Freedom Square
By: Larry Gordon
On Sunday we visited Hostage Square in Tel Aviv and took some pictures. This was going to be the conclusion of a dark and difficult chapter in Israel’s history, and as we stood there, we hoped and dreamed that this would be the last time this small corner of Tel Aviv would be known as Hostage Square.
Esta Gordon in Hostage Square before the release the next day
The next morning as the sun rose it would be Freedom Square.
I’m sitting here in Jerusalem watching from the distance as the presidential motorcade arrives at the Knesset. Meeting Trump here in Israel are his chief negotiator, Steve Witkoff, along with his son-in-law Jared Kushner who became newly involved in the process over the last few months along with his wife, presidential daughter, Ivanka Kushner.
It is the eve of Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah. Unlike in the countries of the diaspora, in Israel the last two days of the yom tov are combined into one special holy day. As you know, it was exactly two years ago on that day that the ragtag wild men of Hamas slammed through the flimsy gates that separated Hamas-controlled Gaza from the vulnerable communities of Southern Israel.
As it turned out, the gates were easily penetrable and designed as such because the Jews of this region considered themselves as one with the Arabs of Gaza. Sadly, it took the violent and bloody incursion of October 7, 2023 for them to learn that the Arabs of Gaza do not see it that way.
Now, it is two years later, and as these words are being written, 20 men who were held for two years are now free. There is euphoria on the streets of Jerusalem and every Israeli city. But later this same day, the bodies of 28 deceased hostages are supposed to be transported to Israel, giving their families the chance to mourn them properly and with dignity.
The sum total of this day is the epitome of what it means to harbor mixed feelings and what it means to experience a situation that is indeed bittersweet. Some families are experiencing tremendous joy while others will be burying their loved ones. And because of the Sukkot holiday, the shivah process will have to start after the conclusion of the festival on Tuesday night.
President Trump signing the Knesset guest book
Photo by Avi Ohayon, GPO
Diplomatically, President Trump has pulled off a miracle of sorts. He is the fourth president in U.S. history to address the Knesset. As he arrived at the Knesset, Trump signed a guest book where he said that this was a personal high honor for him and a new day for the Middle East overall. He also told reporters on board Air Force One on the way to Egypt that the war between Israel and the Arab world was over.
The other night as yom tov came to a conclusion for most of Israel, President Trump met in front of reporters with Argentinian President Javier Milei, a close friend of his and a very vigorous supporter of Israel.
At that same time President Trump spoke publicly with Milei where he fielded a series of questions on many topics including his recent whirlwind trip to Israel and his speech before the Knesset. As the last days of yom tov began, President Trump was addressing the Knesset in a remarkable and indeed relaxed fashion about the intense matter of the release of the Israeli hostages that were held by Hamas in mostly underground tunnels in Gaza.
Every detail of this matter of the last few days was interlaced with elements of the miraculous. The thing about this president is that he makes the miraculous look natural, almost routine. It’s Wednesday evening in Israel when these words are being written and so far, the terror group Hamas has already violated part of their 20-point agreement that they signed with the U.S. As of this writing, all of the 28 hostages who died in captivity have not been returned to their families for burial in Israel.
So far, about eight have been returned, with one of those bodies being that of an Arab in an IDF uniform. Both sides are saying at this point that the return of the wrong body was an honest mistake, if you can use both the words in the same sentence.
As part of the agreement with the terror group—two other words that are difficult to pair together (that is, terror group and agreement), the Hamas group has agreed to disarm. That aspect of the agreement has also been brought into question and this is another matter that the president addressed the other night. Trump clearly stated that if Hamas refuses to disarm then he, the president of the United States, will see to it that they are forcefully disarmed.
Trump said that the matter will be addressed with force and violence if need be. As you can probably surmise, it was an amazing week for all of us to experience in Israel: both the Sukkot holiday itself while at the same time being caught up in the euphoria of the two-year-long hostage crisis coming to a long-awaited end.
It may be too early, but it is important to contrast the way this terrorist/hostage crisis was handled during the Biden administration and the way it was handled since Trump assumed office in January.
In reality, it was a simple computation. Biden-Harris and the Democrats did not want Israel to defeat Hamas. They forbade Netanyahu from allowing his forces to invade Gaza City or Rafah where the head of the Hamas snake was being protected. People like Biden and past foreign policy failures like Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken did what they could to create obstacles to Israel overcoming Hamas and freeing the Israeli hostages.
Biden slow-walked the much-needed weapons the IDF needed and specifically blocked the shipment of 2,000-pound weapons that Israel needed in order to destroy as many of the network of underground tunnels that they could.
This was a happy week for many families in Israel with the return of their loved ones. For others who lost family, there was at least a sense of closure with the opportunity to bury their loved ones in Israel after all this time.
It’s painful to think how a Kamala Harris presidency might have dealt with this matter. It’s certain that more of the hostages would have died and more families would be suffering. Donald Trump and those who serve with him turned all of that around this week.
Israel and the world Jewish community owe him a debt of gratitude. As social media personality Ben Shapiro said this past week, this was just one reason why Trump’s life was saved from an assassination attempt back in July 2024.
Hopefully, there will be a great deal more to come from an extraordinary man and a great president.
Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
