Peloni: Welll said Madeline! Avi and Jonathan are 100% correct that Israel needs to take responsibility for and ownership of Gaza. Outsourcing its control of these Jewish lands was what led to October 7, and Bibi’s move to turn it over to some third party will only result in a return to the October 6 mentality, defying the tragedy which was the direct consequence to such a mentality.
Madeline Brooks
What’s more important, rescuing remaining hostages, or protecting living Jews in Israel? Jonathan goes for the latter, pointing out that the three months or so it would take to find and rescue the starving hostages would be futile. They would die in that time anyway since the videos show them so close to death even now. Sounds heartless, but at least it is a move towards strategic thinking.
So the goal should be the total annihilation of Hamas (thinking Biblically I would say).
Moreover, a point I have not seen elsewhere, Jonathan opines that letting Hamas dictate Israeli terms over hostages, as with Gilad Shalit and now the current ones, opens the door to jihadis seizing Jewish hostages anywhere in the world, demanding whatever they want. Is it too far out to think of jihadis storming a New York City shul, doing whatever, and if Mamdani is mayor, the police are no help. This would be one more case of Jewish love and compassion being used against us, in my eyes.
Yes, absolutely!