Free at Last
Sermon Shabbat Sukkot 5786, Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon
Congregation Beit Simcha, Tucson, AZ
You know, sometimes the news of the day moves faster than we can even assimilate directly as intelligent individuals. For Jews, this is one of those moments.
As you surely have heard, this week an agreement was reached between Israel and the remnants of Hamas that remain after two terrible years of war. Almost exactly two years after the war-crimes attack by Palestinian terrorists of Hamas on civilians in Southern Israel, including murder, rape, torture, and the kidnapping of 251 hostages into Gaza, Israel and Hamas have agreed on a US-brokered ceasefire plan that will allow for the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza, Israeli withdrawal to an agreed boundary area within Gaza, and the release of Palestinian terrorist prisoners held by Israel.
The ceasefire in Gaza unofficially took effect several days before the Israeli government’s approval of the deal on Thursday, brought about by President Trump pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to do so as an indication of Israeli intentions to agree to end the war.
President Trump says the hostages are likely to be released on Monday or Tuesday, exactly two years on the Jewish calendar, on Simchat Torah, after they were brutally kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists.
The plan met with celebration in Israel and Gaza, though residents in both places expressed caution about whether the initial agreement would lead to a comprehensive peace deal. It should be celebrated all around the world, by everyone.
No matter what follows, the release of the remaining Israeli hostages, held brutally by the Palestinian terrorists of Hamas for more than two years, is a powerful and great result.
In exchange for the 20 or so living Israeli hostages and the bodies of about 30 murdered hostages, 250 Palestinian terrorist security prisoners serving life sentences in Israel for murder will be released, along with 1,700 Gazans who were arrested since the October 7, 2023 attack but who were not involved in it. They will be exiled abroad or sent to Gaza. Some 22 minors who did not participate in the October 7 attack will be set free.
In addition, some 360 bodies of Palestinian terrorists will be handed over to Hamas.
President Trump thanked the leaders of Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Indonesia for their help in securing the Gaza deal. This deal would not have taken place without the pressure exerted on Hamas by its former Arab patrons. It would also not have happened without the general destruction of Hamas that the IDF has effected.
During a visit to the Gaza Strip IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told Israeli troops that the ceasefire deal with Hamas to free all the hostages, was thanks to the “achievements of the ground maneuver” in the Gaza Strip.
“The signing of the agreement to return the hostages this morning is a ray of light for all of us and further evidence of the achievements of the ground maneuver. Thanks to significant military pressure and a powerful, high-quality ground maneuver, you, the troops, created the conditions for the hostages to be returned home,” General Zamir said. “The military action brought about a political achievement; the achievement is first and foremost yours.”
That’s somewhat accurate. I guess, in the form of instant analysis, Hamas agreed to release the remaining hostages in exchange for, at least for the time being, remaining in Gaza with some sort of authority. Generally speaking, Hamas’ military capacity has been completely destroyed. It has the ability to coordinate small guerilla cells in the territory, but its leadership has all been killed by the IDF during this war, and its command structure, underground tunnel facilities and armaments have been decimated. It came to the realization, under intense pressure from Arab states like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, that it had to return the hostages and come to an agreement or face total extinction.
Israel conceded on some points as well, including allowing Hamas to remain in Gaza and not fully disarm. Israel is releasing convicted murderers in the exchange for its remaining hostages, terrorists who have murdered Israelis. It is not a wildly disproportionate exchange, as Israel has done in the past in hostage situations. Remember, 14 years ago Israel exchanged over 1000 Palestinian terrorists to gain the release of one kidnapped Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. Among the terrorists released in 2011 was Yahya Sinwar, the terrorist who masterminded the Simchat Torah war-crimes atrocities of October 7, 2023; there is a price to pay in these exchanges.
Still, this end to the Gaza War and the liberation of the Israeli hostages is a great moment, long awaited and prayed for. We will always remember the 1200 Israelis murdered on October 7th, 2023, and the many hostages who suffered brutality at the hands of Palestinian terrorists. But we must celebrate the end of a war that went on much longer than anyone anticipated, and which caused severe damage to Israel’s reputation internationally, and to the position of Jews in so many locations as well.
No one really knows what the future of Gaza will be. But it will be much better off with Hamas defanged, and virtually any new order there will be an improvement for the Palestinians, for the Israelis, and for the world.
We pray fervently that the remaining hostages are returned to Israel, and the bodies of the murdered are returned to their families for burial as well.
Israel has won the war on the battlefield. It is time for a peace that creates a better, safer Middle East, one which we can celebrate and give thanks for on this festival of gratitude.