Watch now | One day after the hostage families released this painful video, Israel's cabinet authorized a resumption of hostage negotiations. Many are asking: "Why did it take their doing that for it to happen?"
If this thought process of Daniel Gordie accurately reflects that of most Israelis, then Israel is doomed in dealing with Hamas and Hezbollah. Two points: 1) It is likely to believe that the hostages are dead already, or shortly will be, or have been moved into Egypt through tunnels. Trading terrorists for bodies is self defeating, as it incetivizes kidnapping. 2) If defeating Hamas is not essential, then no attempt to enter Gaza is ever indicated. If defeating Hamas is essential, as I believe, then negotiations with them are wrong and pointless. Why legitimize an evil enemy, as they will never give you what you want?
I think that Gordis, and others on the left in Israel are equivalent to the Democrat party in the U.S., in that they would rather sell out the security of Israel in order to replace Netanyahu, or appease Biden. As Winston Churchill said, " You (the left, in this case) were given a choice between war and dishonor. You (choose) dishonor, and you will have war.
Brilliant remark of Churchill. Totally a propos. I would not say Gordis is 'on the left' - I believe he is in the center of all the forces pulling on both sides. What is 100% true is that the Dem. Party is determined, on orders of Obama going back yrs, to destroy Netanyahu. His support for Trump, fleeting as it was, doomed him. The ego of the Nobel Prize Winner for Peace (!!) is so huge that he will never be content until BN is gone. Biden simply takes orders from him and surrounds himself as a cliche-filled smoke screen with Jewish liberals to do the bidding of Obama and his grand Iran plan. Oldest story in Jewish history, playing out again now in time for the Nov. elections in the US. Jewish voters will be sacrificed unless they support the D. Party, and then rewarded, as always, with grudging 'tolerance' until the next time they are put on the chopping block. Israel simply counts for nothing to young Democrats since their education (and lack of one) has beens sold off for billions of Arab money flowing into the US. To prove how 'just' they are and loyal to the county they fear will turn its back on them if they don't, they wield no power at all compared to the other minorities of whom everyone is now plainly terrified. They are the only ones Americans are afraid of; on the other hand, they know they can push Jews around to their hearts' content and then be asked to do it again. Nobody cares, as they never really did. What more proof do you need?
Firstly, Mr/Ms Levin you are in cloud-cuckoo land... All the players in the Biden regime dealing with the mideast and Iran are unreconstructed Obamazoidal place holders, except for Mr. Malley, who was kicked off the B-team for unclear reasons which probably included being too obviously and worshiply in the Ayatollah's back pocket.. and not least also the present US Attorney General: the Dhimmicrat's rejected SCOTUS appointee.
Kindly recollect as to how merely getting back the corpse of a long-dead IDF soldier years ago inexorably led to the release of more than a thousand Hamas murderous crazies, one of whom was the relentlessly evil supremo directly behind the 7th Oct pogrom!
("NDS" is a proposed de facto variant of "TDS", which if you don't understand the latter acronym, you probably don't understand very much! Google is your friend.)
DG is hardly of the left but the reasonable right. He is not part of the Kahane right from which Ben Gvir and Smotrich, and evidently you have bubbled up, like rotting sewage. You do not have to like DG's opinion. I think he's wrong as well. He is guilty of allowing emotions to cloud his rational mind. I cannot fault his humanity even if I think it is a poor way of making public policy, particularly with respect to an 11th century culture. On this subject decent men can disagree. Nonetheless, facts matter irrespective of your tribal blinders which lead you to think decency and humanity are character faults only found in your political opponent. You are all that is indecent and remedial. With apologies to his fictional creation you are what JR Tolkin described as a "cave troll."
Having read your screed, I find it remarkable that although you disagree with Gordis, you assign only a humanitarian feeling for him. Fine, I also think he is a fine man, but on the wrong side of this issue. Yet, not knowing me, you impugn my character multiple times, with a certainty of the flaws of my character and that of those who think like me. Maybe, instead of making a personal attack on me, you should examine your own heart to determine why you chose not to make a thoughtful refutation of what I said but rather such a mean-spirited diatribe.
