Rabbi Robin Podolsky

Before the negotiations are over, I can say that I am very optimistic. The deal is essentially the same deal that has been on the table since May. It was a bad deal then and it is still a bad deal because it will be carried out over too long a period of time, between two and three months. The deal will only return 33 hostages in the first forty-two days and the rest only after that, without certainty. In September, Hamas agreed to a three-week deal in which the war would come to an end, Israel would withdraw, all the hostages would return home in exchange for a large release of Palestinian prisoners, and Hamas said it would transfer power in Gaza to a technocratic civilian body that it is not a part of. I blame the prime minister Netanyau for rejecting the deal then and the Biden administration for refusing to break away from the bad deal they promoted. Now we will gladly accept the Biden deal with Netanyahu's concessions that he has refused to accept since May. Netanyahu is giving in to Trump to please him, not to return the hostages. And yet we must rejoice in the deal that will begin to return the hostages and bring an end to this terrible war. (Gershon Baskin, 1-14-2025)