The Talmud (Bava Batra 16b) notes: “On the one hand, the text states: ‘Job has spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom (Job 34:35). But on the other hand, it is written concerning Job’s friends: ‘You have not spoken of Me rightly, like my servant Job’ (Job 42:8). Rava said: From here we learn that a person is not held responsible for what he says when he is in distress. Although Job uttered certain words that were wrong and inappropriate, he was not punished for them because he said them at a time of pain and hardship.”
Since the Hamas atrocities of October 7, 2023, hundreds, perhaps thousands of grieved Israelis and Jews around the world have expressed their pain in ways that caused many other Israelis and Jews a lot of pain of their own. But from my experience with the folks on the right in Israel, when it came to family members of fallen soldiers, and more so of hostages, there’s been a consensus that they should be allowed to say whatever is on their minds because their pain is so great.
Our pain, on the right, has been equally great, if not more so, but we may be more tolerant and accepting than some of the goons on the left.
This Gandhi/MLK attitude may need to stop because the grief of some hostage families is being usurped and used against Israel.
Reports suggest the Biden administration is weighing a potential direct deal with Hamas to free American hostages. According to NBC News, citing five sources close to the matter, families of US hostages have urged the White House to explore this option. The possibility of negotiating independently with the terrorist group is now under consideration by administration officials (Hostage families press Biden admin to make a deal with Hamas that doesn’t include Israel).
On Sunday, families of American hostages met with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan following Hamas’s killing of six hostages, including US citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Sources report that the relatives advocated for the administration to consider strategies independent of Israel to secure the remaining hostages’ release. While officials assured the families they would examine “every option,” they maintained that a joint agreement involving Israel remains the preferred approach, according to individuals familiar with the discussion.
NBC News reported in June that the Biden administration had explored the possibility of a unilateral deal with Hamas for releasing American hostages in Gaza, should broader ceasefire talk with Israel fail. Recent developments suggest ongoing internal considerations:
The administration compiled a list of US prisoners whose release might interest Hamas in exchange for kidnapped Americans. According to sources, this list includes five individuals.
About six months ago, the US made preliminary contact with Hamas through Qatari intermediaries to probe the feasibility of a unilateral deal. This initial approach did not yield results.
One administration official expressed skepticism about a unilateral deal’s viability, citing insufficient US bargaining power to secure the American hostages’ release.
Despite these efforts, President Biden continues to prioritize a broader agreement that includes Israel and outlines a path to end the conflict. The exploration of a unilateral deal appears to be a contingency plan rather than the primary strategy.
God bless you, Mr. Biden.
In his press conference last Tuesday, the Prime Minister was steadfast in his refusal to abandon crucial Israeli assets in the Gaza Strip, such as the Philadelphi corridor. He said:
It was very difficult for us to overcome the international pressure, which I withstood, in order to go into Rafah. See what it has cost us. There was considerable pressure on us. They brought us to the ICC a day or two before the decision. They knew that we were going to approve the decision. We have been subjected to an embargo that is spreading. We paid with the lives of our soldiers. But this is nothing compared to what will be directed against us if we leave. Everyone understands the importance of this but do not support us; they want us to finish the war. This, in effect, is what everyone wants – for us to finish the war.
An administration official conceded, speaking to NBC, “Hamas wants two things that only Israel can deliver: a ceasefire and nearly 1,000 Palestinian prisoners currently in Israeli jails. Every other proposal has gone nowhere because that is what Hamas demands for the hostages.”
The official added. “President Biden and the rest of the US government remain fully committed to returning the hostages, including Americans, to their families. And we continue to work, day and night, to complete the ceasefire and hostage release deal that is under discussion.”
And we on the right need to call on the hostage families to curb their enthusiasm just a tad. On October 18, 2011, a well-financed, well-organized campaign that was run by the parents of an Israeli hostage captured by Hamas drew the support of thousands, including the well-oiled mainstream media, forcing PM Netanyahu to exchange their beloved son for more than 1,000 terrorists with blood on their hands.
One of the released was prisoner Yahya Sinwar, who rewarded us with the rape, murder, beheading, and burning of 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of more than 200 hostages.
We taught him a valuable lesson: the Jews will give you anything you ask for to save their loved ones.
How many more Jews will be murdered by the terrorists released by Israel? How many more Jews will be kidnapped to extort more concessions from Israel?
There are useful idiots, and then there are idiots who burn down their village. Keep those idiots indoors.
