LET MY PEOPLE GO - Day 199

Shabbat table in London

DAY199

Tonight (Monday) is the first night of Passover, the first seder night. When we should be celebrating freedom, this night will be different from all other nights for all Jews worldwide. Just as shabbat tables are set with empty chairs, dining rooms all over the world will have empty chairs at the table, not for Elijah the Prophet, but for all those held hostage in Gaza. These are the newest slaves in captivity, but there is no hero, no Moshe, to lead them to freedom right now. 

The hostages are held in unspeakable conditions, beaten, sexually abused, and denied aid or even visitation from the International Red Cross who, just in case you haven't heard, recently hired Pierre Krahenbuhl, former head of Hamas-supporting UNWRA who quit his UN post over ethics violations, as its new director general. Then again, the ICRC has never been a friend to Jews, much less Israel. But who's counting? 

Certainly not Hamas. They claim they cannot produce 40 living hostages for the initial cessation negotiation. According to CNN:

Hamas has indicated it is currently unable to identify and track down 40 Israeli hostages needed for the first phase of a ceasefire deal, according to an Israeli official and a source familiar with the discussions, raising fears that more hostages may be dead than are publicly known.

The framework that has been laid out by negotiators says that during a first six-week pause in the fighting, Hamas should release 40 of the remaining hostages, including all the women as well as sick and elderly men. In exchange, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners would be released from Israeli prisons.

Hamas has told international mediators – which include Qatar and Egypt - it does not have 40 living hostages who match those criteria for release, both sources said.

Much is written in Jewish law regarding the ransoming of those in captivity. Ransoming captives is a mitzvah, a sacred duty, for which the community is responsible. From the Jewish Virtual Library: Bava Batra:

CAPTIVES, RANSOMING OF (Heb. פִּדְיוֹן שְׁבוּיִים; Pidyon Shevuyim): The religious duty to ransom a fellow Jew captured by slave dealers or robbers, or imprisoned unjustly by the authorities to be released against ransom paid by the Jewish community. 

The fulfillment of this mitzvah was regarded by the rabbis of the Talmud as of paramount importance (BB 8a, 8b). It is told of R. Phinehas b. Jair that he went to ransom captives, and because he was fulfilling this duty, a river parted to enable him to cross (Ḥul, 7a, TJ Dem. 1:3). Maimonides explains that "(The duty of) ransoming captives supersedes (the duty of) charity to the poor.…" (Yad, Mattenat Aniyyim, 8:10).

Notice the line: paid by the Jewish community. Jews have been subjected to kidnap and captivity as long as we have been a people. It comes as no surprise to any of us that segments of our law deals with ransoming our own. Even in THE POMEGRANATE, Batsheva's brother comes to pay ransom for her freedom. It's what we've been doing for thousands of years: taking care of our own. 

Because no one else will. 

This is crucial to understanding the anger Israelis currently feel about their government. Throughout our history, we have rescued and redeemed our own, and the mounting outcry that the government is not doing its job grows louder daily. 

Yes, thousands have died in Gaza. Pointlessly so. But they, too, were held hostage by Hamas, used to shield the military installations hidden in hospitals, schools, and beneath apartments. Their deaths were wholly preventable had Hamas chosen to release the hostages. No matter who you want to blame, or what you want to say, Israel did not begin this war. 

At the seder table, we recite the 10 plagues delivered on Egypt, the last of which was death of the first born sons, and for each plague, we remove a drop of wine from our newly filled cup. The removal of wine is a tangible symbol of the diminishment of joy.

We do this because we do not celebrate the tragedies and misfortunes of others, whether it is through natural disaster, war, plague, or for any other reason. People died when we left Egypt, and those deaths remain with us amidst our greatest celebration.General Yitzchak Rabin (z"l) made this observation after the Six-Day War in 1967:

While the joy of victory seized the nation, there is a strange phenomenon among the soldiers themselves: their celebration is not whole-hearted, as it is mixed with a large measure of sorrow and shock. Some soldiers cannot celebrate at all. Those in the front lines saw with their own eyes not only the glory of victory, but also its price: their comrades fallen beside them soaked in blood. I know, too, that the terrible price paid by our enemies also touched deeply the hearts of many of our men. It may be that the Jewish people have never learned and never accustomed themselves to feel the triumph of conquest. And so we receive our victory with mixed feelings. There has never been any hatred for the Arabs. Can one fight against enemies without hatred in one’s heart? Perhaps in this respect, too, we are different from many other peoples. I do not believe that hatred adds anything to fighting capacity. We go forth to war when we are forced to, when there is no other choice.

