On Tuesday, Hamas countered Israel’s ceasefire proposal with a sweeping offer to return all remaining captives from October 7 and beyond–those alive and the remains of those who perished–for what amounts to a near-total dismantling of the IDF’s military effort in Gaza. Could the country accept a hostage deal that would essentially forfeit the goal of eliminating Hamas’ military power?

This week, Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi grapple with the impossible position faced by Israel: choosing between the Zionist imperative of self-defense and the Jewish imperative of pidyon shvuyim (redemption of captives).

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Go deeper on this subject with scholars from the Hartman Institute:

Read Mikhael Manekin’s essay in Sources: A Journal of Jewish Ideas On Redeeming Captives

Watch Elana Stein Hain’s session on The Mitzvah of Redeeming Captives

Israel at War – The Hostage Dilemma