A foundational belief in Judaism teaches, “Seek peace and pursue it” (Psalm 34:15). We dream with Isaiah’s vision found in Isaiah 2:4: “Nation shall not take up sword against nation; they shall never again know war.”
This rabbi’s favorite verse in the New Testament is Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
The Quran, as well, encourages the pursuit of peace in Surah Al-Anfal 8:61: “If they incline toward peace, then you (too) incline toward it.”
Our task now is to become those peacemakers. The only way is to listen to both sides and strive to bridge the gap between them.
Fred Guttman
So this is our “story.”
When the final Hamas-held hostages were reunited with their families last month, a wave of emotion swept through Jewish communities worldwide — relief, gratitude, disbelief and grief all at once. In synagogues and community centers, people embraced, prayed and reflected on all we have endured since October 7, 2023.
For many of us, the release of these hostages felt deeply personal. We learned their stories, hung posters with their faces and wore yellow ribbons engraved with “Bring Them Home.” Their freedom is a blessing we never will take for granted. Yet even this blessing carries a dark shadow. As we celebrate those who have returned, we also mourn the murdered hostages whose remains have not been recovered. The wounds of October 7 are still raw.
Hamas launched its attack to destroy any possibility of peace. Its leaders feared growing normalization between Israel and Arab states, especially Saudi Arabia, would end their dream of erasing Israel. That is why peace activists were among the first targets. Nothing threatens Hamas more than the prospect of coexistence.
For Israel, this war always has been about more than rescuing hostages. It is about ensuring Hamas never again can breach its borders and massacre civilians. Hamas has vowed to repeat such attacks “again and again,” and Israel has every reason to believe it. Since seizing Gaza in 2007, Hamas has led its people into repeated wars — 2008, 2012, 2014, 2021 and 2023. Each time Gaza was left in ruins, its people suffering more deeply. There can be no future for Gaza under Hamas rule.
“The people of Israel and Gaza deserve more than endless cycles of violence.”
As this painful chapter nears its end, we must turn to what comes next. The people of Israel and Gaza deserve more than endless cycles of violence. They deserve leaders who choose life over death and compromise over absolutism. Peace will come only when the dream of destroying Israel and the ideology of anti-Zionism are abandoned. That fantasy has fueled every war against Israel, justified every rocket and robbed generations of Palestinians of leaders committed to their future.
Western supporters of Israel understand this. We believe in coexistence and a two-state future built on mutual recognition and security. It is time for those who support the Palestinian cause to embrace that same vision, to reject chants of “From the river to the sea,” to renounce anti-Zionism and to stand for peace instead of erasure.
Slogans calling for Israel’s destruction do nothing to help Palestinians. They only embolden extremists.
If the past two years have taught us anything, it is that hatred cannot be the foundation of liberation. Real peace will come when Israelis, Palestinians and their allies choose a cooperative future, when we care more about protecting life than glorifying martyrdom, and when leaders on both sides have the courage to say, “Enough!”
The release of these hostages reminds the world that every life matters. Let that truth be our starting point. Let it inspire us to reject those who seek to destroy and to support those who strive to build. If we can summon that moral clarity in our communities, on our campuses and in our politics, this painful moment may yet give way to a future where Israelis and Palestinians alike live in safety, dignity and peace.
And so, I turn to you in good faith, as a rabbi and a proud Zionist although not one who agrees with every decision of the Israeli government, any more than I always agree with the American one. Let us come together in the spirit of the Psalmist, the prophet Isaiah, the Sermon on the Mount and the Quran. Let us end the demonization of one another and work toward a better, more peaceful tomorrow for all who live in the Middle East, especially in Israel and Palestine.
As my saintly grandmother would say: “From your mouth to God’s ear.”
Fred Guttman serves as senior rabbi emeritus of Temple Emanuel in Greensboro, N.C. He has served on the Commission of Social Action for Reform Judaism. He has been recognized as one of the “50 Voices for Justice” by the URJ and by the Forward Magazine as one of “America’s Most Inspiring Rabbis.” In March 2015, he organized the National Jewish commemoration in Selma of the 50th Anniversary of the Bloody Sunday March. Currently, he trains public school teachers in how to teach the subject of the Nazi Holocaust and has taken and funded more than 100 teachers to Poland over the past three years.