We echo Moshe's cry to Pharoah: LET MY PEOPLE GO. We demand the same of Hamas. They have experienced their version of the plagues at the will of Hamas, not the will of Israel. We still take drops out of our cups as we always have. We still will recognize the loss of human life in a war. We will still shake our heads, unable to understand why Hamas would put their people in harm's way.

And now, for an update. Back on March 18th, I wrote a very short blog. It said: 

WATCH IRAN

I wasn't kidding, was I?  On April 1st, Israel killed two Iranian generals at an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria. Last Saturday, April 13th, the Islamic Republic of Iran launched a drone and missile attack on Israel.Over 300 things were launched, but few made it into Israel.

But I want to clarify something here. I intentionally said IRAN because there are two vastly different entities within those borders. The first is the Islamic Republic of Iran, an Islamist regime that according to Wikipedia's page on Human Rights in Iran:

Restrictions and punishments in the Islamic Republic of Iran which violate international human rights norms include harsh penalties for crimes, punishment of victimless crimes such as fornication and homosexuality, execution of offenders under 18 years of age, restrictions on freedom of speech and the press (including the imprisonment of journalists), and restrictions on freedom of religion and gender equality in the Islamic Republic's Constitution (especially ongoing persecution of Baháʼís).

Reported abuses falling outside of the laws of the Islamic Republic that have been condemned include the execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988, and the widespread use of torture to extract repudiations by prisoners of their cause and comrades on video for propaganda purposes. Also condemned has been firebombings of newspaper offices and attacks on political protesters by "quasi-official organs of repression," particularly "Hezbollahi," and the murder of dozens of government opponents in the 1990s, allegedly by "rogue elements" of the government.     

The drone attack was, near as anyone can tell, some kind of test, seeing if Netanyahu could be pushed over the edge to attack Iran, thereby instigating a hot war in the ME. Instead, Israel retaliated with a small demonstration of arms and accuracy, hitting a specific target in Isfahan, a strike the ISRI pretty much ignored. It's interesting to note Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, and Yemen remained virtually silent about the drone strike and the retaliation. 

London 24 Jan 2024

But there is another part of Iran that is not Islamist. In fact, they are often called Monarchists, indicating a desire to return to the modern Iran they once had under the Shah. Whoever they are, they are the ones who are defying the regime are growing numbers. Iranians outside Iran are increasingly showing support for Israel against Hamas and Hezbollah. In unexpected places, the Iranian flag has appeared at pro-Israel rallies. 

This should not be surprising. Before the Islamic revolution back in 1978, Iran was a modern, thriving society. Not so much now. Young Iranians want their country back. They want their freedom back. One might think others living in the neo-dark ages would want the same. So when I say WATCH IRAN, I'm talking about both sides. This is far from over. And the internal struggle in that nation is just beginning anew.

And here’s Muppet Newsflash for you: it matters to us. One day the kids of Gaza, like the kids in Iran, Morocco, and the rest of the Arab world, are gonna wake up and wonder why they are being left behind, why just next door is start-up nation while they’re still struggling to keep the lights on. Young people aren’t stupid…unless they’re American young people who are too busy drinking the Kool-Aid to understand the propaganda they are being hand fed.  There is a second Arab Spring happening and while the goals maybe unclear to us, the revolt is directed at repressive, authoritarian regimes. Will they succeed? Far be it from me to predict. We can only hope access to information will bring them into the 21st century.

Meanwhile, when we remember Pesach of 5784, we will remember it with the pain and sadness of this war. Our joy is diminished by the reality of bloodshed and loss. Like every war before it, all the dead, Israeli and Palestinians, will be mourned. It's what we are taught, that ALL lives are precious. Each drop of wine taken from our cups will be for all the dead, not just our own. 

The Wifely Person' Tip o'the Week

The game remains the same:

return the 129 hostages and Israel stands down.

Hamas, the ruling party of Gaza, refuses.

Maybe it's time to consider the possibility that Hamas is also holding

2.1 million hostages as well?