On February 10, Hamas threatened to call off the hostage deal due to false allegations that Israel had violated its terms, sending shockwaves through the nation. Now, we anxiously await news of phase two.
Yet again, we are victims of Hamas’s psychological warfare and manipulation tactics, puppets in their hands, sheep to be slaughtered. Yet again, they call the shots. And, yet again, the world looks away.
In our greatest time of need, instead of being supported as we face an existential threat on multiple fronts, we have been scorned, vilified, condemned, shunned, or simply ignored. We have been called names and accused of genocide and war crimes among other hypocrisies. We have been forced to exchange coldblooded terrorists, rapists, and murderers, for innocent civilians ripped out of their beds, their only crime being born Jewish.
As Jews, the hypocrisy and double standards are sadly not new or surprising. We have always been held to a higher standard. Nothing we do is right.
It is incredible what social media and propaganda can do. Imagine a world where whitewashing and brainwashing were not possible. But yet again, terrorism, bigotry, and antisemitism are legitimized, as long as, or specifically because we are Jews.
I have no doubt that if the hostages were not Jewish or Israeli, the world would be in an uproar and they would have been released long ago, if not instantly. No one would have dared mention such an illogical exchange as security-prisoners-for-debilitated-hostages. But such is the nature of a disturbingly perverted reality and flawed system that victims are abandoned in their time of need, while the perpetrators of barbarity and radicalism are cruelly rewarded.
A deal shouldn’t be necessary in the first place.
Negotiating with terrorists
Being forced to negotiate with terrorists and make such an untenable decision is a moral outrage and ethical transgression. In a moral world, those complicit in the October 7 massacre or any other terrorist attack should be held accountable and dealt with in the harshest of manners.
In my opinion, all murderers and rapists should be sentenced to the death penalty immediately, instead of being used as bargaining tools for extortion. The Western world should have threatened Hamas and its proxies, deterring them with severe ramifications and sanctions, thereby forcing them to release the hostages unconditionally.
Instead, despite widespread contention surrounding the lopsided deal, due to its exorbitant price, most Jews and Israelis agree that is not only the most moral option but more significantly, our ethical imperative as Israelis and the Jewish nation, in upholding our value of sanctifying life.
But seeing the dire condition of the hostages released so far, their emaciation, gaunt faces, and hollowed eyes stricken with pain, renders striking comparisons to Holocaust survivors, I keep coming back to this question: Is it the only or most moral choice? How is this allowed to happen?
Those who condemn Hamas’s barbarity are few and far between, and while they may not partake in direct violence, those who remain silent or impartial are allowing and tolerating the continued suffering of our hostages and the Jewish people. Silence is complicity. Anyone with a moral backbone and a pair of eyes knows that what happened and what is still happening is wrong.
WHERE IS the outcry and outrage? What happened to Never Again?
I wonder what it will take for all the Jew-haters and pro-Hamas supporters to realize that they are on the wrong side of history. Will the videos of the cruel hostage releases be enough? How will they feel when their worldviews are shattered?
When referring to people so brainwashed and steeped in hatred and bigotry, I know how unlikely it is that they will come to realize their errors. Throughout this war, and often in my life, I have wondered how it can be so obvious to me who is right and who is wrong, who is good, and who is evil, when others can’t see it.
If they knew that they were supporting terrorists and that they would be killed instantly if they stepped foot into Gaza, would the hypocrisy end?
In this reality of baseless hatred, it is easy to become defeated and cynical. It is easy to lose faith – in God and in humanity.
What is the point of advocating for Israel or for our people, if it won’t do anything? If we are attempting to reason with close-minded, hateful, and brainwashed individuals who are hellbent on spreading their warped hostile narratives, whatever the cost?
And all this talk of dismantling Hamas – while we have managed to weaken its infrastructure, it is virtually impossible to kill an ideology or to counter an education built and sustained on hatred. It is a losing battle.
And yet, we continue to fight every day. We continue to remain resilient. And we never lose hope. How is this? How does a nation that has been tested in the most horrific ways, again, and again, survive, even thrive, and outlast so many others?
The truth is we have no choice.
If we don’t stand up for ourselves, who will? We must maintain a united front and have faith that good will prevail. Hamas may have broken our families and our homes, but they will never break our spirit. This is our strength, and this is something that our enemies will never take away from us.
Ideally, there should be no deal.
But as Jews and Israelis, we aren’t often awarded either choice or justice. So for now, we have to make do with far-from-ideal and make the most moral choice with the tools we have, holding onto hope and faith yet again, against the backdrop of a world trying to tear us down.
So let’s rejoice together for the return of the people released so far from Hamas captivity and pray for the safe return of the remaining 63 hostages.
The writer is a copy editor at The Jerusalem Post. She is a native of London, now living in Jerusalem.