About this episode
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). JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS Sponsor an upcoming episode of For Heaven’s Sake. Click here to learn more. 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