Last week, the Minister for Jewish Settlements and National Missions, Orit Strook (65), met with family members of Israeli hostages who are not included in the current phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, as well as with freed hostages, for a difficult discussion. The right-wing minister and party colleague of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who was and is fundamentally opposed to the hostage deal, blamed the 2011 hostage agreement for facilitating the October 7 Hamas invasion, in which 251 people were abducted to the Gaza Strip. At that time, 1,027 Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in Israel were released in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. In the closed meeting, the family members tried to change Strook’s mind, but the audio recordings of the tense debate revealed an unbridgeable gap. The audio recordings were published by N12 without mentioning the names of the family members.
The dialogue reveals the deep divide in Israeli society between two worldviews: some demand freeing the hostages at any cost, while others say that doing so is to surrender to Hamas and open the door to new abductions.
“We taught them that it is worth it,” said Strook. “The weak point of Israeli society is the sanctification of life. Our enemies understood that, and that is why it happened again.”
That is why I think it is important that you read the conversation yourself, because you may gain a deeper insight into the issue and the different opinions among the people that are dividing the country:
Family members: “We have been in this situation for over a year. If we end the war, all the hostages will come back. If Hamas attacks again, we will defend ourselves again. So why not save who we can now and deal with the consequences afterwards?”
Minister Strook: “I know for sure that every hostage we bring back precipitates the next abduction. It is enough for them to kidnap our children, women and old people – and we kneel down and give them everything they ask for.”
Family members: “We were taught that the difference between us and the Arabs is that we sanctify life. When we hear statements like yours, what is the difference between us and them?”
Strook: “But we sanctify life.”
Family members: “If we sanctify life – why do we leave hostages to their fate?”
Strook: “That is our terrible weak point. No people, no place in the world has ever experienced what happened to us on October 7th. And it only happened because they (Hamas) understood that this is the right way to attack Israel.”
Family member: “No, it happened because of a failure of your government, army and intelligence.”
Released hostage: “It didn’t happen because of the hostage deal, you just forgot about us for years.”
Strook: “Hamas deliberately focused on mass kidnappings because we, the State of Israel, taught them that it is very worthwhile. And now we are teaching them again.”
Family member: “What you are teaching us is that if we are kidnapped, we are on our own, because you want to teach the Arabs a lesson.”
Released hostage: “You are showing me that you don’t care about your citizens.”
Strook: “If I didn’t care, you wouldn’t have been released – I voted for your release.”
Released hostage: “And now I should thank you? Thank you for agreeing to release me? I was kidnapped during your time in office! I have no price!”
Strook: “So I should change my stance, a stance that is solely for the protection of Israel and its citizens, just because you have a different opinion?”
Family member: “If the war continues, *** may not even survive another six months.”
Strook: “Not necessarily.”
Family member: “Carmel Gat did not survive, Eden Yerushalmi did not survive either.”
Released hostage: “Hersch did not survive.”
Strook: “I remember well the huge celebrations in Israel after the Gilad Shalit hostage deal in 2011. And in the end, that is precisely why *** is now in captivity.”
Released hostage: “This happened because you failed, because your government was asleep, because you did not protect your citizens. If the intelligence service had been functioning, if the government had made sure that the military and the intelligence services did their job – then this would not have happened!”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in the US this week and will meet with US President Donald Trump to discuss the next step: freeing all the remaining hostages from captivity in the Gaza Strip, including all the bodies. This will be very difficult, because Israel will have to make numerous compromises, such as ending the war. Even though the majority of the government voted for the current hostage deal, the government depends on Strook and her right-wing party colleagues, because without them Netanyahu’s government will collapse.
Despite the numerous efforts of the family members to underline the importance of concluding the agreement and releasing all the remaining hostages, even in the final phase, the meeting with Minister Strook showed that the positions seem irreconcilable. Both sides have their arguments, and that is what makes the whole situation in the country so difficult. On the one hand, we see the plight of the hostages and their families, and we must not abandon our brothers and sisters in need in accordance with the biblical commandment: “Do not stand over the blood of your neighbor.” On the other hand, we must also openly admit that by doing so we risk new kidnappings. To prevent this, Israel must destroy Hamas & Co.
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Hamas needs to be destroyed but there are too many divisions. I hope Israelis citizens can give Bibi some space to do the right thing. He has the best interests of Israel at heart. He could have achieved a better result without the stupid ceasefire that’s one sided.
When I am overwhelmed by the needs of God’s people, I remember Exodus 23:20-21, where God speaks of His Angel who goes before us saying, “..obey His voice; do not provoke Him for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him.” And 22-23a, “..if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. For My Angel will go before you..”
Hebrews 1:1-3, tells us God is speaking to us today by His Son, Christ Jesus, who is “the express image of His Person.. [who] when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
We have an advocate today, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is able to save to the uttermost all who come to God through Him for He always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25) “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us… [nothing] shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Ro. 8:37-39)