Full text of letter from ex-hostages and relatives demanding Gal Hirsch resign

Relatives of more than 30 former hostages on Sunday signed a letter demanding the resignation of Gal Hirsch, the government’s hostage point man, after he said in a series of interviews that mass demonstrations on behalf of the hostages had aided Hamas.

The letter, which was sent to Hirsch on Sunday evening, was signed by former hostages Shani Goren, Arbel Yehoud, Ada Sagi, Nili Margalit, and Karina Engelbert, as well as more than 70 relatives of former captives, including from the Bibas, Calderon, Avigdori, and Or families.

The following is the full text of the letter.

Given everything we know and everything we have personally endured regarding the harsh treatment of the families — treatment that has caused real harm to the effort to bring the hostages home — it would be better for Mr. Hirsch to remain silent.

For two years, Hirsch presented the families of the hostages with false representations, lies, and empty illusions. He threatened and coerced us into refraining from speaking out against the Prime Minister, while holding an official position and wielding power over us and over our loved ones held captive by Hamas.

His unhinged remarks this evening toward the families’ struggle and toward specific families are a direct continuation of that abuse — only through different means.

Fortunately, professionals demanded that he be removed from any involvement in the deal. Hirsch even claimed in an interview that there was no need for urgency. We remind him that while he was responsible for the fate of the captives, the missing, and the hostages, at no point did he demand their return as the highest priority.

Because human life was not urgent enough for him, hostages who survived endured prolonged torture; hostages who were murdered were buried in foreign soil while their bodies were withheld; and 46 people who could have returned alive were killed or murdered in captivity, or died due to the lack of medical care.

We demand that Hirsch — who is now clearly nothing more than a political operative seeking protection within a party ahead of the elections — resign immediately from his position, so that no family will again be subjected to psychological abuse, threats, and intimidation by someone who was supposed to protect their loved ones and who is undeniably tainted by a severe conflict of interest.