Something felt lighter in the air over the weekend in Israel. After President Donald Trump announced a deal to release all remaining hostages and end the war, we managed to temper our hopes for about 30 seconds. But the joy on the faces of the hostage families—a light we had not seen before—was too infectious to contain.
After Trump’s announcement, the almost-24-hour newsrooms started posting “highlight reels” of the war, coupled with hopeful if not-quite-upbeat ballads like Arik Einshtein’s “A Song After War.” Here, the mood suggests the end of an era. The news panels are full of the usual retired generals, politicians, and journalists discussing the sustainability of the agreement, the uncertain future, the tenuous political landscape, and other things that we can worry about . . . tomorrow.
Something felt lighter in the air over the weekend in Israel. After President Donald Trump announced a deal to release all remaining hostages and end the war, we managed to temper our hopes for about 30 seconds. But the joy on the faces of the hostage families—a light we had not seen before—was too infectious to contain.
After Trump’s announcement, the almost-24-hour newsrooms started posting “highlight reels” of the war, coupled with hopeful if not-quite-upbeat ballads like Arik Einshtein’s “A Song After War.” Here, the mood suggests the end of an era. The news panels are full of the usual retired generals, politicians, and journalists discussing the sustainability of the agreement, the uncertain future, the tenuous political landscape, and other things that we can worry about . . . tomorrow.
n to be renamed Returning Square—it sounds better in Hebrew), I stood in a line of strangers waiting to hug Dani Miran, father of hostage Omri Miran. Dani was beaming. I said something about miracles, but he corrected me: “I don’t believe in miracles. I believe in the power of our people.”
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