Thomas Friedman Is at It Again

“What is certain, however, is that part two of this degradation will occur in the not too distant future, and part three some time after that, if this advice of this New York Times columnist is followed.”

Thomas Friedman, the columnist at The New York Times, is at it again, with more silly advice for Israel vis-à-vis Hamas in a column earlier this month. This time, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) should make Hamas an offer they cannot refuse: not a pause, not a ceasefire, not even a truce. Rather, a total cessation of the Israeli defensive incursion, and total peace. Hamas remains in full power over Gaza. The Israelis remove their soldiers from that area and bombs Hamas no more. The only thing this terrorist organization has to do in return is to hand over not one or two, not even a dozen, but all of the hostages it now holds. Nor would Israel release even a single Palestinian prisoner they now hold. Instead of land for peace, it would be hostages for peace.

There is more than one can shake a stick at wrong with this proposal.

First of all, as Friedman himself concedes, “Yes, the morning after [this agreement when Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader] comes out [of his tunnel], many Gazans will carry him on their shoulders and sing his name for dealing such a heavy blow to the Jews.” It is difficult to overestimate the loss of morale this would create in Israel. Israel suffered a savage blow on October 7th, and the main perpetrator is dancing around in the streets with his adoring fans.