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| Freed hostage,Yarden Roman-Gat (CBS) |
There is a hardly a moment that goes by that I don’t think about what my people in Israel are going through right now. Whether it’s the hostages themselves; their families; those that lost loved ones on October 7th; people whose sons and daughters are serving the IDF, some of whom are fighting the ground war in Gaza; or the rest of the country now agonizing over all that. I don’t recall ever being so worried about the fate of our people. And this doesn’t even address - what seems like an exponential rise in antisemitism Jews are facing all over the world right now.
Israel faces a truly difficult decision right now. It would be hard enough if they only had the war to think about. But as Jonathan Rosenblum noted in Mishpacha Magazine:
Historian and former Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren recently compared the choice Israel faces between securing the return of hostages and completely defeating Hamas to Sophie’s choice, in a 1979 William Styron novel of that name, about a Polish Catholic forced by the Nazis to choose which of her children to save in Auschwitz.
That extremely difficult choice was obviously planned by Hamas. And that is on top of their tactic of imbedding themselves among their own civilian population. Thereby maximizing their casualties in order to generate world sympathy. Which has been a pretty successful tactic on its own thus far.
I’m sure that Israel's leaders anticipated the world’s eventual ‘cease fire’ demand. Israel is nevertheless committed to the destruction of Hamas. But the fate of the remaining hostages makes that goal a choice between two outcomes - neither of which is satisfactory
If Israel ceases its operations in Gaza in order to get the hostages back, Hamas will live to see another day like the one on October 7th. Which they have promised to repeat over and over again until Israel is wiped off the map - to be replaced by the Islamic State of Palestine. If on the other hand Israel chooses continue fighting until if finishes off Hamas, they will probably end up killing the remaining hostages.
The one thing that should not deter Israel is the number of civilian casualties. Not because Palestinians deserve to die. But because it can’t be helped. Hamas cannot be allowed to survive. Because their survival could very well mean Israel’s demise.
I have said this before but it bears repeating. I do not really pity what Palestinians are going through in Gaza, right now. It’s true that they did not commit the atrocities their leadership has. But how innocent are people whose goal is the same as the Hamas? Even if they are not the ones doing it. How innocent are people that cheer what Hamas did to us on October 7th?
Yesterday 60 Minutes correspondent, Leslie Stahl interviewed Yarden Roman-Gat - one of the freed Israeli hostages. She described the 54 days of terror being held by Hamas. The following is an excerpt from Stahl’s interview (which should be read or watched in its entirety):
Hours earlier, Yarden – too exhausted to keep running, fell to the ground – as her captors closed in.
Yarden Roman-Gat: I play dead, but holding my breath was next to impossible. So they said, "No, she's not dead. There is no blood. So pick her up." And they grabbed my arms and started dragging me on the ground towards back to the car. I was in pajamas. And my clothes started to-- swipe off my body. And it was one of-- one of the most frightening moments because my thoughts were, "Even if they didn't have that intention, now they might have, and I'm half naked. So--"
Yarden Roman-Gat: I play dead, but holding my breath was next to impossible. So they said, "No, she's not dead. There is no blood. So pick her up." And they grabbed my arms and started dragging me on the ground towards back to the car. I was in pajamas. And my clothes started to-- swipe off my body. And it was one of-- one of the most frightening moments because my thoughts were, "Even if they didn't have that intention, now they might have, and I'm half naked. So--"
Lesley Stahl: Uh-huh. You're worried about rape?
Yarden Roman-Gat: Yeah. I was worried to get raped.
Lesley Stahl: Yeah. Of course.
Yarden Roman-Gat: And fortunately enough, they didn't do it. They were-- the goal was get me into Gaza.
Like other hostages, she was driven into Gaza through thick crowds, celebrating.
Yarden Roman-Gat: My kidnappers could not help themselves, showing me off as a trophy and showing my face as an object. I was not a person.
Lesley Stahl: But wait. The windows were up, right? No one could reach--
Yarden Roman-Gat: No. They were not up. There were a lot of people around. And, as we-
Lesley Stahl: Yelling and screaming--
Yarden Roman-Gat: Yeah. Partying.
It’s difficult if not impossible for me to take pity on people like this. They may not deserve the carnage and devastation they are getting. But I can’t say I feel sorry for them. At least I am not celebrating.
They have to know that it is Hamas that has brought this tragedy upon them. And yet they completely ignore that and consider their casualties to be martyrs.
And finally a word about what UN Secretary General António Guterres said shortly after the Hamas massacre on October 7th. He said that this did not happen in a vacuum.
Thing is he’s right about that. But not in the way he thinks which is to blame the victim. (Israel) who brought it upon themselves by way of their ‘brutal occupation’.
No sir. Israel had no intention of ever subjugating any Palestinians. They were happy to concede the entire West Bank when Palestine was partitioned by the UN in 1948. All the Arab nations rejected it. A rejection that is now being acted upon more brutally than ever by Hamas terrorists. So the vacuum (or better put - the context) is not the occupation. It is Israel’s need to defend itself from continuous deadly attacks by terrorists like Hamas. Which Palestinians so joyously celebrate.
Israel cannot afford to let Hamas live to fight another day. Regardless of the pressure they get from the rest of the world. But then there are the hostages. Israel is facing Sophie’s Choice.
What do they choose?
