Former Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard suggested that Israel should have forced the families of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza to be quiet, even suggesting imprisonment as a means to curb public pressure in negotiating deals with the terror group.
During an online discussion with Rabbi David Bar-Hayim of the Shilo Institute aired on Israel’s Channel 14, Pollard expressed his harsh stance. “When we declared war, the first thing that the government should have done was to declare a state of national emergency and told all of the hostage families, ‘You will keep your mouths shut, or we will shut them for you. You will not interfere in the management of this war. You will not be used by the international community or by our own leftists, who managed the Shalit deal, as a weapon against us,’” he declared.
This remark refers to the contentious 2011 deal where Israel released over 1,000 Palestinian terrorists in exchange for a single kidnapped IDF soldier. One of the released terrorist was Yahye Sinway, the current chief of Hamas in Gaza who masterminded the Simchas Torah massacre.
Pollard, who spent decades in a U.S. prison for espionage before being released by former President Donald Trump and relocating to Israel, further added, “And if that means imprisoning, to silence certain members of hostages’ families, then so be it. We’re in a state of war.”
His criticisms extended to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for endorsing a new hostage deal this week. Pollard also voiced his disappointment with the far-right Religious Zionism party, which supported the agreement, stating he will not vote for them again.
Expanding on his views, Pollard condemned the public display of kidnapped Israelis. “I was dead-set against turning all these posters out, the kidnapped, with all these pictures of these poor people that were kidnapped. Why? Because each one of them was a poison dart at our ability to wage total war against our enemies.”
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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50 Responses
It’s painful, but in a way, he’s right.
If rescue of individual hostages risks the entire klal, the leadership of a country needs to make the better strategic decision.
He could be our next POTUS. He’s just as senile as the present one.
Man is invisible mentally ill. This should have but been publish. He just needs to be ignored. That’s it.
Visibly
Not shockeding at all!
A Typical idealistic Zionist that preaches Herzels philosophy. רק בדם. Who can’t see here how the Zionists collaborated with the Nazis to hinder the rescue of thousands of Hungarian Jews? It’s the sad Simple math; they wld forgo on Jewish blood for an inch of land or for whatever suits their horrible Zionist agenda.
This is UNREAL but thank you for proving the real makeup of a good Zionist.
DESPICABLE!
He happens to be 100% right. The families of hostages even met Biden, which caused the USA to pressure Israel to enter the INSANE hostage deal. THE REASON WE ARE IN THIS EXISTENTIAL CRISIS is because of a foolish hostage deal.
Even if he is wrong, who is some Yeshiva World Intern to call someone who risked his entire life for klal yisrael “off his rocker”?!
Apparently he’s forgotten what it’s like to be in prison..
I don’t think imprisonment is in order but I do agree with his overall point that all this anger and public condemnation directed at the government coming from the families of the hostages didn’t help anyone but Hamas and their enablers…
Why bother with this? No one heard about his comments until this article. He’s not a government official. He’s a random person who went through a a lot. I guess you can report his comments but maybe not such a subject line for the title of the article. There are a ton of people saying stupid things every day. Leave him alone.
Majnoon
Insensitive comment. But the sentiment is almost understandable. In counterterrorism, the last thing you would like to do is give in to ludicrous demands in exchange for hostages. Israel did just that for a very lopsided deal that is bad for the country. And using a last minute, sadistic and exploitative tactic, didn’t sign because these criminal savages don’t want to give access to the Red Cross. Pollard felt that the govt hands were tied by the justifiably overwhelming emotions of the hostages families. Put it plainly: the Hamas ימ”ש would not have agreed to buy back their prisoners at such an exorbitant price to security.
Instead of bad mouthing this person, can you state a Torah view on this issue? It’s obviously not a simple issue and we all feel for the hostages and their families and would never want our children to be hostages, but our actions should be dictated by Torah values and, there is definitely a big downside and letting the hostages determine the war trajectory. In hindsight Would you Agree that the Shalit deal was the right thing to do or was it a disaster? Why is this any different?
The statement is a bit extreme, but it’s an important point that he’s making, and I wouldn’t title it “Off his rocker”
The families are going through extraordinary pain right now, but we can’t allow our compassion to allow us to put thousands of more Jewish families in danger.
It’s not so crazy. We are at war. The fact is that Hamas must be destroyed, or this will be repeated, and thousands more will die. Anything that hinders this is a danger to Israel.
