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Justice for the Hostages Will Only Come When We Demand More of Ourselves and Our Leaders
A combination picture shows undated handout images of hostages Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, and Almog Sarusi, who were kidnapped by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attacks, and whose bodies have been found underground in the Rafah area of the Gaza Strip and returned to Israel, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. Photo: Courtesy of Bring Them Home Now/Handout via REUTERS
In the wake of the horrific September 11 attacks in 2001, Queen Elizabeth II sent a condolence message to the families of the 250 British victims, telling them that “grief is the price we pay for love.”
I arrived in Israel earlier this week, and as I stepped into the warm, balmy air outside Ben Gurion Airport, the late Queen’s words really resonated. This is my fifth visit to Israel since October 7th, and the grief here is palpable.
Each visit reveals a country in collective mourning for innocent lives lost and brutal violence endured. But last weekend, this grief took on a sharper edge, embodied by a name that has come to symbolize both hope and despair: Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
Hersh’s story is one of unyielding love that has now turned to unbearable grief. A 24-year-old American Israeli, born in Berkeley, California, and raised in Jerusalem, Hersh’s life was filled with promise. But on October 7th, while attending the Nova music festival near the Gaza border, he became a victim of Hamas’s savage attack.
The terrorists killed hundreds of revelers and took dozens hostage, including Hersh. While hiding in a shelter, a grenade thrown by the terrorists severed Hersh’s arm. Although he survived, Hersh was taken captive, the stump of his arm crudely bandaged as he was thrown onto a pickup truck — a moment captured and broadcast around the world.
Over the past 11 months, Hersh’s parents, Rachel and Jon, became tireless advocates for their son’s release. American-born Jews who moved to Israel 16 years ago, they traveled the globe, knocking on every door, speaking to anyone who would listen.
They met with US President Joe Biden, Pope Francis, and other world leaders. Just weeks ago, they highlighted Hersh’s plight at the Democratic Party Convention — not as another statistic, but as a vibrant young man with wonderful dreams, a loving family, and a bright future.
Rachel and Jon’s fight was not just for Hersh, but for every hostage held by Hamas. But last weekend, their relentless efforts ended with tragedy. As Shabbat began, they turned off their phones, holding onto the hope that their son might soon be released.
But when they turned their phones back on after Shabbat, they were confronted with devastating news: Hersh’s body had been found in a tunnel under Gaza, alongside five other hostages, all of them executed at close range just before IDF rescue teams could reach them.
The grief of Hersh’s loss is immense. His story is not just his own; it is the story of every hostage, every family clinging to hope, and every Israeli living amidst fear and uncertainty. It is the story of Jews worldwide facing a resurgence of virulent antisemitism, and of those who see Israel’s struggle against Hamas as a frontline battle between good and evil.
Hersh’s parents’ relentless fight to secure his release — their heartbreak and despair — mirrors the struggle of every person in the free world committed to defeating evil and restoring justice.
Hersh’s death is not just a singular tragedy; it starkly illustrates the stakes in the ongoing conflict with Hamas, against those who favor violence as the only means to advance their agenda. The murder of Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages, moments before they could have been rescued, accentuates the cruelty that Israel and the civilized world are up against.
But beyond that, Hersh’s story reveals a broader failure: the failure of leadership — both in Israel and globally — to protect the innocent and stand firmly against terror.
Parshat Shoftim speaks directly to the themes of justice and leadership. Moses commands the Israelites to appoint judges and officers to uphold justice, declaring (Deut. 16:20): צֶדֶק צֶדֶק תִּרְדֹּף — “Justice, justice shall you pursue.”
According to the commentaries, the repetition of the word “justice” underscores the significance of justice, not just as an ideal in itself, but as a principle that requires utter integrity in its pursuit.
In the context of Hersh’s murder, these words resonate deeply. We have seen failures of leadership on multiple fronts. While everyone claims to want justice, frustration with the international community’s willingness to engage with Qatar and Hamas, and the Israeli government’s clumsy handling of hostage negotiations has grown. Reports of missed opportunities for deals that might have freed Hersh and others have only added to this outrage.
It was in this context that Israeli President Isaac Herzog delivered a heartfelt apology at Hersh’s burial. Speaking with a broken heart, Herzog apologized “on behalf of the State of Israel” for failing to protect Hersh and the other hostages and for not doing more to bring them home.
