Hamas Has My Son. Peace Is Possible—on One Vital Condition

We will soon mark 100 days of subhuman, life-threatening captivity for my son Sagui, and 133 Israeli hostages still held since the October 7 Hamas attacks, all denied Red Cross visits in Gaza’s hellish tunnels. Among them, Sagui is one of six Israeli-American hostages.

Sagui and his fellow hostages are running out of time, and Israel needs to make sure all the remaining hostages come back alive. Not just for his safety, but for Israel’s future safety and security.

I can’t imagine the trauma Sagui has endured. What little we do know is frightening. As an Israeli citizen, I believe we will never be able to heal our nationwide trauma if all the hostages aren’t freed.

Lastly, peacemaking in the future will only be possible with the Palestinian people if the hostages come home alive.

The Israeli army is fighting Hamas, not the people of Gaza. Some of those killed, or their family members, worked in our Kibbutz before October 7. Nearly all Israelis are horrified by the loss of Palestinian lives and seek war with no one.

Our Kibbutz Nir Oz, and others ringing the Gaza border, suffered a similar fate; we all survived mass murder, hostage-taking, and the destruction of personal and communal property.

We cannot help but be jolted by the horrific irony that most of us were “peaceniks” before that catastrophic day.

Until October 7, we believed that the Israeli Army would arrive to defend our kibbutz within minutes of any breach of the border fence, only a mile from our homes. That system collapsed on what we Israelis now call “Black Saturday.”

Approximately 200 heavily armed Hamas terrorists invaded Nir Oz that morning, followed by several hundred looters and arsonists from Gaza, ranging from small children to grandmothers.

That morning on our Kibbutz, Hamas murdered 35 members, a dozen Thai workers, and kidnapped 80 hostages, including my son. Had I been home on October 7, rather than traveling in the U.S., I would surely be dead or taken hostage, like a quarter of our now destroyed Kibbutz community.

Since October 8, we have lived like refugees in our own country with no idea when it will be safe to return to our homes and communities.

Kibbutz Nir Oz was founded by pioneering young Israelis in the mid-1950s to create Israel’s “breadbasket.” We also served at the time as a human barrier between Israel and “Fedayeen” terror attacks coming from then Egyptian-controlled Gaza.

Threats varied over the next 20 years and Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 could have reduced violence.

Instead, when Hamas took control in 2007, they chose to fire rockets, mortars, sniper bullets, and anti-tank weapons toward our civilian communities, later digging attack tunnels, which the IDF eventually destroyed.

The “unbreachable” fence built around Gaza by the IDF in recent years didn’t stop Hamas and Islamic Jihad from frequently firing mortars and rockets into our communities, or flying incendiary or explosive kites and balloons into our farmlands and homes.

Despite these decades of lethal threats, Nir Oz thrived, growing potatoes, grains, sunflowers, radishes, carrots, peanuts, onions, pomegranates, and avocados. We owned dairy and poultry farms and a successful factory, most of which are now destroyed, along with our homes and personal possessions.

Last month we were thrilled about the release of 30 hostages from Nir Oz among the first 100. Now, I am worried that my son and all the remaining male hostages may be less of a priority.

I fear that as news cycles move forward, the fate of our captive sons, brothers, fathers, and grandfathers will be underprioritized.

President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken at the White House have reassured us that they will do everything in their power to secure the release of all the hostages.

Biden has been an incredible friend to Israel at his own political peril. The fractured U.S. Congress has also demonstrated rare solidarity around getting the Israeli hostages home.

It’s now up to Israel’s government to live up to our country’s promise of protecting its citizens and never leaving anyone behind. This is especially true now, in the shadow of the worst security disaster in our country’s history.

Israel must not sacrifice these hostages a second time in its drive to eradicate Hamas.

Some released hostages saw Sagui alive more than one month ago. He does not know that his young family survived the Hamas massacre and that his wife gave birth to their third daughter just weeks ago.

Now, Israel and its friends must secure his safe return along with all the other hostages. Their future depends on it. And any possibility of future peace in our troubled region depends on all of the hostages returning home alive.

This war might continue for weeks or months. Our sons, brothers, parents, and grandparents in Hamas captivity cannot. Bring them home now!

Prof. Jonathan Dekel-Chen, an American and Israeli citizen, is the Rabbi Edward Sandrow Chair in Soviet & East European Jewry at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His son, Segui, is currently held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.

All views expressed are the author’s own.

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