This, on a smaller scale. is exactly what happened with the Shalit deal. Almost no one at this point is arguing that the Shalit deal was a big mistake, and almost 1500 have paid for it with their lives.
I hope and wish that Israel can do these deals, get our hostages back, and then continue the war and finish Hamas. But we’ve been played before, and I’m afraid it will happen again.
right or wrong, there is so many weird private opinions out there does YWN have publish every single one no matter how extreme
Every hostage should have their picture plastered on every lamp post across the world, to be מעורר everyone to keep Davening non-stop for the safe & IMMEDIATE release of every single hostage
Oops. Correction to my comment: The Hamas savages used a last minute, exploitative and sadistic tactic by not signing.
Why would you say he’s “off his rocker” because you don’t agree. This is a very complex issue.
I’m not a posek, but writing he’s off his rocker and allowing comments which are Lashon Hara, might be far worse.
Aryeh deri was told by rabbanim to vote yes on the deal. I think the torah values a life above all. And sad as it may be the right thing is to save the hostages. At this point I think the more we pray and the less we talk the better off we are because seems this deal is not completely done and I’m afraid the hostages may need a rescue mission faster than this deal is happening
Without Torah guidance its impossible to make proper decision . Real Din Nefashos both ways. His opinion while not presented with sensitivity is definitely 1 of the options. If he’s too blunt , he can be excused after sitting 20 yrs for klal yisroel. on the other hand, YWN has no excuse for trying to create controversy by publicly attacking such a Yid! time for those 2 Halachos a day in YWN office!
He is correct about one point. The families of hostages should not have any more of a say than the families and soldiers who are also in a sakana as a result of the war. I haven’t seen any relative of a soldier say “I just want my son home. No matter the price” I have seen at least one hostage family member express such a sentiment. Such people do in fact create a dangerous situation for others.
YWN editor – did you run this nasty piece of L’H headline by your rabbinic advisor ?
If he said you can run it then he was wrong.
Apologize if that statement doesn’t fit your hagiographical approach to Torah .
Pollard was NOT released by former President Trump. He was released during the Obama administration.
Pollard is best left ingored.
פסיקת הרב עובדיה ש”אין ספק מוציא מידי ודאי”. כלומר, הצלת חטופים בסכנת חיים ודאית, עדיפה על הסיכון שהמשוחררים יביאו לסיכון חיי אחרים בעתיד
how many hostages can they exchange for him ?
The tiny me thinks the Rabbinic opinion is that there is a sofek that the released prisons will commit a crime of murder but it’s sure Pidyon Shevooim
@The Editor was this a news or Op-ed? Your Headline is misguided. While you may disagree, to call him “Off his Rocker” is opinion not Journalism. As extraordinarily painful as it is there is a lot to what he is saying.
Who is he to give a opinion to be taken seriously? just enjoy your third wife and go on with life.
I think “theyeshivaworld” has become an inappropriate name for this website. Maybe call it, some-shmo’s-opinion.com
Gilad shalit released 1000’s of terrorists who LITTERALLY caused the massacre.
Think yihyeh sinwar (yimhi ismo). He was freed then !!!!!
I remember my 11th grade Rebbi R Sinsky from Baltimore saying then that chazal ASSURed freeing hostages, cuz it will make them capture more!.
That is literally what happened, and what will continue to happen!!
I don’t think that the author of this article, and some of those commenting, understand what’s been happening in Israel. Nobody on the right or left feel anything but agony towards the hostages and their families. However, it was telling when Ehud Barak, whom at this point run of the mill chilonim call a traitor and enemy of the state, was arranging hostage family marches and protests. Think immediate replacement of
I’m in Israel, spoken with hindreds of Israelis across the country and political spectrum, so I can explain. I don’t think that the author of this article, and some of those commenting, understand what’s been happening in Israel. Nobody on the right or left feel anything but agony towards the hostages and their families. However, it was telling when Ehud Barak, whom at this point run of the mill chilonim call a traitor and enemy of the state, was arranging hostage family marches and protests. Think immediate replacement of the anti judicial remform protests that was organized by the “elite,” carefully and masterfully architecture by a select leading group of academia, media, and politicians. Their premise is that Israel cannot disregard international sentiment and embrace Jewish ideological positions on the existential threats to the country. While the country largely “went to sleep October 6 Israeli, and woke up October 7 Jewish.” The average person, soldier, parent etc wants Israel to forget international anti semiti pressure, embrace a Jewish response, and prioritize destroying Hamas. The leading left is paralyzed with fear and feels like a cornered animal and is more dangerous than ever. Their preferred response is for Israel to focus on gleaning international approval- a fundamental need for those viewing Israel as not Jewish but an assimilated nation. They immediately used the hostages as human bait to force Israel’s hand to accede to international pressure, to avoid Israel reposting itself fundamentally. So Pollard is reflecting this inside sentiment. Many in America don’t see this dynamic, and confuse the release of hostages with winning the war. We are all for both. But Israelis understand that one is being used to disallow the other by making international approval the priority.
