Israel’s Impossible Choice: Justice, Hamas, and the Hostages
Friday August 28, 2025 – ה׳ אֱלוּל תשפ”ה
As we approach day 700 of the war, Israel faces a triple imperative: to eradicate Hamas, to bring the hostages home, and to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. All goals are moral imperatives, yet each threatens to complicate the other. Hamas’s October 7 attacks exposed the full depth of its cruelty and ambition – as recounted in vivid detail this week in front of the United Nations by former hostage Ilana Gritzewsky. It is an organization dedicated to our destruction, whose tunnels, rocket arsenals, and command networks remain a persistent threat to civilians- Israelis and Palestinians. To leave it intact would be to accept ongoing terror — an unthinkable violation of the Torah’s call to relentlessly pursue justice.
This week’s Torah portion, Shoftim, addresses Israel’s current crisis directly. “Tzedek, tzedk tirdof – Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may live and inherit the land that your יהוה God is giving you” (Deut. 16:20). A few chapters later, we are warned: “You shall do to the one as the one schemed to do to the other. Thus, you will sweep out evil from your midst” (Deut. 19:19). These words are not abstract; they are a moral blueprint for leadership, decision-making, and the pursuit of security and justice under impossible circumstances.
And yet, Israeli and Palestinian lives hang in the balance. The hostages taken by Hamas are not abstract symbols; they are real people whose families and loved ones have reached the breaking point and have organized formidable protests. Military escalation to dismantle Hamas risks their lives. Negotiations, while slow and fraught, offer potential pathways to their safe return. Shoftim teaches that justice must mirror and balance: “You shall do to the one as the one schemed to do to the other.” Justice is not vengeance. It is relative. It demands protecting life even as we uproot evil.
Complicating matters further is the humanitarian crisis that began soon after the war started and continues unabated today in Gaza. In my recent conversation with Yotam Polizer of IsraAID, I was reminded firsthand about the scale of suffering: civilians deprived of water, food, and medical care, remaining hospitals – and recently set up field hospitals, overwhelmed, children living under continuous trauma, and the immense efforts to bring aid, secure its distribution, and alleviate the need to loot and pillage aid that comes in. The destruction wrought in Gaza is enormous, with 80 percent of all buildings destroyed, and while Hamas bears ultimate responsibility, the humanitarian consequences of Israel’s military operations are inescapable. Israeli leadership can no longer deny the devastation and starvation, and along with international partners, must urgently consider ways to alleviate civilian suffering with massive amounts of humanitarian aid surging into Gaza, even as they conduct operations to dismantle terror networks without harming any more than absolutely necessary innocent Palestinian civilians. Protecting life, in Gaza as much as in Israel, is part of the moral calculus demanded by Shoftim.
This tension defines Israel’s current military, strategic, and moral dilemma. Military planners, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Katz, and the top military brass must operate under this triple mandate: q – if one thinks that Hamas can actually be destroyed -save the hostages, and minimize civilian suffering. The imperative to destroy Hamas cannot come at the cost of the hostages’ lives, and the imperative to protect civilians cannot leave Hamas’s terror apparatus intact. Political leaders and military strategists alike must grapple with this dual obligation, striking a balance between operational urgency and moral responsibility.
International actors must also play a role. Qatar, Egypt, and other regional intermediaries hold leverage that can either protect or endanger hostages and influence Hamas’s calculus, and who recently accused Israel of dragging its feet on an agreement. American and European pressure is essential to prevent the rebuilding of Hamas’s power, even as temporary ceasefires and humanitarian corridors are negotiated. Leadership must ensure that every tactical move advances all three goals — dismantling terror, safeguarding life, and alleviating civilian suffering — simultaneously. These are profound moral and strategic contradictions, and only the United States has the leverage and authority to step in and try to resolve them. Speaking of which, many of us were taken aback by the announcement of a White House meeting on Wednesday that included prominent figures such as Jared Kushner and Tony Blair, who presented President Trump with ideas for a post-war plan. White House envoy Steve Witkoff shared that “It is a very comprehensive plan we are putting together on the next day (in Gaza) and many people are going to see how robust it is and how well-meaning it is; and it reflects President Trump’s humanitarian motives here.” His Trump-esque declaration may raise skepticism, as no details of the plan have been shared yet.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is under pressure from both protesters and Israel’s military leaders to consider a ceasefire and a hostage deal, rather than moving forward with an expanded military campaign. Coordinating a post-war plan with the White House could give him the political cover to accept a ceasefire while framing it as part of a broader strategy to dismantle Hamas, finally.
Israeli society itself must reckon with the tension. Calls for total victory without regard for hostages or humanitarian consequences, or immediate release of captives without weakening Hamas, are politically tempting but morally incomplete. The Torah’s repetition — justice, justice — reminds us that justice is never simple, never one-dimensional. It demands holding conflicting imperatives together, refusing easy answers, and refusing to abandon any moral claim.
Our tradition teaches that pursuing justice is a process, not a slogan. It requires moral courage, strategic creativity, and endurance. The doubling of justice in Shoftim is no accident: it signals that Israel’s leaders and citizens alike must hold dual — and even triple — obligations in tension, no matter how uncomfortable.
Ultimately, Israel’s challenge is clear. We must dismantle Hamas to secure our future, bring the hostages home, and act to mitigate suffering in Gaza. Anything less would betray the Torah’s vision and our moral responsibility to all human life. Tzedek, tzedek tirdof is not optional. It is the compass that must guide every decision — and the test of whether Israel can uphold justice in the darkest of times.
Shabbat Shalom!