At AJC Oct. 7 event, father of hostage blasts Netanyahu’s handling of war, negotiations

The father of American-Israeli hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen rips into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the Gaza war and the long-stuck hostage negotiations during an October 7 memorial ceremony hosted by the American Jewish Committee in Washington.

“The vast majority of Israelis have been appalled by our government’s repeated moving of the goalposts in the negotiation process with Hamas,” Jonathan Dekel-Chen says, adding that Netanyahu has been “unwilling to take any accountability for the situation in which Israel finds itself and unable to offer a workable vision for its future.”

Dekel-Chen acknowledges that the October 7 onslaught has forced a reckoning in the Israeli peace camp, particularly given that its members living along the Gaza border were targeted in the attacks. He says he is no longer sure about the possibility of coexistence with Israel’s Arab neighbors and urges dovish groups like J Street to temporarily abandon talk of a two-state solution. “Not because I don’t believe it, but simply because it’s a non-starter in terms of where Israeli society is today.”

Turning to advocates of the Palestinian cause, he urges them to speak out against Hamas in addition to the Israeli government. “They need to expend at least as much effort in leveraging Hamas to do the right thing despite itself — not for the good of the hostages, but for the good of the Palestinian people and the people in Gaza.”

He says he has also been asking the US evangelical community to demonstrate their support for Israel by urging the Israeli government to ink a hostage deal. “Support for Israel does not always mean blind support for its government.”

Dekel-Chen acknowledges that his remarks may not be what attendees or hosts might have expected during the solemn ceremony also attended by Israel’s Ambassador to the US Michael Herzog, but he thanks AJC for giving him the platform.