His words struck a deep chord with a nation coming to terms with its leaders’ failures. “We failed you,” Herzog admitted, echoing the regret felt by many.
In stark contrast to these failures, Rachel and Jon’s advocacy embodies the pursuit of justice that Shoftim demands. They showed that their son’s life and the lives of the other hostages are not bargaining chips or political pawns; all the young men and women in Hamas hands are precious souls worth every effort to save. Crucially, Rachel and Jon’s dignity in the face of unimaginable grief is a powerful reminder of the kind of righteousness that goes well beyond platitudes.
The tragic loss of Hersh and the other hostages forces us to reflect on our own responsibilities. The call to “pursue justice” is clearly not passive; it demands courage, clarity, and moral conviction.
Virtue signaling and hollow gestures — like the Histadrut’s ill-conceived call for a labor strike — accomplish nothing beyond momentary headlines. And Prime Minister Netanyahu’s platitudinous apologetics and blame-shifting are particularly difficult to take. His approach, which has sadly been marked by evasion rather than accountability, is not leadership.
True leadership is not about projecting toughness or finding scapegoats; it is about having the courage to show vulnerability, admit mistakes, and take responsibility.
Rachel and Jon have demonstrated what real leadership looks like: a combination of relentlessness — knocking on every door, speaking into every ear, and never giving up hope, even when the path is dark — and, most importantly, doing so with integrity and dignity.
Without allowing themselves to get drawn into the fray, Rachel and Jon demanded justice not just for their son, but for every hostage and every innocent life ensnared in terror.
Ultimately, justice for Hersh Goldberg-Polin and all the hostages will not come from ill-conceived labor strikes or cleverly-worded speeches, nor will it come from carefully curated words aimed at gaining electoral votes, or a proliferation of likes on social media. It will only come when we, as a community and as a nation, recognize our duty to demand more from ourselves and from our leaders.
The author is a rabbi in Beverly Hills, California.
The post Justice for the Hostages Will Only Come When We Demand More of Ourselves and Our Leaders first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US House Members Ask Marco Rubio to Bar Turkey From Rejoining F-35 Program
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard
A bipartisan coalition of more than 40 US lawmakers is pressing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to prevent Turkey from rejoining the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, citing ongoing national security concerns and violations of US law.
Members of Congress on Thursday warned that lifting existing sanctions or readmitting Turkey to the US F-35 fifth-generation fighter program would “jeopardize the integrity of F-35 systems” and risk exposing sensitive US military technology to Russia. The letter pointed to Ankara’s 2017 purchase of the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system, despite repeated US warnings, as the central reason Turkey was expelled from the multibillion-dollar fighter jet program in 2019.
“The S-400 poses a direct threat to US aircraft, including the F-16 and F-35,” the lawmakers wrote. “If operated alongside these platforms, it risks exposing sensitive military technology to Russian intelligence.”
The group of signatories, spanning both parties, stressed that Turkey still possesses the Russian weapons systems and has shown “no willingness to comply with US law.” They urged Rubio and the Trump administration to uphold the Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and maintain Ankara’s exclusion from the F-35 program until the S-400s are fully removed.
The letter comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed during a NATO summit in June that Ankara and Washington have begun discussing Turkey’s readmission into the program.
Lawmakers argued that reversing course now would undermine both US credibility and allied confidence in American defense commitments. They also warned it could disrupt development of the next-generation fighter jet announced by the administration earlier this year.
“This is not a partisan issue,” the letter emphasized. “We must continue to hold allies and adversaries alike accountable when their actions threaten US interests.”
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US Lawmakers Urge Treasury to Investigate Whether Irish Bill Targeting Israel Violates Anti-Boycott Law
A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A group of US lawmakers is calling on the Treasury Department to investigate and potentially penalize Ireland over proposed legislation targeting Israeli goods, warning that the move could trigger sanctions under longstanding US anti-boycott laws.
In a letter sent on Thursday to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, 16 Republican members of Congress expressed “serious concerns” about Ireland’s recent legislative push to ban trade with territories under Israeli administration, including the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.
The letter, spearheaded by Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), called for the US to “send a clear signal” that any attempts to economically isolate Israel will “carry consequences.”
