Hostages must be brought home, says veteran journalist

Israel has a moral obligation to bring the hostages home now, says Yaron Deckel, a senior Israeli journalist who is now the head of the Jewish Agency in Canada.

“It’s time to make a deal and bring them home, we cannot waste another moment,” Deckel told the SA Jewish Report in an interview at Limmud Johannesburg last weekend.

Deckel, who was in South Africa to present at Limmud, said, “We have a moral obligation to get the hostages home. In fact, according to the Torah, we have to do so. It’s a huge mitzvah to redeem our captives. We must do whatever we need to bring them home. It won’t be easy, and it will take its toll, but I don’t believe there’s one Israeli or Jewish person who believes they should leave them there. The only question that’s splitting Israelis right now is how best to do that.”

As a veteran television and radio journalist, Deckel has covered 10 prime ministers in Israel and interviewed three American presidents. He was also the last journalist to interview Yitzhak Rabin, just 10 minutes before he was assassinated in November 1995.

He said that though he cannot give answers as to how to secure agreement to bring the hostages home, he does believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could pull it off.

“Remember, Netanyahu has a record of having made a prisoner exchange deal to bring back Gilad Shalit, whom Hamas held captive for five years. It’s not the same coalition as it was and the situation is very different, but it’s ultimately the prime minister’s decision.”

Deckel went on to say that all of Israel is clear that the longer the hostages remain in Gaza, the less likely those who are alive will survive. He said the six hostages whose bodies were brought back last week were testimony to this as they were alive when they were kidnapped into Gaza.

Deckel agreed that nobody in Israel had expected the war to last this long, but said, “Israel cannot allow Hamas to continue because if it agrees to a ceasefire, Hamas will just rearm itself and carry on. And then, in 10 years, we will have the same Hamas.”

He said Israel was in a complex situation in having to agree to a ceasefire with Hamas, the same terrorist organisation that had committed the atrocities of 7 October. This, Deckel said, was the ultimate dilemma for Israel’s negotiators.

Since 7 October, the Israeli population has had to endure much hardship, but it shows great resilience in the face of it, Deckel said. However, the unity that existed in the country after Black Shabbat has diminished over the issue of how to end the war and bring the hostages back.

Living in Canada since 7 October, Deckel said, had “been heartbreaking”, knowing what his country, family, and friends were going through. But as tough as it has been for him not to be in Israel, he recognises that he has his work cut out for him in Canada in, among other issues, helping the community deal with an increase in antisemitism.

Though much of the antisemitism has been on social media, Deckel spoke of shots being fired into a Jewish school in Montreal at night, and swastikas daubed on places recognised to be connected to Israel or Jews.

“There was also an incident where pro-Palestinians came to Jewish homes and yelled at and insulted the Jews who lived there when they were walking to work,” he said. “And there was the case of a Jewish child being hurt after a stone was thrown at him.”

He went on to say how painful it is for him when Jews, especially young students, are afraid to wear Magen Davids and other emblems that show their Judaism. “We cannot hide who we are, and should never have to do that,” he said.

Deckel said he believed that much of the antisemitism that had emerged since 7 October was already there, just hidden among the extreme left and right. He believes the war in Gaza was a perfect opportunity for them to express their true feelings. “Until then, it was mostly hidden as it wasn’t politically correct to be antisemitic. I do think many people have been influenced by the awful footage coming out of Gaza, which in many cases has fuelled anti-Israel sentiment into antisemitism.

“Not everyone who is anti-Israel is antisemitic,” he said. “There are many who are vehemently opposed to how Israel is dealing with the war, and that isn’t antisemitism, that’s criticism of Israel. However, it crosses the line into antisemitism when they demand that the Jews in the Middle East go back to Europe, or say they have no right to live in Israel or defend their country.”

Deckel insists that Jews can’t sit back in the face of antisemitism, they have to fight back. “We should do this through governments, municipalities, and on social media. We must be vocal and speak out loudly, clearly, and with pride,” he said.

“I recognise that not everything Israel has done has been right. It’s not so simple.”

However, Deckel said the claim by Al Jazeera journalist Youmna El-Sayed, who is touring South Africa, that Israeli forces are purposefully targeting journalists, is “pure nonsense”.

“Israel isn’t targeting journalists in Gaza. Unfortunately, those who claim to be targeted journalists are generally members of Hamas. It’s so distressing when journalists make these bold statements that are untrue. You want to believe them because they are supposed to be telling the truth – that’s our role.

“Unfortunately those ‘journalists’ who support Hamas are their propaganda machines. The only way to defy lies is to bring the truth, even if it’s unpleasant truth. This is why Israel has spokespeople in Arabic so they can respond to questions, no matter what they are.”

Working in the Jewish Agency and being a conduit for the connection between Israel and the diaspora is his “soul’s work”, Deckel said.

The bond between Israel and the Jewish world has “strengthened” since 7 October, he said, and the Jewish world is feeling Israel’s pain and is doing what it can to support the Jewish state. “It’s amazing to know how the Jewish world stands behind us. It is, however, so important for Israelis to open their eyes to the challenges in Jewish communities around the world and know that what they do has an influence and impact on diaspora Jews.

“Israel and the Jewish world survive because of each other’s support. We are the same people in the same boat, and we need to be united,” he said.