From the Liveblog of
Monday, June 3, 2024
Hostage mother appeals to Shas minister to ‘choose life,’ support deal to bring captives home
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
The mother of one of the remaining 120 hostages in Gaza appeals to Labor Minister Yoav Ben-Tzur, a member of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, to “choose life” and support measures to bring back those abducted on October 7.
“You are a minister who wears a kippah, a believing Jew. I expect you to sanctify life,” Einav Zangauker, mother of Hamas hostage Matan Zangauker, tells Ben-Tzur during an Education Committee hearing in the Knesset.
“Your duty is to save those who remain alive, and to see to it that those who were murdered are brought for burial so that their families can comply with all of the laws of mourning,” she says.
“The number of living hostages is decreasing,” she continues, calling on Ben-Tzur to “to convey a message to the ministers of the government [to] choose life.”
“We will all do everything to make sure that they return,” Ben-Tzur responds.
This is not the first time that Zangauker — who was awarded the 2024 Truth to Power award from the New Israel Fund for her activism last week — has directly challenged a cabinet minister on the issue of the hostages.
Last month, she confronted Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich outside a ceremony at a military cemetery in the southern city of Ofakim, pressing him to end his opposition to a deal with Hamas to return those held in Gaza.
Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir both threatened to bring down the government Saturday night if a newly proposed hostage release and ceasefire deal is adopted by the government.
The Times of Israel Community.