The Irish measure, introduced by Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris, seeks to prohibit the import of goods and services originating from what the legislation refers to as “occupied Palestinian territories,” including Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Supporters say the bill aligns with international law and human rights principles, while opponents, including the signatories of the letter, characterize it as a direct extension of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to isolate Israel as a step toward the destruction of the world’s lone Jewish state.
Some US lawmakers have also described the Irish bill as an example of “antisemitic hate” that could risk hurting relations between Dublin and Washington.
“Such policies not only promote economic discrimination but also create legal uncertainty for US companies operating in Ireland,” the lawmakers wrote in this week’s letter, urging Bessent to determine whether Ireland’s actions qualify as participation in an “unsanctioned international boycott” under Section 999 of the Internal Revenue Code, also known as the Ribicoff Amendment.
Under that statute, the Treasury Department is required to maintain a list of countries that pressure companies to comply with international boycotts not sanctioned by the US. Inclusion on the list carries tax-reporting burdens and possible penalties for American firms and individuals doing business in those nations.
“If the criteria are met, Ireland should be added to the boycott list,” the letter said, arguing that such a step would help protect US companies from legal exposure and reaffirm American opposition to economic efforts aimed at isolating Israel.
Legal experts have argued that if the Irish bill becomes law, it could chase American capital out of the country while also hurting companies that do business with Ireland. Under US law, it is illegal for American companies to participate in boycotts of Israel backed by foreign governments. Several US states have also gone beyond federal restrictions to pass separate measures that bar companies from receiving state contracts if they boycott Israel.
Ireland has been one of the fiercest critics of Israel on the international stage since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, amid the ensuing war in Gaza, leading the Jewish state to shutter its embassy in Dublin.
Last year, Ireland officially recognized a Palestinian state, a decision that Israel described as a “reward for terrorism.”
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US Families File Lawsuit Accusing UNRWA of Supporting Hamas, Hezbollah
A truck, marked with United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) logo, crosses into Egypt from Gaza, at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah, Egypt, Nov. 27, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
American families of victims of Hamas and Hezbollah attacks have filed a lawsuit against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, accusing the organization of violating US antiterrorism laws by providing material support to the Islamist terror groups behind the deadly assaults.
Last week, more than 200 families filed a lawsuit in a Washington, DC district court accusing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) of violating US antiterrorism laws by providing funding and support to Hamas and Hezbollah, both designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
The lawsuit alleges that UNRWA employs staff with direct ties to the Iran-backed terror group, including individuals allegedly involved in carrying out attacks against the Jewish state.
However, UNRWA has firmly denied the allegations, labeling them as “baseless” and condemning the lawsuit as “meritless, absurd, dangerous, and morally reprehensible.”
According to the organization, the lawsuit is part of a wider campaign of “misinformation and lawfare” targeting its work in the Gaza Strip, where it says Palestinians are enduring “mass, deliberate and forced starvation.”
The UN agency reports that more than 150,000 donors across the United States have supported its programs providing food, medical aid, education, and trauma assistance in the war-torn enclave amid the ongoing conflict.
In a press release, UNRWA USA affirmed that it will continue its humanitarian efforts despite facing legal challenges aimed at undermining its work.
“Starvation does not pause for politics. Neither will we,” the statement read.
Last year, Israeli security documents revealed that of UNRWA’s 13,000 employees in Gaza, 440 were actively involved in Hamas’s military operations, with 2,000 registered as Hamas operatives.
According to these documents, at least nine UNRWA employees took part directly in the terror group’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
Israeli officials also uncovered a large Hamas data center beneath UNRWA headquarters, with cables running through the facility above, and found that Hamas also stored weapons in other UNRWA sites.
The UN agency has also aligned with Hamas in efforts against the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israeli and US-backed program that delivers aid directly to Palestinians, blocking Hamas from diverting supplies for terror activities and selling them at inflated prices.
These Israeli intelligence documents also revealed that a senior Hamas leader, killed in an Israeli strike in September 2024, had served as the head of the UNRWA teachers’ union in Lebanon, where Lebanon is based,
UNRWA’s education programs have been found by IMPACT-se, an international organization that monitors global education, to contribute to the radicalization of younger generations of Palestinians.