Worth knowing that the MOETZES GEDOLEI YISROEL of BOTH Shas and Agudas yisroel have now endorsed the current hostage release deal. Maybe everyone else should SHUT UP…..
This is LaShon Hara.if anyone has the right to say in time of war it’s necessary to imprison those helping our enemies, it’s Jonathan Pollard who spent more years in jail than the author spent working in journalism. To call an observant Jew off his rocker, and to selectively quote him in the article, I wonder why the reporter who wrote this doesn’t add their name to the article when writing such words…. Ywn has gone downhill… 1. posting photos of wicked people who it’s forbidden by Torah to look at their faces,
2. Speaking LaShon Hara about rabbis AND jews
3. Swaying popular opinion regarding political views instead of unbiased reporting.
I don’t think he’s off his rocker. Not saying he’s right either. However, I do not believe that releasing 150 rodfim is daas torah.
There is a Halachah that hostages/captives should not be released for more than they are worth (whatever that means). Precisely for the reasons people are saying that it will cause worse problems. We all know who was released in the Shalit deal (Rachmono Nitzlan) So it could be he is actually right! However the Rabonim do seem to have agreed to this deal, so who knows! But i dont think Mr Pollard should be criticised and certainly not ridiculed!
An attempt at a Torah-based perspective on this solution (only an attempt, I urge people to suggest corrections):
1) The only solutions can come from Heaven, and our best way to bring those solutions is to daven hard for them, and to do to teshuva for all the things we have to do teshuva for, especially issurei dibur, so that our tefillos will be more likely to bring results (lashon horo, kaas, sheker, leitzanus etc. etc.).
2) IMHO a key figure in all this Gilad Shalit, who was (admittedly totally passively, I don’t hold him at all blameworthy) responsible for this whole situation. Does anyone know how he feels about it now? Have all appropriate efforts been made to persuade him, darchei noam, to do teshuva shleima and to daven for the whole situation to be resolved from Heaven? His tefillos might carry special weight.
3) Concerning Yehonasan Pollard (seemingly so he prefers to be called), after everything he’s been through in his life it’s hard to blame him. I would suggest that he devote his enormous kishronos exclusively to a life of pure Torah and to seek the highest sources of daas Torah (and to daven very hard) as to how to use his unique situation for the benefit of the klal and l’kavod Shamayim. I wish him total success in building a life of Torah and Kiddush Hashem for himself and his new family. May Hashem grant him zera kodesh and with them a fulfilling life of Torah and avodas Hashem.
what a nasty and childish headline
@YWN please change this disgusting and immature piece of public Lashon Hara headline ASAP! This is disgraceful and only causing sinat chinam and machloket on Am yisrael! The damage it’s causing is more by the minute ! YOU ARR HURTING US!
jonathan pollard may or may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he’s had a very long time to sort out his ideas about israel. and he’s certainly paid his dues, and then some. as for the families of the hostages, they should realize that their loved ones aren’t being held in the prime minister’s residence, and putting pressure on israel is not helpful. putting them in jail might be extreme, and politically unwise, but it would still be better if they supported the government, at least in public.
@Rub123 exactly!
Without commenting on the validity of his statement, I protest writing “off his rocker” about any Jew. It’s not only poor journalism, it’s blatant loshon hora.
You’re all so severely mentally retarded. He is one million percent right. Why don’t any of you give a damn that the stupid government is selling the lives of millions of citizens so that they can feel a little good about themselves!?
Whether, as someone said above, it’s due to the old need to be a secular nation, or whether it’s due to some other depraved reason, how can any of you possibly think it is good that we are releasing people who attempted to murder Yidden and stopping to fight so that Hamas terrorists can escape and/or regroup?
