Day 359 Of The War: ‘Why Are They Still In Gaza?

Last night, two hours after a siren in central Israel sent some of us to bomb shelters (I don’t have one), I drove to Tel Aviv to participate in the demonstration held by the families of hostages, urging for their loved ones to be brought home. Due to the war in the north against Hezbollah, which now seems like yet another obstacle to their release, the Home Front Command had instructed people to avoid large gatherings of more than 1,000 people.

Still, we stood there holding signs, shouting and crying: “Why are they still in Gaza?” “Bring Them Home Alive Now,” and more. This time, the makeshift stage was the roof of a car, where the family members stood and spoke to us. The police were present but relaxed, not bothering to count whether we were over a thousand or not. For us, it was another chance to show our solidarity with the families.

Ayala Metzger, one of the organizers and the daughter-in-law of the late Yoram Metzger, who was murdered in captivity, thanked us for coming at such a tumultuous time. She called us ‘saintly’ (צדיקים – Tsadikim), and I thought to myself that this was the least we could do, especially considering how ashamed we are of our leadership for abandoning the hostages time and again

In the past few days, I’ve heard several times the disturbing claim that Netanyahu doesn’t want the hostages to be brought back alive because he doesn’t want to see them as mere shadows of their former selves. Some say he would rather they return in body bags. While it’s hard to believe, it’s not entirely incredulous, considering the terrible conditions of their captivity and the starvation that preceded the execution of six hostages recently.

I don’t want to believe that Netanyahu is so cruel and cynical. But those who raise this argument claim that when faced with such unfathomable cruelty, many people would rather turn away and avoid confronting it. We, as Jewish people, witnessed this during the Holocaust, but there were also the Righteous Among the Nations who stood up in the face of such evil.

I also want to tell you about an unusual and incredibly kind gesture made by the Headquarters of the Families for the volunteers. On Thursday, we were invited for a respite by the sea, in the garden of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation. The entire event, for Rosh Hashana, had been planned before the outbreak of the northern war, but it wasn’t canceled. It was a beautiful evening that lasted from sunset into the night, and everything—food, drinks, the venue, and the performance by Shalom Hanoch—was donated. We were deeply touched.

For me, the highlight of the evening was the speech given by Shelly and Malki Shem Tov, the parents of Omer Shem Tov (21), who is being held hostage. Despite the hell they are living in, they attended the event specifically to thank the volunteers. Shelly said, “We have no choice; this tragedy has befallen us, but you choose to be here every day.”

Just like Ayala Metzger, these family members may not realize that we draw strength and inspiration from them. It’s incredibly uplifting to see families who would do anything to bring their loved ones home, yet still have the empathy to recognize and appreciate those who are standing by them.

Bring Them Home Now (and then perhaps we can have a happy new year).