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Harriet Gimpel

Thunder

In the routine of things, we’re amidst another round of escalated hopes of a deal to return the hostages. Because of occasionally mentioning my friend Efrat’s uncle, Gadi Mozes, among the elderly hostages, I almost wanted to write an interim blog or at least send an email to a few friends abroad who periodically ask if there is any news about him. I wanted to write and say Uncle Gadi is on the list. I wanted to say Keith Siegel is on the list. They were on the list that was floated around early last week. The list of hostages to be released – whether alive or not.

Then it was said that this list was identical to the list that circulated in July. The source – whether the party that generated the list or the party that circulated it, and whether they are one and the same – leaves us with the same hope, despair, and undying hope. For society stressful, but for family – children and partners, siblings and parents – taut nerves stretched by repeated frustration, disappointment, rekindled hope of immediacy. One family member of a hostage said to the media that the public society begins to be deluded with hope when two weeks is termed immediate, after 15 months, but for each of the remaining live hostages, every hour, every moment is a living hell.

Politicians and commentators, not all necessarily heartless, weigh delay of the process until after the US presidential inauguration to serve a greater interest. Or if the delay is inevitable, some public conjectures project the incoming US president will wave his magic wand, by fear or by sanctions, and bring about the immediate release of the hostages. Not a politician or a commentator, I hope it happens sooner, and if not, I hope the next US president has that power. Whether he does or not, regardless of his involvement already in the process, I am wary yet hoping.

Other matters on the margins of the hostages’ release creep into the news. When children, and adults, taken hostage were released in the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners (in Israel called “security prisoners” regardless of the number of lives they may have taken or planned to take, called “freedom fighters” by Hamas negotiators), much was said by practitioners and researchers about the lack of any comparable prior events from which we could learn how to treat trauma of this degree. Indeed, the magnitude and length of time are incomparable, yet, as shown by a television documentary this week, children who survived the Entebbe hijacking, with the selection process of Israelis by the terrorists, and the Israeli rescue provided many insights.

Without elaborating on their experiences shared, and camaraderie maintained as a group that shared an experience unique to them, I am left with a particular disturbing distinction – casualties notwithstanding, they were rapidly rescued and had that reassurance moving forward: to what greater priorities today has Israel sacrificed saving hostages?

Interspersed between social media headlines and media outlet headlines, a graphically designed post grabs my attention, translating from Hebrew to English as “You were given and called by the name, Itai, and now you are called ‘the price’.” To Israelis, that is self-explanatory – Itai is another fallen Israeli soldier, and his life, the price. Paying a price to annihilate Hamas. Wondering who is doing the math – and financing, knowing the policies of our Minister of Finance and his apparent influence on the government. It always feels harsh when I presume to judge politicians with the immense responsibility of making decisions of life and death proportions, however, refraining from judgment and withholding at least subtle reminders to leaders of the values of the Jewish people – as I understand them – would be a violation of my civic responsibility.

A few days later, not graphics, just headlines: the body of Youssef Ziadne (53) has been rescued from a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza and returned to Israel. Initial news suggested his son, Hamza (23), also a hostage, might be alive. Later confirmed that his body, found nearby his father, will be returned for burial in Rahat, the Bedouin city in the Negev from which they departed on October 7, 2023, to work at Kibbutz Holit. That day they left for work with two of Hamza’s younger siblings also taken hostage and released in the deal some 50 days later.  Tensions between the Minister of Defense and IDF Chief of Staff reflected in the content and timing of the news releases reflect the precedence those tensions take over protocol and sensitivity to hostages’ families awaiting official news.

Arab, Bedouin, Muslim, and citizens of the State of Israel, the Ziadnes, victims like any citizen of Israel to the fate of the state. Heavy mourning in Rahat reported in the media, and by my friend in Rahat, heaving mourning throughout Arab-Bedouin society in the Negev. My thoughts divert to inequalities separating them from Israeli society-at-large, reminding me of the civic responsibility to advocate for that.

Feeling like the clogged filter of my dryer after a load of laundered bath towels. Each clump of fuzz, fibers of unwoven threads, is another waning voice in the background of a friend or family member, a politician or a neighbor, a colleague or the cashier where I bought the towels. Individuals discussing national identities and their communities in one moment, stereotyping based on an individual example, refocusing on another individual in another moment – conflicting individual and group perceptions go for another spin. Knowing that removing the fuzz from the filter, there are individuals, with distinct identities, each entitled to equal rights and opportunities, and equal treatment by the law.

Renewed judicial reform actions to transform Israel’s democratic institutions are underway. Politicians form coalitions within coalitions, disregarding public objections. Jewish settlers again set a Palestinian village afire on the West Bank following a terrorist attacking Jews. More Israeli plans to attack Hamas cells on the West Bank where the PLO has lost control. That reminds me, and I don’t need reminding, that ever since that fateful October 7, I feel vulnerable in Kfar Saba to infiltration by Hamas terrorists from the West Bank. Still, strategy seems missing and government disregard for democracy is daunting.

It is easy to get the impression that, Israel with some degree of international support might eventually eradicate the nuclear capability of Iran. That might be a great service to the world, for which Israel would be highly praised. Simultaneously, Israeli society may be forfeiting the sheer tenacity of what it is meant to represent. The former might be possible without the latter, but the latter will eradicate the fiber of our society.

Last night, after a warm and cozy Friday night dinner for 10, when everybody left, and the dishes were done, Haim and I each enjoyed a soothing cup of tea, and thunder rumbled before a storm. Terrifying thunder, louder than falling shrapnel from missile interceptors.

Harriet Gimpel, January 11, 2025

About the Author
Born and raised in Philadelphia, earned a B.A. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University in 1980, followed by an M.A. in Political Science from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Harriet has worked in the non-profit world throughout her career. She is a freelance translator and editor, writes poetry in Hebrew and essays in English, and continues to work for NGOs committed to human rights and democracy.
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