Jewish sages have opined there is no greater mitzvah than the redemption of captives, but not at unreasonable costs for the safety of the community. Determining what is unreasonable has left deep wounds in Israeli politics and society.
On Feb. 15, under severe domestic pressure, Israel released 369 convicted terrorists, 36 serving life sentences, in exchange for three Israeli civilian hostages. Just a week earlier, Israel freed 183 Palestinian terrorists, including 18 serving life sentences, for three Israeli hostages.
Among them was the mastermind of the 2004 Be'er-Sheva bombing that killed 16 and wounded over 100, and another sentenced to multiple life terms for murdering six Israelis. These terrorists had destroyed entire families, orphaned children, and devastated communities.
Hamas turns hostage releases into grotesque spectacles: traumatized Israelis paraded before jeering, well-fed mobs in Gaza, followed by Palestinian celebrations glorifying their returning Jew-killing heroes. It is a horror show!
This sends a chilling message: Kidnap civilians, film their suffering, and use them as leverage to blackmail democracies into exchanging murderers for the living and the dead, often compromising their war strategy in the process.
One in 4 Palestinians freed in the November 2023 ceasefire — some serving life sentences — have already returned to terrorism. Sixty-one killers were freed for each hostage on Feb. 8 and 123 for each hostage on Feb. 15.
How many Jews will die tomorrow as a result?
Among the terrorists freed on Feb. 8 were Wael Qassem, who killed 35 in suicide attacks; Majdi Za'atri, who orchestrated a bus bombing slaughtering 23, including babies; Mohammed Abu Warda, responsible for the 1996 Jerusalem bus bombings killing 44; Sami Jaradat, who planned the 2003 Maxim restaurant attack, killing 21, including five children.
Oran Almog, who was just 9 when the Maxim attack blinded him, lost his brother, father, and grandparents. The Zer-Aviv family of five was wiped out: Liran had just turned 4, Noya was 1.
For decades, Israel has traded murderers for hostages.
In 1985, believing it was the moral obligation of the state to rescue its citizen soldiers, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin freed 1,150 Palestinian terrorists — including Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin — to ransom three soldiers. Two years later, released terrorists ignited the First Intifada, which killed 277 Israelis and wounded thousands.
Subsequently, Rabin admitted, "I couldn't withstand the mothers' pleas."
Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar warns: 82% of the 1,027 terrorists freed in 2011 for one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, resumed murdering Israelis.
The most infamous? Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the Oct. 7 massacre — the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust.
Once serving multiple life sentences, Sinwar turned his freedom into a reign of terror.
History has shown that freed terrorists return to kill. Trading them for hostages ensures more Israelis will die.
How many of today's freed terrorists will strike again?
Adding insult to injury, many released terrorists are millionaires, enriched by years of Palestinian Authority "pay-for-slay" stipends. Palestinian Media Watch reports that killers released in the first phase of the current ceasefire received nearly $142 million while in prison.
Some collected over $280,000 — far beyond Gaza's average daily wage of $20. Muhammad Al-Tous alone received almost $617,000.
Every freed terrorist, celebrated as a hero by Palestinians, is a threat to Israel's national security and its citizens' lives.
Many Israelis insist the government has a moral duty to free hostages "at any cost," even a Hamas victory, arguing that their suffering is intolerable and destroys national resilience and social cohesion.
Others oppose these trades, contending that freeing convicted terrorists rewards murderers, erodes deterrence, boosts terrorist recruitment and fundraising, and incentivizes more hostage-taking. It makes Israelis less safe.
Families of today's fallen soldiers worry their sacrifice will be in vain if this policy impedes victory.
Releasing mass murderers betrays the families of past terror victims. It weakens trust in government and the courts.
The Israeli and global media push relentlessly: "Bring the hostages home — at any price."
Those who dare to question this are painted as callous. Yet protests against these trades — many including hostage families — have erupted in Israel, though they are largely ignored.
Of course, we all rejoice when hostages return. The scenes of reunions bring tears of joy.
But critics aren't heartless. They question the wisdom of empowering terrorists and insist that national security — the safety of the community — must take precedence over individual rescue.
Sinwar knew his 251 hostages were leverage. He counted on using Israel's unwavering commitment to preserving life to help him achieve victory, recognizing from personal experience that Israel would trade mass murderers for living and dead citizens, no matter the cost to national security.
Trading terrorists for hostages is both a moral and strategic nightmare. Is it acceptable for citizens to demand action "at any price?" Is there a price too high?
Ziva Dahl is a senior fellow with the news and public policy group Haym Salomon Center. Ziva writes and lectures about U.S.-Israel relations, U.S. foreign policy, Israel, Zionism, Antisemitism and BDS on college campuses. Her articles have appeared in such publications as The Hill, New York Daily News, New York Observer, The Washington Times, American Spectator, American Thinker and Jerusalem Post. Read Ziva Dahl's Reports — More Here.
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