MAKING PEACE EVEN IF IT SEEMS LIKE A DEFEAT

In Israel there was a maxim that had to be complied with: “A Jew would sacrifice his life to save another Jew.”i The maxim has been shattered when the government of Prime Minister Netanyahu has indicated that Israel’s priority is not the liberation of the hostages, but to continue the war.

There are 96 captives in the hands of Hamas. And, if the maxim were applied, Israel would sign a permanent ceasefire with Hamas and withdraw its forces from the enclave. The hostages would then be freed, as the plan drawn up by Hamas is fulfilled.

But Netanyahu wants to continue the war, and the liberation of the captives is not a priority. The only priority is to continue the war. That is to say, Israel is not going to sacrifice itself to free 96 Jews held prisoner by the Hamas terrorist movement.

It is a contradiction. The liberation of the hostages must be Israel’s priority; there is no other. Returning to the situation in Gaza that existed before October 7 is not a defeat for Netanyahu. Returning means that 96 families will get their captives back.

One cannot fight Hamas and at the same time free the hostages. One must accept the peace plan of the terrorist movement. Negotiate peace and thus get the hostages back. Netanyahu says that if one acts in that way, Israel will have been defeated.

The Hebrew state will not be defeated by returning to the situation of the past. Israeli forces have eliminated the military and political leaders of Hamas, Haniyeh and Simwar. The war must be stopped and the 96 hostages returned to their families. Then the maxim that a Jew will sacrifice his life if necessary, to free other Jews, will be fulfilled.

At this moment, that is what he wishes for the Jewish people. It does not matter that they are told that they have lost the war. Maybe so, but they have freed all the hostages and that is what the Hebrew society wants. Peace comes at that price.

Sometimes you have to know how to lose in order to let time pass and the moment arrives to return to hostilities. Hamas cannot be eliminated; it is an idea more than a movement. If Hamas disappears tomorrow, another Hamas will arise in a week. Let us make peace, even if it is difficult for us to say that Israel has been defeated.

We do not know when a war begins, but we can determine when peace is made. Netanyahu knows this and continuing with his militaristic activity means that nearly 100 captives live in inhumane conditions.

We must know how to make peace even if it seems like a defeat. Peace is 96 hostages with their families. That is a sufficient reason to accept Hamas' plan, even if it seems very hard.