Dozens of rabbinic leaders across the Greater Washington area signed a Feb. 18 letter calling for the “accelerated release” of the 73 remaining hostages in Gaza. The current hostages include Israeli soldiers and civilians both dead and alive, according to BBC.
The local rabbis cited Jewish tradition in their plea for the hostages’ swift return in the letter that comes 500 days since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas seized more than 250 captives.
“At times of confusion or conflict, we strive to provide our people with moral clarity and healing,” the statement read. “We are heirs to the Jewish tradition that teaches that there is no higher mitzvah than to redeem hostages and bring them back to their homes and families.”
The letter continued that neither Jewish people nor Israel can rest until every one of the hostages held in Gaza has been returned, urging leaders to implement the next phases of a negotiated deal that will facilitate a quicker return.
“On February 8th, we saw the emaciated and gaunt bodies of three returning hostages,” the statement read, referring to Israelis Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy. “It is clear that the lives of the remaining hostages are hanging in the balance.”
The letter called for all community members to “advocate for and demand the accelerated return” of the remaining hostages, 38 of whom are believed to be alive.
“The urgency is to save the lives of the remaining hostages,” said Rabbi Gilah Langner of Kol Ami: Northern Virginia Reconstructionist Community, who signed the letter. “The urgency is to bring an end to the terrible, horrific war and the aftermath of Oct. 7.”
The authors of the letter quoted Jewish texts: the Talmud, which refers to the redemption of hostages as a “mitzvah rabbah,” or a “great mitzvah,” and rabbi and ancient philosopher Maimonides, who said we “must redeem captives so that our hearts do not harden, and so that we do not stand idly by the blood of our fellow.”
The writers also referenced the efforts that the American Jewish community has undertaken to help raise awareness of the Israel-Hamas war and the plight of the hostages, from wearing yellow ribbons and displaying posters of the hostages to giving speeches and attending vigils.
“We in America — Jews in America, America itself — are very affected by what’s going on in the Middle East,” Langner told Washington Jewish Week. “As Jewish [American] leaders, we are integrally affected in leading our communities, in responding to the situation, in the effects of the ongoing war in Jewish communities here in America. It is something dear to our hearts to achieve release of the hostages.”
“As moral leaders we demand nothing less at this very late hour than the accelerated return of all the hostages,” the statement read.
Some of the rabbis took turns reading the letter aloud at a Feb. 18 national prayer for the hostages at Washington Hebrew Congregation marking 500 days of captivity.
Langner said it was important for her to sign the letter when she did because of the recent back-and-forth news about the cease-fire agreement; on Feb. 10, a Hamas spokesperson said it was “suspending the upcoming hostage release in the Gaza Strip,” claiming that Israel hadn’t upheld its terms of the deal, NBC News reported that day. Israel then threatened to restart the war in Gaza if Hamas refused to release the hostages, according to the Associated Press. As of Feb. 18, there is still uncertainty around the truce as politicians consider entering the second phase of the cease-fire deal with Hamas.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said discussion to begin the second phase of the deal will take place next week. This phase would constitute a “complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in exchange for the release of all the remaining, living hostages,” according to JNS. This phase is open-ended, meaning that negotiations could proceed indefinitely.
The letter writers called for the cease-fire deal to be fully implemented so that the hostages’ family members can begin healing: “Parents and children, grandparents and siblings have lived a nightmare for far too long.”
“The urgency is to start healing, to start building, to begin reconstruction of Gaza, to seize the momentum with so much attention being paid to the situation, to actually move forward and bring about a better future for Israelis and Palestinians,” Langner said.
