Mr. Netanyahu, the Hostages Cannot Wait for Your Politics

I know what it means to be a hostage. I was held in Cuba for 1,481 days. For five long years, my wife, my lawyer, elected officials, friends, the Jewish community, and even Pope Francis championed my release. Their efforts gave me glimmers of hope, but they did not set me free.

I was finally released only when the President of the United States made a courageous and just political decision. It was not easy, and it was not popular. But it was leadership. That single act of courage ended my captivity.

Today, 48 hostages remain in Gaza, imprisoned by Hamas. They and their families live in unrelenting agony. Like me, they have champions— their families, rabbis, journalists, neighbors, and elected officials demanding their freedom. But I know this from experience: public pressure alone cannot free hostages. They come home only when a head of government makes the hard choice to bring them home.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has had nearly two years to make that choice. He has not. Instead, he has allowed politics, ideology, and self-preservation to outweigh the sacred duty of a leader: to protect his people.

Every day that passes without decisive action is another day those hostages languish in darkness. Every day that passes proves that Netanyahu values his political survival over their human survival.

I understand the complexity of negotiations. I understand the risks. I understand the critics. But leadership is not about avoiding hard choices—it is about making them. My release from Cuba came only because the head of government was willing to face controversy and act with courage.

The hostages in Gaza cannot wait any longer.

Prime Minister Netanyahu: summon the courage to act. Bring them home.