Everything lies here in the balance
The abysses are open
We have come to the threshold
War or brothers
A week of mourning and reflection. On Wednesday, we watched Yarden Bibas's heartbreaking eulogy for his wife Shiri and children Ariel and Kfir at their funeral. On Thursday, the bodies of four hostages were returned to Israel for burial: Itzik Elgarat, Tsahi Idan, Shlomo Mantzur, and Ohad Yahalomi. 59 hostages remain in Gaza, and it is not clear when they will be released. I'm still thinking about the interview that Eli Sharabi gave on Thursday night, in which he shared chilling details from his captivity. During most of his captivity, he was held in terrible conditions in a tunnel together with Or Levy and Eliya Cohen, both recently released, and with Alon Ohel, who remains in captivity. He said that the main reason he decided to do the interview was to advocate for Alon's urgent release, as well as the other remaining hostages in Gaza. It was touching and chilling to hear about how, as the oldest hostage among the four, he took on a father role and prepared Alon for his time in captivity on his own. Later in the interview, he talks about how much the country has changed since the war, and I can see the sadness and frustration in his eyes upon learning how the hostage situation has become so political. I thought of this song, written by Yankele Rotblit in 2005, after the second Intifada and the disengagement from Gaza. The Backyard, Rotblit's group with a trio of musicians, gave it a new life, and it was released last year during the war. The moving performance here is from last year's alternative "torch-dousing and hope-lighting" ceremony, which was organized by hostage families and was held during the government's Independence Eve torch-lighting ceremony. I don't know if we were ready to answer the questions the song asks back then, during the intense fighting stage, but now we don't have a choice.
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