The news that six more hostages were brutally murdered is heartbreaking, devastating, and triggers complex grieving to Jews and good people everywhere. In a country like Israel, where the whole nation is essentially one community, literally less than two degrees of separation, the entire population is traumatized.
The murder of hostages is a tragedy that cuts to the heart of our shared humanity. It is an attack not just on the individuals taken, but on the very concept of human rights and dignity. While this is a horrifying outcome, given what is known about murderous terror cults and the psychology behind hostage taking, it is unfortunately not especially surprising.
The reason hostages are taken is for leverage. If there is nothing to gain by keeping hostages and nothing to lose – the hostages will be dispensed with. This is the brutal calculus of terrorism.
We are of the opinion that you cannot blame Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the deaths of the hostages. However, you can blame him and others in the security establishment for not heeding the warnings of a possible Hamas attack prior to October 7. The Israeli government had a responsibility to protect its citizens and failure to act on intelligence warnings is a dereliction of that duty.
Something will have to be done to make sure that those who failed us are properly dealt with, but not now that we are in battle on so many fronts. Blaming the government or focusing on the prime minister at this moment may feel good but the consequences to the country could be devastating.
The barbaric tactic of taking hostages is a calculated maneuver used by the depraved. It is a hallmark of terrorist groups who use it to gain leverage for their twisted goals. The psychology behind it is complex and not well researched nor understood, but the outcome is often the same – innocent lives lost, families shattered, and society left to pick up the pieces.
Projecting the blame
What we do know is that hostage-takers frame their deeds in a fashion that often results in projecting blame at anyone other than themselves. There have been many documented cases of well-trained police hostage negotiating teams blamed for the death of the hostages they tried to get released. That is part of the psychology and propaganda of hostage-takers.
ISRAEL HAS a right to defend itself, just as any sovereign nation does, and Israelis have the democratic right to protest. Yet it is imperative that there be unity at this moment more than ever. One thing that is clear is that the societal conflict caused by the judicial overhaul plan was seen by Israel’s enemies as a time of Israeli vulnerability.
Terrorists look for weaknesses and probe them. Taking hostages is but one tool that is used. The terrorist mind understands that those who value life, as we do, will be conflicted in the desire to respond; to fight as much as necessary to get their loved ones back and to often blame the wrong people if the hostages are not returned. That is part of the distortion used by terror death cults.
We must bring pressure to bear on those who support and enable terrorist groups. There can be no haven for those who take innocent life. But now is not the time to protest against the government. The terrorists of Hamas, Hezbollah and all the other Iranian proxies crave societal conflict. They see it as a weakness and a reinforcer for them to continue their terror activities. It can lead to further attacks and even the destruction of our state.
The taking of hostages is a reprehensible act of terrorism that has no place in civilized society. The world must come together to condemn Iran, Hamas and all the other terrorists. There can be no equivocation, no moral relativism when it comes to the taking of innocent individuals and using them as hostages. Those who engage in such acts are not freedom fighters or militants, they are terrorists, members of a cult of death, plain and simple.
We are looking at this situation from a more global perspective and not getting distracted by the psychology and propaganda that feeds the terrorist’s tactics. Hamas will never stop taking hostages – it is part of their playbook. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that our current need is to defeat the terrors at our borders, not fracture our country or cause even worse collateral damage.
Dr. Michael J Salamon is a psychologist who specializes in trauma and abuse. He is the director of ADC Psychological Services in Netanya, and Hewlett, NY, and is on staff at Northwell, New Hyde Park, NY.
Louis Libin is an expert in military strategies and innovation, and advises and teaches military innovation, wireless systems, and emergency communications at military colleges and agencies. He founded a consulting group for emergency management, cybersecurity, IP, and communications.