There can be a moral perspective on how one deals with terrorists. Rabbi Manis Friedman says that negotiating with terrorists rewards and encourages them. According to him, it is wrong—indeed, it is definitely immoral—to reward terrorists with commuted prison sentences. Boldness, not bribes, is how one must deal with them, as the Bible instructed millennia ago.
He brings up the daring hostage rescue in 1976 in Entebbe, Uganda. Israeli commandos violated all sorts of international laws and killed the captors of the hostages—but the world celebrated the soldiers anyway because they did not negotiate with terrorists. They did the right thing, states the Rabbi. I would add that the world was also amazed by the boldness and skill of the rescue team. As for more raids in Gaza to free the captives in today’s war, since there were some successful raids, there are reports of suicide bombers surrounding the hostages, cutting short a direct approach.
Suppose your child was kidnapped, Rabbi Friedman ventures. Would you offer the criminals a reward or show them fake compassion to get your child back? No! You would have a right to be outraged. Period. The rabbi has moral clarity. He can call evil evil—and can tolerate knowing that evil exists—unlike many people who try to wish it away or explain it as a misperception or a mere reaction to a bad environment.
Image: Exultant Gaza residents call for the slaughter of the Jews. X screen grab.
Ari Abramowitz, in the YouTube video The Israeli Guys, references the Bible on the current Israeli hostage problem. “Do not make covenants with evil people.” No deals, no negotiations. Exodus 23:32-33.
In the Biblical Messianic age, the hope is that all will live in peace and fellowship. But we are not there now, and it is a grave mistake for tender-hearted Jews, beleaguered as they are, to imagine otherwise. Acknowledging the bloodthirsty ways of Hamas, Abramowitz comes up with a novel way to get the hostages back home. Israel has hundreds of prisoners: murderers, rapists, beheaders, etc. All it has to do is make very public announcements in Gaza that every hour, a prisoner will be executed in a public and humiliating way until all the hostages are released. This makes sense to me because it plays to the fact that Israel has the upper hand by dint of its military might, even though, sadly, it is not using it.
And what can Israel do about changing the culture of violent Hamas? Forget curriculum changes in children’s textbooks. The problem is deep-rooted, even spiritual. It goes all the way back to warlike Ismael, Abraham’s illegitimate son.
Abromowitz states that Muslims must be proven wrong through military defeat. As Muslims expand their territory, their conviction grows that their god is strong and favors them. So they have to experience that their god is weaker than the Israeli God to accept defeat. That can happen if Jews totally crush Hamas and take Gaza back again. Here, too, Israel does have the upper hand, but it holds back out of a twisted sense of pity for the enemy.
I would add that the books of Deuteronomy and Joshua command the Israelites as they emerge from the desert to take the land of Canaan, which includes Gaza. The Lord ordered every single inhabitant killed to prevent His people from participating in the Canaanites’ “loathsome” customs. (If this sounds mean, you can argue with God, not me.)
Practically speaking, negotiating with terrorists who vow to return to jihad just as soon as they can makes Israel look dangerously weak, as if it devalues itself, inviting new attacks. The United States demanding negotiations looks weak, too. And for every Jew living in the diaspora, our lives are now even more devalued, more threatened. This can and should change.
Madeline Brooks, M.A., is the former head of the New York chapter of ActforAmerica and is a conservative and counter-jihad writer. Her articles have been published in AmericanThinker.com, CanadaFreePress.com, FamilySecurityMatters.org, and elsewhere. Her book, What You Need To Know About Islamic Jihad: Information The Main Stream Media Is Not Giving You, is available on Scribd. She can be reached at ResistJihad@aol.com. This article has been cross-posted with the author’s permission from The American Thinker.
Eva says
This is so true, and absolutely the way it should have been done.
There can be no negotiations with terrorist filth, everybody knows they’re useless, and the outcome is only appeasement.
somehistory says
It has long been the practice of the fbi to not give in to kidnappers, but to pretend to get the funds together while looking for the perpetrators.
It is the practice of hostage negotiators when dealing with a situation such as bank robbers holding everyone in the bank hostage, to seek to delay giving any concessions to the criminals, while looking for ways to get the upper hand. Installing snipers who are ready to take the offender out if necessary.
Any time the criminals are given what they want….and especially in the case of mozlums/hamas or other terror orgs…it emboldens them to act in the same ways again, and again.
Israel has given up criminals before to get hostages returned from hamas. More victims of their evils will come in the future.
God did, indeed, command the Israelites to take out all who worshipped demon gods. It was a means of protecting them from giving in to the evils and becoming victims of those practicing the evils.
carpediadem says
None of the above people you talk about is subject not only to international pressure but effective blackmail by its “friend”.
gravenimage says
Grimly true, Carpediadem.