Here’s a simple mathematical equation for you to try out: The only thing whatsoever that Hamas cares about is killing more Jews and having its senior leadership survive. And obviously, the more they survive, the more we die. They couldn’t care less about anything else. So if they agreed to a ceasefire, then obviously it’s because they think more of us will die due to it.
So seriously, again, you’re all retarded.
Yes, it is so very painful to say, but the advocacy — using the “BRING THEM BACK” tone that implies “and at any cost” — is a risk to the lives of millions of Yidden!
The people that engendered a government culture that forced Israel to heal Sinwar from brain cancer are responsible for the massacre perpetrated on Simchas Torah, and now, they are joyously not giving a bleep about the heilige kedoshim who already lost their lives fighting in Aza… who all lost their lives apparently for naught. (Not in Hashem’s chehbon of course; they’re right there with Moshe Rabbeinu and Rabi Akiva by the kisei hakavod. I am referring to naught on this earth.) No, no, no; instead, the government is abandoning all logical war tactics for the purpose of releasing murderers back into society. It’s rishus and insanity of the highest degree.
The hostage attitude in Eretz Yisroel, which everyone always loves to tout as a sign of ahavas Yisroel and valuing human life, is not that at all. Oy, what an olam hafuch this world is! The attitude is blatant Midas sedom, plain and simple. Yes, yes, just BRING THEM HOME, and don’t worry if many more women get their fetuses ripped out of their bleeping wombs next Simchas Torah.
The Zionists and anyone above who supports their view B’ETZEM (and I don’t think da’as Torah does; see below) are murderous resho’im.
But I don’t believe for one second that daas Torah thinks the deal is good B’ETZEM. My assumption is that they felt the deal would end up going through anyways, and didn’t want the chareidim accused of not caring, Chas veshalom, about the mostly irreligious hostages. Obviously, I could be wrong, because if I knew with certainty what daas Torah was then I would be doling it out myself, but those are my thoughts.
Of course, on a private level, we cannot stop for one moment trying to picture what every one of the hostages is going through, and crying, screaming, and begging the Eibishter for the immediate release of every single hostage NOW NOW NOW.
Of course, none of the families of hostages are accountable for any of the (albeit very incorrect) advocacy for the government to release their relatives. It is impossible to grasp their pain and suffering.
Besuros tovos l’kol Am Yisroel, and since it’s happening anyway, I just want to express how happy I am and will be for every hostage who comes home safe during this ceasefire! Each one is a reason to celebrate yamim rabim shemonim u’m’as yom.
Yes, Rub123 is the comment with the most insight.
I actually agree with Pollard that the posters did a lot of harm.
We don’t need the sympathy of an unsympathetic world, that was the purpose of the posters, and as Rub123 points out to give this a Western perspective that will allow those who don’t align with a Jewish perspective to maintain their influence.
Yeshiva Garbage New, full of Lashon Harah lies and Machkoket.
No shock that they who supported the clot shot from the pits of Amalek attack the most intelligent REAL jew who warned about this happening in the first place l, was proven 1000% correct and knows exactly how to deal with Hamas Nazis.
He would not be saying this if chas v’shalom the wife/child of a very close friend or relative were kidnapped by Hamas and held hostage. It is very easy to say things like this if you don’t have any connection to any of the grieving families.
Rif: פסיקת הרב עובדיה ש”אין ספק מוציא מידי ודאי”. כלומר, הצלת חטופים בסכנת חיים ודאית, עדיפה על הסיכון שהמשוחררים יביאו לסיכון חיי אחרים בעתיד
If someone says “I’ll kill all the Jews!” and he tries killing Jews and fails. Then he says again “I’ll kill all the Jews as soon as I can!” Are you allowed to kill him? Yes. There is a ודאי that he will kill Jews. How much more so 150 who tried killing Jews, failed, and say, “Let’s try again.” This is not a ספק.
And just in case you’re not sure, let’s see what the chazokah is. They did the exact same things several times already. What happened each time? Countless Jewish deaths. This is no longer a ספק.
A) This is a a very complex (and tragic) halachik issue. B) Why are all the people who normally trash the “Zionist” government now championing this horrific hostages-for-murderers deal they capitulated to?
I commend YWN for changing the headline.
Please feel free not too post!
My attention now was to go to this article and post that as a result of the headline I decided for now not to look at your website but I was gladdened to see that you changed it. Thank you!
@dbrim: Why don’t you google Yashar’s previous posts about the Zionist entity (not sure why you put the word in quotes, btw)…