From bondage to freedom: Time to end the war

Israel and the region need a total reboot. It may be possible.

By Rosemary Williams via Unsplah

This Passover, some Israeli families will forego the Seder out of respect for the remaining 133 hostages still held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza – and anger at their abandonment. It reflects a growing feeling around the country that the Gaza war should end in exchange for their release. Painful as such a seeming capitulation may be, more than six months after the Oct. 7 massacre when they were abducted, I agree the time has come.

It is now quite clear – as many warned from the beginning – that there is an incompatibility between the goals of returning the hostages home and wiping out Hamas. Those who argued otherwise assumed that military pressure would force Hamas to release the abductees, despite their usefulness as human shields. That failed, and the hostages, according to Israeli intelligence, are dying one by one.

It has not worked because military pressure means not only degrading of Hamas militarily but also enormous damage to Gaza’s civilians, whom Hamas uses as history’s greatest human fortification. That is not leverage because these jihadi fanatics promote a cult of “martyrdom” and correctly calculated that Israel would be tarred and feathered around the world for thrashing Gaza.

How bad is it? Well, Israel is being investigated for genocide at the International Court of Justice; some countries have declared arms embargos and the irreplaceable US has hinted it may do the same; Israel’s credit outlook has been downgraded; financial and travel restrictions are being placed on radical settlers and there are reports of US plans to act against an entire military unit; academic efforts and cultural exchanges are encountering widespread informal boycotts; attacks on Jews are on the rise all over the world; and the Biden administration is openly calling for the ousting of Israel’s government – a shocking precedent for a democracy.

Accusing the world of wokeism, antisemitism or useful idiocy will not alone fix this.