Kepha says
Thank you, Madeline Brooks.
Since you raise the ban on the nations of Canaan in Mosaic times, I would also note that Numbers 33 warns Israel that if they fall into the same habits, customs, and idolatries, they would suffer the same fate. The rest of Old Testament history down through II kings shows how that worked out–with Judah in exile Babylon. While my much younger self was horrified by those passages, in time I came to see that they are a warning to all who have the Word of God that God is just and there are certain things he hates. I would not necessarily apply these covenantal curses of Scripture to modern Israel, for, as a Reformation Christian, I see the elect people of God gathered about the Messiah rather than in a piece of Middle Eastern real estate. But, having read the prophets through many times over, I sometimes wonder if today’s furor islamicus may not be a judgment on a proudly post-Christian West.
@Somehistory–The FBI practice of stringing along kidnappers works because the average American criminal is not a highly intelligent person. Hamas is also a political organization with its technicians, intellectuals, ideologues, and negotiators, and has the backing of a large portion of the “international community”.
I hate to say this, but the US in particular needs to rebuild its human intelligence capabilities to the point where if a US hostage is taken, we know enough about and have people close enough to the political thug organizations leadership that someone near and dear to the head honcho can disappear, and then appear dead and horribly mutilated in a public place (the KGB were past masters at this; which is why very few Russian hostages were ever taken).
somehistory says
Kepha, it is my contention (and from what I was taught as a hostage negotiator) no one should negotiate with terrorists…unless it is done with the terrorists not getting any concessions.
I was instructed by one of the two agents who designed the hostage negotiator program for the fbi after Waco and the horrendous outcome there. The criminals are not supposed to get what they are after, but the main thing is to save the hostages.
hamas is not the same as a company with which a union would sit, along with negotiators, to hammer out a ‘deal.’
gravenimage says
Thank you, Somehistory.
St Croix says
Agree. They should not be rewarded through “negotiating a deal.”
There was an interview with a female hostage released some time back, she had some interesting stories to tell. Her name is Sapir (sapphire). She talked with the captors, and made an impression on them. One day the tele was on, and it was showing Israelis marching in the streets, against Hamas, demanding the hostages back. The guard she had most interactions with called her over to look at the screen.
“There” he said, “look at your people marching in the streets. They are one. They are strong. If they were like this all the time, we couldn’t touch them.”
Sapir said she was amazed at what he said.
But, he was right. Divide and conquer. Internal squabbling, weakness–exhibited by “negotiating with terrorists”–instead of standing up to them. The Jews just have not learned.
AND, to the disgrace of America and the west, but I say America most of all b/c USA pretends to be the biggest ally of Israel, yet they are often the ones behind the scenes or openly playing puppeteer. Telling Israel what they can and can’t do. And it’s usually the opposite of the strong stance that Israel should be taking. Instead it’s negotiating away the land, letting bombers, assassins, murderers and rapists go free, so they can do it all again. The Arabs would never do that. NEVER. And America would never ask them to do so, there’s no point! Imagine telling Saudi they can’t bomb the sh*t out of Houthi terrorists? No. They kind of dance around it, do they not? Or execute a terrorist they caught within their land?
But when it comes to the Jews, American policy tends to be the two-state “solution”–the solution that isn’t. This is a no-brainer for everyone with a brain! Since they have brains, there must be something worse behind it than just stupidity, they are not that dumb. Sorry.
somehistory says
No, it isn’t just ‘dumb.’ It’s design.
gravenimage says
A better way to free the Israeli hostages
……………………………..
Yes–releasing scores of Jihadist prisoners for just a few of the hostages just ensures there will be more of the same in the future. The plotters of 10/7 included Jihadists released by Israel in order to free kidnap victim Gilad Shalit.
Billy says
Our leaders are virtue-signaling, deceitful imbeciles. Islam, its Mosques, its Schools, etc. should be banned as illegal for their funding, teaching, and promoting terrorism, discrimination, and violence against Non-Muslims as taught in the Quran. Basically, Islam is a MUSLIM TERRORIST ORGANIZATION(Quran 8:12; 9:29, 111; 49:15 and more). More specifically, Islam is a Muslim Terrorist Ideology and Criminal Organization of discrimination, segregation, supremacy, genocide, polygamy, deceit, hatred, incitement, sedition, rape, terrorism, and violence against all Non-Muslims as taught in the Quran. Fundamentally, Islam is a Terrorist Criminal Enterprise. The FRUIT of Islam is WAR, terrorism, discrimination, and violence against all Non-Muslims; this FACT must be taught and broadcast to the general public to prohibit Islam, its Mosques, and its Schools. Furthermore, there is NO EQUALITY UNDER THE LAW in Islam or in Islamic Law.
