Those who are merciful to the cruel will be cruel to the merciful. (Rabbinic adage)
Disgusting. Depressing. Debilitating. I’m watching the hostages “running the gauntlet” as the terrorists parade them through Gaza, and I am sick to my stomach.
It is a scene straight out of Dante’s Inferno as our precious citizens are herded through the nine circles of Hell while forced to smile, wearing semi-military clothes, and carrying “goody bags” with terrorist symbols.
The grotesque image immediately brings to my mind pictures of innocent children being given candy by their Nazi tormentors just before they entered the gas chambers.
The hostages’ blessed release notwithstanding, this horror movie is – despite the protestations of the wishful thinking – proof positive that we have not only lost the battle, but we have lost the war.
Hamas's hostage releases show Israel has lost the battle and the war
Hamas have emerged triumphant, and they are displaying their victory for all the world to see. Thousands of hate-filled Gazans are storming the hostage vehicles, cheering, wagging their fingers, screaming insults at the victims and, by extension, at every Israeli and every Jew.
Hamas are in full control, calling the shots. They dictate to us when the so-called “exchanges” will take place – on Shabbat, to further grind our nose into the dust; and who they will let out – the Bibas father but not his wife or children.
Does anyone in their right mind believe that this evil genie can now be put back in the bottle? Hamas have not only survived, they have roused their people into a frenzy of triumphalism with the delicious knowledge that they have bested Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the mighty Israeli war machine.
When Netanyahu spokesman Omer Dostri admits that the hostage deal “isn’t perfect; it came at a cost,” he is epitomizing the meaning of the word “understatement.” And when he pathetically tries to blame president Joe Biden for this debacle, he insults everyone’s intelligence. We know who is really to blame.
But this is only the beginning. The endless scenes of liberated murderers being brought by Israeli buses to massive celebrations will now pollute world media for some time. These monsters will be feted by adoring crowds whose accolades are directly proportional to how many Jews the terrorists succeeded in murdering.
The killers have been vindicated; they have proven that crime pays, and pays well. With just a little patience, they can slay at will and then become heroes – very well-paid heroes. All, of course, at our expense.
EVEN WHEN this current series of terrorist-freeing blood-letting is concluded, we will still not breathe a sigh of relief. Generations to come – our children and our children’s children – will pay the horrible price for this lopsided, desperate, insane “deal.” Terrorists will not retire to become accountants and model citizens. They will revert to doing what they do best: shedding the blood of anyone whom they deem inferior, Jew and Muslim alike.
For those Pollyanna people who dream that President Donald Trump will make it all turn out right, don’t let your imagination run away with you. As good a friend as Trump has been to Israel and the Jewish people – and he should be praised for his good deeds – he is facing a challenge that has brought many a well-intentioned savior to his knees.
Let us also not forget that Trump is president of the US, not Israel; he is duty-bound to put America first and foremost. As King David warns in Psalm 146: “Do not place your trust in [foreign] princes, in mere mortals who may not be your deliverer.”
More importantly, the worst thing we could do as a sovereign nation is abdicate our own responsibility and place our fate in another’s hands. As much as we seek the support of friendly nations, we alone are charged to defend our borders and protect our citizens.
We did not march through history, overcoming every obstacle to create this country, only to become a Puerto Rico-like protectorate or British-occupied Gibraltar. We must fight our own battles, devastating as they may be.
There is a well-orchestrated, mob-driven crusade to focus almost exclusively on the hostages and our “obligations” toward them. But what about the families of those whose loved ones were cruelly stolen from them by terrorists who now are let free?
Do we not have any obligation or loyalty to them, let alone the rule of law that has now been flushed down the toilet by our “negotiators”? The media barely mentions these suffering souls, but we would do well to take up their case as well.
ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2003, Rabbi Dr. David Applebaum and his 20-year-old daughter Nava took a few minutes to share a cup of coffee. The next day would be Nava’s wedding day. She had just immersed herself in the mikveh (ritual bath), as Jewish law requires, and this would be a special time to have some intimate moments with her father before all the excitement.
David, with whom I went to school at Skokie Yeshiva near Chicago, was one of Jerusalem’s most prominent and busiest citizens. As head of Shaare Zedek Medical Center’s emergency department and founder of Terem’s urgent-care centers, he spent countless hours every day saving lives – Jewish, Arab, and Christian.
But the father-daughter moment of joy at Café Hillel in Jerusalem was shattered in an instant when a suicide bomber blew up the restaurant, killing seven people, including David and Nava.
How shall we comfort wife and mother Debra, now that the killer who tore her life apart has been set free? How can we justify this gross miscarriage of justice, which sends the unmistakable message that Jewish blood is cheap, if not worthless?
How will we dare to repent when this depraved animal and others like him kill again, as they undoubtedly will? Where is our self-respect – if not for the victims, then for our beleaguered country that has surrendered to the scum of the earth?
The prophet Isaiah preaches: “Zion shall be redeemed through justice; its captives returned through righteousness” (1:27). Is this justice?! Is this righteousness?!
In medieval times and throughout history, Jewish parents would tell their children that the time may come when they would be forced to make an awful choice. Their tormentors would demand that they either abandon their Jewish faith and embrace another religion, or die. And though many did indeed capitulate, the mass of Jews clung to their belief in God, either sacrificing their lives or observing Jewish rituals in secret.
When our brave soldiers go to war, it is with the full knowledge that they may one day have to give up their lives in defense of the state. It is their sacred duty to defend our borders and prevent the enemy from encroaching upon our civilian population.
They have done a masterful job until now. But when that border is penetrated, as happened on Oct. 7, the choice then falls on us all. Are we, too, prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice of ourselves and our families, God forbid, in order to keep our country and our society safe?
At that awesome moment – the very moment we are now experiencing – every Israeli becomes a soldier.
The writer is director of the Jewish Outreach Center of Ra’anana. rabbistewart@gmail.com