The death of three Israeli hostages last Friday is one of the greatest military tragedies in the history of Israel. But in a curious twist, that event may have helped Israel break the will of Hamas to fight on.
I had said for a while that there would come a point when Israel would have to decide to risk the lives of the hostages for the sake of the goal of destroying Hamas. Until it did, Hamas would be in control.
It made no sense to me that Israel would negotiate with Hamas while trying to destroy it, even for the lives of its own citizens. Actually, to be precise: it made no sense for Hamas to be negotiating with Israel.
Hamas appears to have come to the same conclusion. It broke off hostage talks that were being revived around the time the 3 hostages were killed. Hamas wants a permanent ceasefire, not just a pause.
A Hamas spokesman (the same one who promised more Oct. 7 attacks) explained the group's reasoning to Al Jazeera, basically saying that even a long pause lasting weeks would not be good enough, because Israel would simply keep fighting afterwards.
In fact, he said, there would be no reason for Israel to stop fighting after Hamas had given back the hostages, because the hostages were the only cards Hamas had left to play. He is right, and what it clear from his remarks is that Hamas believes Israel really is trying to win.
Or: Hamas believes Israel is prepared to lose some hostages to win.
That is a psychological victory for Israel. Hamas may yet negotiate, but when it does, it will be negotiating for things like safe passage out of Gaza, or asylum in Qatar, not for a permanent ceasefire.
I would much rather have seen Israel rescue the hostages. But it is possible that Hamas, seeing that Israel was prepared -- like Keanu Reeves in "Speed" -- to shoot hostages, believes it is going to lose.
I should have noted in my message about the weekly Torah portion that this week is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We are about to mourn -- but see through that pain to something better that lies beyond, on the other side.
Wishing you the best vision -- and an incredible reality to follow. It happens!
We begin the final speech of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land. He relates the ups and downs of the years of wandering in the desert, before, finally, the people have the merit to enter the land itself.
This Sabbath always precedes Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both of the Holy Temples, and a catch-all for many calamities that befell the Jewish people.
A word on Tisha B'Av. This year I am leaving for an overseas trip during the afternoon of the holiday -- in the middle of a fast day. Not idea, but there was no other choice. But my flight is in the afternoon, which is significant.
We relax some of the harsh, mournful customs of the day in the afternoon. We start to pray normally; we sit on regular chairs; we start to have hope again in the redemption that will, one day, lead us all back from exile to our home.
I'll be taking a trip to a land where an important part of ...
President Trump is in Scotland, playing golf and making big trade deals -- a major deal with the EU, in fact. Meanwhile, there is a global outcry about humanitarian aid to Palestinians (not about the Israeli hostages, mind you).
On top of that, Democrats are at their lowest polling numbers ever -- so they are trying to win control of the House by redistricting in the middle of a 10-year Census cycle. Oh, economic optimism is up, so they have a tough road.
And Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the Russia collusion investigation make it clear that Obama's lieutenants lied to Congress. How deeply was he himself involved? The media continue to ignore the evidence, but we certainly won't.
Special guests:
Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News White House correspondent, on EU deal
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Trump abroad and Russia
John Spencer - urban warfare expert, on humanitarian aid and war in Gaza
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the ...
