that those demanding a commission of inquiry into October 7 are ignoring the recommendations of previous commissions of inquiry. He focused on the so-called Winograd Report on the 2006 Second Lebanon War. Headed by retired justice Eliyahu Winograd, the commission submitted its findings in January 2008 to then-prime minister Ehud Olmert and then-defense minister Ehud Barak.
Of particular interest to Libeskind was the chapter titled “Kidnapping as a Strategic Threat,” dealing with hostages. In June 2006, two IDF soldiers were killed, two wounded, and Gilad Schalit was abducted by Palestinian terrorists who crossed the Gaza border via a terror tunnel. Three weeks later, three reservists were killed and two – Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev – were kidnapped by Hezbollah on the northern border, sparking the Second Lebanon War.
The bodies of Goldwasser and Regev were returned two years later in exchange for five terrorists and the remains of some 200; Schalit was released after five years in exchange for more than 1,000 terrorists, including Yahya Sinwar, who became the October 7 mastermind.
The Winograd Report notes: “In Jewish tradition, the commandment to ransom captives is indeed of great importance – but it also includes great care that captives are not ransomed in a way that could endanger other people or the entire community.”
Libeskind cites the report’s words, written 17 years ago: “The claim that almost anything should be done to return hostages, despite its emotional force, does not stand up to scrutiny. If we act to release captives or hostages in a way that significantly increases the fear that others will be killed or kidnapped, the message we send by doing so is not one of immense respect for the life of every soldier and every civilian, but rather of partly emotional behavior that inevitably creates unnecessary risks to the lives and security of soldiers and civilians [in the long term].”
Chillingly, it is clear the number of terrorists released in the Schalit deal acted as an incentive to Hamas. I have no complaints against the hostages’ families. It is natural and understandable that they will do everything in their power to bring back their loved ones, those who need to heal and those who deserve a proper burial. But even among the families, there are differences of opinion on how best to achieve this.
Tikva Forum founder Tzvika Mor, whose soldier son Eitan is a hostage in Gaza, spoke out on various media platforms against Sunday’s shutdown and disruptions, warning they played into Hamas’s hands. Another major strike that had been planned for this coming Sunday was called off midweek when it looked like there might be progress in the hostage negotiations. It’s impossible to predict what will be by the end of the weekend.
In the Middle East, we need to strike a balance
In my dreams, I turn on the radio and hear there’s a deal for the return of all the hostages and total Hamas defeat. In my nightmares, the hostages remain in the murderous hands of Hamas and PIJ – and the terrorist organizations remain in control. In real life, here in the Middle East, we need to strike a balance – restore and maintain deterrence; create and protect safe borders; and bring back our collective sons (and one daughter) snatched that terrible day.
Like Schalit’s case, the plight of the hostages does not lack public awareness, at least in Israel. The money that goes into advertising and organizing the shutdown and protests could be better spent elsewhere: Instead of disrupting the lives of Israeli citizens already suffering from two years of war, the mass mobilization of reservists, and ongoing rocket attacks, the money should be spent campaigning against foreign governments, media outlets, and NGOs which are – knowingly or not – prolonging the hostilities and strengthening Hamas.
We cannot afford to ignore the plight of the hostages – but neither can we afford to forget who captured them and is holding them, and it is not the Israeli government. Hamas: Let my people go! Now!