What does it take to find our humanity under fire?

On Shabbat we just pulled out of Gaza the bodies of six hostages. six young people who had some how managed to stay alive for almost 11 months in the most excruciating, horrendous conditions of starvation and torture. Only to have had their lives cut short with a bullet at point blank range.

As soon as the Hamas guards knew that the IDF was approaching, they shot the hostages dead. This tragic end is likely to repeat itself as Israel advances. Hamas will steal any victory they can while in the jaws of defeat.

So what can Israel do? Israel can agree to a deal with Hamas. The most sure way for the hostages to return home alive. In the only deal that was made so far during this war, 41 hostages were returned home to their families. 

However a negotiation with Hamas is a deal with the devil. In return for the hostages Hamas’ demands are audacious for a group that should have accepted defeat months ago. Among the demands is a full withdrawal of the IDF – losing military gains the came at great cost. No guarding of the Philadelphi corridor – which we know will be used to smuggle in weapons that will sustain this war and others. And a return of terrorists kept in Israeli prisons – of which Sinwar was once himself released in the Gilad Shalit deal. 

Agreeing to these conditions would just lay the groundwork for future wars for our children.

Israel has its back up against the wall. It’s morally intolerable to leave the hostages in tunnels and it’s morally unacceptable to agree to a deal that will put ourselves and our children in danger yet again.

But as tragic as this whole situation is, it’s all made immeasurably worse by a society that seems incapable of having the basic discourses that would be the prelude to finding any solution.

Polarizing Israeli society is this debate; you’re either against Bibi and his government and for releasing the hostages at any cost or you’re for Bibi and his government and protecting Israel’s borders at any cost. But this false paradigm takes the discourse – off course.  Bibi and his government are only leading these negotiations because a large enough majority of a very divided and polarized population voted for them to be there.

In this bleak black and white view of this complex crisis situation, the world is painted in only two strokes. Those who are ‘good’ and care about the wellbeing of others and those who are ‘bad’, selfish parasites who only care about themselves.

In this polarized discourse of black and white there is no room for solutions. It forecloses the possibility of a strategic response. It reduces positions to a show of force, rather than an intelligent strategy. 

An intelligent response would involve playing Hamas to its weakness, knowing that they would never be able to keep to the terms of a ceasefire for any meaningful length of time.

No where in the public discourse or amongst government leaders is there discussion of how the situation could be intelligently manipulated. In contrast, the situation is addressed as if it were a tightrope where whichever side pulls the hardest is the more righteous. 

Why is no one discussing how a deal with Hamas might be unexpectedly played? What if we gave them everything they demanded, knowing it would be them to break the ceasefire terms.  We know who we are dealing with here, how long would it take for them to strike again, and break the terms of a ceasefire deal? A week? A month? And then all bets are off.

In the duration of the ceasefire we could get back as many hostages as possible and once it’s over resume our military positions within Gaza. Little militarily lost, but at least a few souls saved.

But in the public discourse where louder equals power, i don’t hear anyone asking “What if there is another way?”

As Israel continues to dig its own grave, dedicated to driving its divisiveness deeper, i do believe that the thing that could unite both sides is the dedication and love for the other that is to be found on both sides. 

That ‘other’ might be tomorrow’s children or it might be the tortured souls we’ve so far left behind. But there is humanity on both sides and perhaps the sooner we see that there is hope that this situation moves beyond the deadlock of a zero-sum gain.