I couldn’t agree more with you. Hamas is in reality holding all of Israel hostage. The Jews being held by Hamas unfortunately are part of the casualties of war and we cry and mourn for each one as if they were our relatives. We mourn too for the young IDF soldiers who lay down their lives for Israel and the Jewish People. The best way to stop our loses is to have a swift and total victory over the barbarians and to never again let them invade us again!
Ben Gurion said “In Israel, in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.” I’m waiting and praying for the miracle that will aid Israelis at this time. My heart aches that they desperately need strong leaders at this time and it seems like chaos and petty political division at the top levels. “They have treated my people’s brokenness superficially, claiming, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace.”
Jeremiah 6:14 . Praying for leaders that won’t treat the brokenness superficially. God bless the hostages, the IDF, and all Israelis 🇮🇱
My belief is that we can not hope to reduce the incidence of kidnapping, if we continue to allow mass releases of prisoners in exchange for small numbers of captives. Prisoner swaps need to be 1:1 or not at all. This is the only way to reduce the incentive for kidnappings. I don't believe more than a tiny proportion of the hostages would want to know that more other soldiers died trying to rescue them, than the number who were rescued.
Those held hostage are in hell and any right-thinking person would want them returned. If they were my loved ones I would be screaming from the rooftops. However, the previous deals that have been made to release hostages over the years have ultimately led to more deaths of Israelis and hostages taken. So it is the devil's choice. When the release of Gilad Shalit was finally negotiated, Israel said at the time that they could go after the released terrorists at any time and return them to prison etc. The horrific fact is, that did not happen, and we ended up with October 7. I applaud Daniel Gordis, who is no "lefty" for his humanity and belief that returning the captives is a moral imperative. A large part of me agrees. But how do we explain to the future captives who undoubtedly will be taken as a result of terrorists that would be released in any deal, that we made this devil's pact out of the best of intentions. I hope and pray every day that the IDF will find more than just dead hostages to return to Israel.
Perhaps what we should start doing is counting the days to Simchat Torah to celebrate with the hostages freed. I can’t recall where I heard this or who from but said Jews are not victims but survivors-Jews who were alive after Hitler’s fall are not victims but Holocaust survivors.
If this thought process of Daniel Gordie accurately reflects that of most Israelis, then Israel is doomed in dealing with Hamas and Hezbollah. Two points: 1) It is likely to believe that the hostages are dead already, or shortly will be, or have been moved into Egypt through tunnels. Trading terrorists for bodies is self defeating, as it incetivizes kidnapping. 2) If defeating Hamas is not essential, then no attempt to enter Gaza is ever indicated. If defeating Hamas is essential, as I believe, then negotiations with them are wrong and pointless. Why legitimize an evil enemy, as they will never give you what you want?
I think that Gordis, and others on the left in Israel are equivalent to the Democrat party in the U.S., in that they would rather sell out the security of Israel in order to replace Netanyahu, or appease Biden. As Winston Churchill said, " You (the left, in this case) were given a choice between war and dishonor. You (choose) dishonor, and you will have war.
Brilliant remark of Churchill. Totally a propos. I would not say Gordis is 'on the left' - I believe he is in the center of all the forces pulling on both sides. What is 100% true is that the Dem. Party is determined, on orders of Obama going back yrs, to destroy Netanyahu. His support for Trump, fleeting as it was, doomed him. The ego of the Nobel Prize Winner for Peace (!!) is so huge that he will never be content until BN is gone. Biden simply takes orders from him and surrounds himself as a cliche-filled smoke screen with Jewish liberals to do the bidding of Obama and his grand Iran plan. Oldest story in Jewish history, playing out again now in time for the Nov. elections in the US. Jewish voters will be sacrificed unless they support the D. Party, and then rewarded, as always, with grudging 'tolerance' until the next time they are put on the chopping block. Israel simply counts for nothing to young Democrats since their education (and lack of one) has beens sold off for billions of Arab money flowing into the US. To prove how 'just' they are and loyal to the county they fear will turn its back on them if they don't, they wield no power at all compared to the other minorities of whom everyone is now plainly terrified. They are the only ones Americans are afraid of; on the other hand, they know they can push Jews around to their hearts' content and then be asked to do it again. Nobody cares, as they never really did. What more proof do you need?
Biden taking orders from Obama? Imaginary thinking, to say the least. But yes, Israel will be much better off once Bibi is history.
