I must begin by mentioning Rabbi Moshe Hauer z”l. Rabbi Hauer, National Executive Vice President of the Orthodox Union (OU) for the last five years, died suddenly in his home on Sh’mini Atzeres night. His loss is incalculable. Although I had frequent disagreements with Rabbi Hauer over policy issues, he nevertheless was a first-class gentleman.
He handled all kinds of crises with equanimity, never losing his poise and professionalism. His shocking passing leaves a void felt by me personally and by countless others who looked toward his leadership. He leaves a gaping hole for the OU, which will be hard-pressed to find a suitable replacement. Y’hi zichro baruch.
The recent ceasefire with Hamas is not without controversy. The deal involved trading about 1,700 Palestinian prisoners, many with blood on their hands, in exchange for 20 live hostages plus around 28 remains of murdered hostages. So far, Hamas has only released about nine of those remains.
The question is: Is it worth it? Is it worth freeing nearly 2,000 terrorists to retrieve a handful of Israelis? After all, Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the October 7 massacre, was freed in exchange for hostage Gilad Shalit. Numerous articles have been written condemning the exchange. One article fiercely opposing the deal was written for Arutz Sheva by Rabbi Steven Pruzansky.
The revered Rabbi Meir ben Baruch, known as the 12th-century Maharam of Ruttenberg, was imprisoned while fleeing German persecution. Despite 23,000 marks in silver being raised for his ransom, the Maharam refused to be released on the grounds that paying such an exorbitant price would only encourage more kidnapping of Jews for a hefty sum. Rav Meir died in prison.
I recall Naftali Bennett being asked by a journalist if it wasn’t racist of Israel to release many Palestinian prisoners for one hostage. Does it not show how disproportionate the Israelis consider the worth of one Jew versus so many Palestinians? Bennett was incredulous at the question but explained that it is the price the Palestinians themselves demanded.
So, the question haunts us: Was it worth surrendering so many Palestinian prisoners for a handful of Israelis?
Sitting here in the comfort of America, it is really not for us to weigh in. Yet we still do have opinions that can be voiced.
I believe that the plight of the hostages being held in captivity by a terrorist group almost paralyzed the country. It is not a matter of too much for too little. The question is: How long can the country endure the pain of the abducted hostages? It would seem to me that this was a matter of pikuach nefesh for the entire country, as the people of Israel were showing signs of cracking and fragmenting to the breaking point, as in the days leading up to October 7.
Yes, releasing the prisoners was risky and painful; but on the other side of the argument, there seemed to be no choice. If the country was to survive intact, the painful decision had to be made.
It seems, then, that the exchange was something that had to be done. The bigger question is, will the ceasefire hold? Hamas has already violated the ceasefire by killing two Israeli soldiers and refusing to lay down their arms. That was plain to see, as Hamas went on a killing spree, executing dozens of Gazans whom they deemed to be unfaithful to the Hamas cause.
So far, Israel has had a limited response, no doubt due to pressure from Donald Trump.
So where does this all lead? Peace will no doubt be an illusion as long as there is Islamic hatred of the Jewish people. The most we can hope for is a pause in fighting. To that end, I believe the current ceasefire is the best we can hope for.
Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld is the Rabbi Emeritus of the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, President of the Coalition for Jewish Values, former President of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens, and the Rabbinic Consultant for the Queens Jewish Link.