Israel and Hamas reach deal to release 50 hostages: A Thanksgiving reflection on the definition of true success
The Daily Article
The Denison Forum
4.9 • 576 Ratings
🗓️ 22 November 2023
⏱️ 8 minutes
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Summary
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a deal by which Hamas will free fifty civilian hostages in return for the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails and a four-day pause in fighting. The first hostages could be freed as early as tomorrow. But here’s a question that’s seldom if ever asked in the news: Why do only the jihadists take hostages?
Author: Jim Denison, PhD
Narrator: Chris Elkins
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Greetings and welcome to the Daily Article Podcast for Wednesday, November the 22nd, |
| 0:07.0 | 2023. I am Chris Elkins narrating today's article written by Denison Forum co-founder and CEO, Dr. Jim Denison. |
| 0:16.3 | Israel and Hamas have agreed to a deal by which Hamas will free 50 civilian hostages in return for the |
| 0:22.8 | release of 150 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails and a four-day pause in fighting. The first |
| 0:30.1 | hostages could be freed as early as tomorrow. U.S. officials hope this could lead to the |
| 0:34.9 | release of many more hostages, including those held by |
| 0:38.0 | Palestinian Islamic jihad. |
| 0:40.5 | In all the reporting I've seen on this agreement, here's a question no one has asked. |
| 0:45.8 | Why is it that only the jihadists take hostages? |
| 0:49.4 | Israeli forces have been inside Gaza for several weeks. |
| 0:52.9 | Why have they not taken a single Palestinian hostage |
| 0:56.0 | to use as leverage with Hamas? The answer is simple. The two have very different views |
| 1:02.0 | regarding the sanctity of human life. Israel's worldview rooted in the Hebrew Bible |
| 1:07.0 | believes from Genesis 127 that all people are created in God's image and likeness. They consider hostages to be especially valuable. Their central prayer recited three times a day, speaks of God's compassion as one who heals the sick and frees the captives. The Babylonian Talmud teaches that being held captive |
| 1:29.1 | is worse than death or famine, for it includes both. This is why they freed 1,027 Palestinian |
| 1:36.8 | prisoners in exchange for a single Israeli soldier in 2011. Over the years, they have released |
| 1:43.1 | about 7,000 Palestinian prisoners to secure the freedom |
| 1:46.8 | of 19 Israelis and to retrieve the bodies of eight others. Hamas, by contrast, stated in its |
| 1:54.2 | original charter, jihad is its path and death for the sake of Allah is the loftiest of its wishes. They claim, |
| 2:02.7 | we love death like our enemies love life. They view Muslims who die in a war as martyrs |
| 2:09.2 | who will be rewarded in paradise. How we view the sanctity of human life is foundational to the |
| 2:14.9 | society we create. Israel, as I have witnessed in more than 30 trips to |
... |
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