Firstly, Mr/Ms Levin you are in cloud-cuckoo land... All the players in the Biden regime dealing with the mideast and Iran are unreconstructed Obamazoidal place holders, except for Mr. Malley, who was kicked off the B-team for unclear reasons which probably included being too obviously and worshiply in the Ayatollah's back pocket.. and not least also the present US Attorney General: the Dhimmicrat's rejected SCOTUS appointee.
Kindly recollect as to how merely getting back the corpse of a long-dead IDF soldier years ago inexorably led to the release of more than a thousand Hamas murderous crazies, one of whom was the relentlessly evil supremo directly behind the 7th Oct pogrom!
("NDS" is a proposed de facto variant of "TDS", which if you don't understand the latter acronym, you probably don't understand very much! Google is your friend.)
DG is hardly of the left but the reasonable right. He is not part of the Kahane right from which Ben Gvir and Smotrich, and evidently you have bubbled up, like rotting sewage. You do not have to like DG's opinion. I think he's wrong as well. He is guilty of allowing emotions to cloud his rational mind. I cannot fault his humanity even if I think it is a poor way of making public policy, particularly with respect to an 11th century culture. On this subject decent men can disagree. Nonetheless, facts matter irrespective of your tribal blinders which lead you to think decency and humanity are character faults only found in your political opponent. You are all that is indecent and remedial. With apologies to his fictional creation you are what JR Tolkin described as a "cave troll."
Having read your screed, I find it remarkable that although you disagree with Gordis, you assign only a humanitarian feeling for him. Fine, I also think he is a fine man, but on the wrong side of this issue. Yet, not knowing me, you impugn my character multiple times, with a certainty of the flaws of my character and that of those who think like me. Maybe, instead of making a personal attack on me, you should examine your own heart to determine why you chose not to make a thoughtful refutation of what I said but rather such a mean-spirited diatribe.
I couldn’t agree more with you. Hamas is in reality holding all of Israel hostage. The Jews being held by Hamas unfortunately are part of the casualties of war and we cry and mourn for each one as if they were our relatives. We mourn too for the young IDF soldiers who lay down their lives for Israel and the Jewish People. The best way to stop our loses is to have a swift and total victory over the barbarians and to never again let them invade us again!
Ben Gurion said “In Israel, in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.” I’m waiting and praying for the miracle that will aid Israelis at this time. My heart aches that they desperately need strong leaders at this time and it seems like chaos and petty political division at the top levels. “They have treated my people’s brokenness superficially, claiming, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace.”
Jeremiah 6:14 . Praying for leaders that won’t treat the brokenness superficially. God bless the hostages, the IDF, and all Israelis 🇮🇱
My sentiments as well. Thanks. 🙏
My belief is that we can not hope to reduce the incidence of kidnapping, if we continue to allow mass releases of prisoners in exchange for small numbers of captives. Prisoner swaps need to be 1:1 or not at all. This is the only way to reduce the incentive for kidnappings. I don't believe more than a tiny proportion of the hostages would want to know that more other soldiers died trying to rescue them, than the number who were rescued.
Those held hostage are in hell and any right-thinking person would want them returned. If they were my loved ones I would be screaming from the rooftops. However, the previous deals that have been made to release hostages over the years have ultimately led to more deaths of Israelis and hostages taken. So it is the devil's choice. When the release of Gilad Shalit was finally negotiated, Israel said at the time that they could go after the released terrorists at any time and return them to prison etc. The horrific fact is, that did not happen, and we ended up with October 7. I applaud Daniel Gordis, who is no "lefty" for his humanity and belief that returning the captives is a moral imperative. A large part of me agrees. But how do we explain to the future captives who undoubtedly will be taken as a result of terrorists that would be released in any deal, that we made this devil's pact out of the best of intentions. I hope and pray every day that the IDF will find more than just dead hostages to return to Israel.
Rape underreported: Seven NYT articles mention Israel's viewpoint vs. 1,398 Gaza's https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-802634?utm_source=jpost.app.apple&utm_medium=share
Perhaps what we should start doing is counting the days to Simchat Torah to celebrate with the hostages freed. I can’t recall where I heard this or who from but said Jews are not victims but survivors-Jews who were alive after Hitler’s fall are not victims but Holocaust survivors.