Non-Muslims CANNOT have peace with Islam and its Muslims because Islam and its murderous god, Allah, demand a continuous, Muslim war against unbelievers where Non-Muslims are CRIMINALS under Islam as Allah in Qur’an 8:39 says, “And engage in war with them[Non-Muslims] until there will not be sedition and the religion will be completely to Allah…” HENCE, NON-MUSLIMS MUST MAKE ISLAM, ITS MOSQUES, ITS SCHOOLS, ITS ORGANIZATIONS, ETC. ILLEGAL UNDER THE LAW. Similarly, Islam and its many Organizations must be identified and declared to be a MUSLIM TERRORIST ORGANIZATION for their funding, teaching, and support of terrorism, violence, and discrimination against Non-Muslims.
Islam does NOT MEAN submission, only SURRENDER. Allah in Islam demands SURRENDER which means ‘to Surrender, whether voluntarily or not, by becoming a Muslim’ while Submission, ‘to Submit’, is a voluntary act to follow the authority or control of another. Allah in Quran 49:14 says, “’The Bedouins said, ‘We believed.’ Say,’You did not believe. But say, ‘We surrender (became Muslim as a result of fear).’ And the faith has not entered your hearts. And if you obey Allah and his messenger, he will not decrease anything from your works. Surely Allah is forgiving, merciful.’” Failure to surrender by becoming a Muslim brings punishment including the punishment of death. Islam does NOT offer love and peace to anyone who is NOT A MUSLIM. Allah in Quran 48:29 says, “Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger, and those who are with him are severe against the infidels but full of tenderness among themselves…”
Islam promotes a terroristic, Muslim war against unbelievers when Allah in Qur’an 49:15 says, “Surely the believers are only those who believed in Allah and his messenger. They do not doubt, and they performed JIHAD with THEIR MONEY AND THEIR LIVES for the sake of Allah. Those are the truthful.”
Allah promises Heavenly Paradise to Muslims for acts of Muslim killing in a terrorist war when Quran 9:111 says, “Surely Allah has purchased from the believers[Muslims] their souls and their money so that they may have the garden[Heavenly Paradise]. They engage in war for the sake of Allah, so they kill and are killed…”
Islam champions Muslim acts of slaughter against Non-Muslims for not becoming Muslims as Allah in Qur’an 8:12 says, “When your lord revealed to the angels: ‘I am with you so make firm those who believed[Muslims]. I will cast a terror into the hearts of those who became infidels[Non-Muslims]. So strike above their necks(decapitation), and strike off(chop off) every finger from them.’”
sporticus says
So what is the better way promised by this article? We get abstractions and the usual pious quotes from the Bible. I mean did the ancient wisdom work back then, especially against the Romans? And there’s this:
“Israel has hundreds of prisoners: murderers, rapists, beheaders, etc. All it has to do is make very public announcements in Gaza that every hour, a prisoner will be executed in a public and humiliating way until all the hostages are released.”
That’s not going to work. The history of WWII is full stories of Nazi barbarity using just the same tactic. The stories are almost impossible to finish reading. Israel would not risk it. The Romans did the same as in “decimate”: line people up and execute every tenth person.
And do you think Hamas would care? Thousands might be executed by Israel and Hamas would just sneer and praise the sacrifice of the “martyrs” and wait until World condemnation becomes screaming white hot.
The only way is to just say NO. But the good news is that we live in a new era where the power of AI is increasing exponentially and Israel has the brains to be at the forefront of that phenomenon. Eventually Hamas will have no place to hide. They might think that using carrier pigeons is the go, but the unsleeping eye of AI will pick up the flutter of wings even at 3am in Downtown Gaza City.
NO NO NO.
Hamas looks tough with its black masks. green banderas, and AK47s held aloft. But we know that it is a one trick black show pony: grab a few easy prey young women, rape and/or murder some of them, then parade the leftovers on Tik Tok while all kinds of ill-informed academics praise them as freedom-fighters.
Call their bluff. Just say NO.
And when they least expect it come up from behind them and with a feather tickle their ears. “We’re here, tough guy”.
NO NO NO…
R G says
Understand his point but unfortunately it’s too late. Israel has been trading jihadis for Israeli soldiers for years. In fact that was one of Obama’s excuses for trading the 5 Taliban prisoners for traitor Bowe Berghdal. I guess they could change the policy but I don’t know if it would work.