Sitting around a Friday night dinner table recently with dear friends, one of the guests referred to the word “compromise.” He did so in the context of our Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who appears to evade compromise in relation to the release of the 98 hostages remaining at the mercy of Hamas.
It was a word that triggered a sense of logic that had somehow evaded my thoughts on where we in Israel find ourselves at this exceedingly challenging moment in our history.
As we view the pain of the hostages’ families, while able to identify with their feelings, it is unlikely that we can fully comprehend the anguish of those whose loved ones have remained in captivity for over 15 months.
The recent report, presented by Israel to the UN, revealed the appalling conditions in which these hostages are held, as well as the torture, sexual abuse, beatings, and starvation, resulting in the deep psychological damage affecting the men, women, and children remaining in captivity, as well as those fortunate to have returned to their families.
The above revelations distressingly add to the constant repeated disappointment of the hostages’ families. How many times can those who are bereft hear the negotiators speak of an imminent deal, only to find this is not the case?
These thoughts are shared by many, and certainly those who, week after week, support those awaiting their loved ones’ return and call on our government to do what it takes to bring them home as, with each passing day, their lives come closer to termination.
Our prime minister consistently speaks of the necessity of eliminating Hamas, implying this to be of greater importance than releasing the hostages. Can one really eliminate those whose ideology praises death and martyrdom in the cause of killing Israelis?
We have supposedly dealt a severe blow to Hamas, yet the terror group is still killing our incredibly brave soldiers – far too frequently and far too many – as well as retaining the ability to fire rockets, necessitating Israelis to run to the nearest shelter.
According to a recent Channel 12 report, Hamas has recruited between 12,000 and 23,000 new fighters. These figures, combined with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, result in Hamas currently commanding between 20,000 and 23,000 terrorists, making a mockery of our claim to have eliminated the vast majority of Hamas activists.
Is our prime minister capable of the compromise necessary to achieve the release of our hostages? Should he have agreed to a compromise much earlier when many more hostages were alive – even if it meant a temporary withdrawal from Gaza? Would it have been worth the price?
How can the families of the hostages place their faith in a premier who publicly said of the current hostage negotiations, “If there is a deal – and I hope there will be – Israel will return to fighting afterward. There is no point in pretending otherwise because returning to fighting is needed in order to complete the goals of the war.”
This statement evokes deep concern among the members of Israel’s current hostage negotiating team, who firmly believe that the prime minister’s words will make it considerably more difficult to secure a deal. Is this a clever way to negotiate? Surely the PM’s statement, in the midst of negotiations, can only contribute toward their collapse yet again.
Back to the Friday night when the dinner guest suggested that the word “compromise” was not in Netanyahu’s vocabulary. Another guest believed that Netanyahu was unable to compromise because, in so doing, he would lose the support of Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, leading to the downfall of the government, together with its prime minister.
And yes, there are those who state that Israel cannot, as part of a deal, afford to free terrorists – as was the case with Yahya Sinwar – one of 1,000 terrorists released in exchange for Gilad Schalit. Sinwar, a leader of Hamas, was the mastermind behind the barbaric murder of 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023.
Yet did we not manage to kill off a number of Hamas leaders at our time of choosing? Is it not possible that we – who successfully dreamed up the annihilation of Hezbollah’s top leadership – via the exploding pagers – might well succeed in recapturing the terrorists that we allow to go free?
The sad reality is that as long as there is no compromise, the lives of hostages are being compromised.
In the meantime, the international media makes virtually no mention of our hostages but gives prominence to the IDF’s virtual elimination of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital. Our spokespeople are telling us that the hospital was a hotbed of Hamas terrorists.
Devoid of spokespeople able to project reality
However, this actuality is not being conveyed to the public – either here or abroad – in anywhere near a convincing fashion. The naked truth is that we are devoid of spokespeople capable of projecting reality in a potent manner. Eylon Levy, born in the UK with an Oxford University degree in philosophy, politics, and economics, served as a government spokesman for a far too brief period.
Articulate, dynamic, and to the point, his appearances on the international media were exceedingly effective. We are given to understand that his dismissal was because he was against Yariv Levin’s proposal to diminish the judiciary system in our country, a system that remains the only “checks and balances” in an Israel devoid of a constitution and a second political house as exists in numerous other democracies.
Recognizing Israel’s deficiency in conveying its position to the outside world, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar requested an increase in his ministry’s budget specifically for hasbara (public diplomacy) purposes. However, money itself will not change a situation where we consistently appear inadequate in presenting Israel’s justifiable side of the story. A glaring example is Israel’s “no response” to the time-and-again media implication that it has prevented the Palestinians from having a state.
Yet from 1947 onwards, it was the Arabs who rejected the opportunity for a Palestinian state. And so it continued in 2000 under former prime minister Ehud Barak and former president Bill Clinton; the “so-called” peace negotiations ended when Arafat walked away from a possible deal with Israel.
Again in 2008, under the premiership of Ehud Olmert, who offered far-reaching concessions to the Palestinians, yet again they walked away. The truth is that the Palestinians refuse to accept the existence of a Jewish state in the Middle East – not the other way around as consistently projected.
Sadly, we do not appear to have spokespeople to present these facts in a clear manner, so we find ourselves compromised.
However, at this moment of ongoing negotiations for the release of our hostages, we pray that they will not be compromised. Our government should emulate Israel’s amazing population – its sense of giving during these past 15 months of war has surpassed all expectations. We are a people who believe in life, which is why the time to bring our hostages home is now. As our sage Hillel said: “If not now, when?”
Am Yisrael chai.
The writer is president of Israel, Britain and the Commonwealth Association (IBCA); she has chaired public affairs organizations in Israel and the UK. The views expressed are hers alone.