Hostages: Point Counterpoint

Both sides of the coin -- not either side, both!

We ALL want ALL the hostages home. We all want the surviving hostages reunited with their families and beginning the work of rehabilitation and building their futures and we want the bodies of the deceased hostages home for proper burial and to allow their families to finally mourn their loss.

But not all of us want the hostage deal — or any hostage deal that includes a ceasefire and that is the only kind of hostage deal Hamas is willing to agree to. I don’t understand why we have to bow to the demands of Hamas who want to tell us when and how to end the war that they started. But that is how it looks like it is going to be.

So let us see what was going on in the public space in Israel last night as word that a deal was (and still is) very very close. The first is a press release from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. The second a clip from the talk given by the leaders of the Tikva Forum, also made up of hostage families. First a bit about each group and then what came out of last night’s demonstrations.

Hostages and Missing Families Forum

Formed within 24 hours of the Oct 7th atrocities, the Hostages Families Forum set as its goal release of the hostages under the banner: “Bring them Home Now.” They have set up a permanent presence at the large square in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, now referred to as Hostages Square. There are demonstrations every Saturday evening around the country on their behalf. Attended by thousands at first, the numbers dwindled but last night, given news of an impending deal, the numbers swelled again.

Their motto is:

By any means necessary and through all available channels - we will not rest until they are back home.

Not surprisingly, they are in favour of the currently discussed hostage deal regardless of the nature of the items to which Israel will have to agree. I discussed the “Sophie’s Choice” nature of the dilemma faced by our leaders and have yet to hear from those supporting “any means necessary” if some of the items in my proposal are acceptable to them.

Tikva Forum

Tzvika Mor and like-minded hostage families established the Tikvah (Hope) Forum, stressing the importance of the nation over the life of an individual, even if that individual is your own loved one. Tzvika Mor’s son Eitan was kidnapped from the Nova Festival after he spent about nine hours, under fire, bringing the injured to safety and going back to save more until he, too, was carried off to Gaza where he remains. Tzvika believes Israel should go on fighting and reject any deal that includes a ceasefire even if it comes at the cost of his own son’s freedom/life.

The Tikva Forum often works in tandem with the Forum Hagvura (Heroes Forum), made up of bereaved families of soldiers who fell in battle during this war. The Heroes Forum also does not want to see any deal that does not mean total victory for Israel over Hamas.

1. Press Release from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters

Hostage Families at Rally in Hostages Square: "We Stand Together Until the Last Hostage Returns!"

Thousands gathered tonight at the "Singing Together for Their Return" rally in Hostages Square, demonstrating their support and unwavering solidarity with the families in their struggle until the last hostage is returned.

Hamas captivity survivor Moran Stela Yanai, released after 54 days in captivity:

I appeal to you, the international community, with a simple yet urgent plea: help us bring the hostages home. This is not about politics—it is about humanity and the shared belief that no one should be left behind in darkness. These are children, parents, brothers, and sisters—individuals with dreams, hopes, and loved ones longing for their return.

We urge you to support a solution that will secure their freedom, restore their dignity, and prove that compassion and unity can prevail over despair.

Eli Bibas, father of hostage Yarden Bibas, grandfather of Ariel and Kfir:

This coming Saturday, our Kfir will mark his second birthday in captivity. How is it possible that my grandson, who was kidnapped at 8.5 months old, will mark his second birthday in hell? How is it possible that he still hasn't celebrated a birthday with his father, with his family, in his home and in his country? In another reality, his mother Shiri would have invited us all to a party at Nir Oz. I try to imagine him running to me and calling out 'Grandpa Eli, present!'... Who would have thought a second birthday could be so sad? So painful? So incomplete? The past year symbolizes for us as a people a year of devastation, destruction. The nightmare that has become our reality in the past year must end.

Ruby Chen, father of the late Itay Chen:

I want to address the Prime Minister and remind him that his brother, Israel's hero Yoni Netanyahu, who was given the mission to rescue 105 hostages in Entebbe, went to bring back all the hostages and didn't say 'I'll fight and release 25 hostages and return in a month for the rest.' When we met with the Prime Minister, we asked him a simple question: When will my family get to sit shiva like your parents got to sit shiva for Yoni? Prime Minister, in these critical hours, approaching a decisive moment, instruct the Israeli negotiating team to agree to a clause that guarantees the transition from phase A of the agreement to phase B, which will enable the release of all hostages.

2. Tzvika Mor at the Tikva Forum demonstration

Below the videoclip, I provide an English translation of what he said.

I left the meeting with the Prime Minister agitated and anxious for the fate of my son. I don’t see how my son will return when, after the first stage [of the deal] Hamas just gets stronger: a million residents return from the south to the north [of Gaza], and there is no possibility for fighting, and over 500 trucks enter and strengthen Hamas who will continue to eat well and conscript terrorists to its units.

On both sides, I am a grandson to Holocaust survivors. Both my grandmothers and grandfathers, z”l, died with numbers from Auschwitz on their arms and the selection that they endured saved them from death to life because of their hard work that the Nazis exploited.

The “selection” that is being done now can determine, God forbid, the fate of my son. I demand that the prime minister stops the deal right now. I demand of ministers Ben Gvir and Smotrich, and Likud ministers and Likud MKs to do everything to prevent a deal that will result in another 70 Ron Arads. We are not willing to accept this.

Thank you.

I need to explain what he means by “70 Ron Arads.” Ron Arad was an Israeli Air Force weapons system officer. He and the pilot had to eject from their plane as it was on a mission over Lebanon in 1986. The pilot was rescued and Arad was captured by Amal, a Lebanese group. Signs of life were provided for two years, but since then, nothing but rumours have been heard. There are rumours that he was tortured and killed in 1988, his burial place unknown, and there are rumours that he was handed over to Hezbollah and then to Iran and may still be alive. No amount of reward money, no amount of interrogations of those who may know have resulted in any information.

Now what!?

On the one hand, those in favour of accepting the deal (about which we know only unconfirmed rumours and no real truths) warn that Israel will never recover her soul if we do not bring the hostages home.

They seem to trust that after the first stage of the current deal Hamas will actually agree to another stage and another until all the surviving hostages and bodies of the deceased are back in Israel. The cost to Israel is that Hamas remains in power in Gaza. This also means that Hamas will increase its power in Judea and Samaria, something about which it appears that the Hostage Families Forum is unconcerned.

On the other hand, given what I know about the impact at the time of our inability to bring Ron Arad home, I suggest that having another 70 Ron Arads will seriously damage Israel’s soul. Those of us who lived through the 1980s and remember Ron Arad as a living, pulsing, painful loss can attest to how it impacted our souls.

But so many are alive now who do not feel anything when the name Ron Arad is mentioned.

Think about that for a moment because I am not yet ready to say out loud what I am thinking.

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