As the father of a Hamas terror victim, I am opposed to

My son, Asaf, 17 years old and in the eleventh grade, was murdered in a terror attack. On March 5, 2003, a Hamas suicide bomber exploded on bus #37 in our hometown of Haifa. Seventeen men, women, and children were killed—nine of them schoolchildren returning home from another day at school.

Even though I was born and raised in Israel, I was shocked. I couldn’t understand what could drive a person to take his own life just to kill as many Jews as possible. I couldn’t comprehend the hatred that fueled such an act. Determined to understand, I learned that the mother of the suicide bomber—who, according to Muslim customs, should have welcomed mourners in black clothing and served bitter coffee—chose instead to wear normal clothes and hand out sweets. I  was astonished that this mother could hate my child more than she loved her own.

That was when I realized we were facing a problem far deeper than we acknowledge. If hatred is taught at home, reinforced in schools, and celebrated in kindergartens—where children are dressed as suicide bombers and school performances glorify killing settlers—then another round of fruitless negotiations, like those we have seen in the past, will not bring change.

TERROR ATTACK ROCKS ISRAEL; THREE BUSES REPORTEDLY EXPLODE

We are a peace-seeking people. We are willing to go to great lengths to compromise and achieve peace—but only with those who share that desire. Terrorist extremists are not partners seeking peace but rather our complete annihilation.

As a family, we wanted to continue our lives and find healing, even though no parent can truly heal from the loss of a child. A couple of years after the attack, we were fortunate to have another baby boy. Normally, parents bring children into the world to give them life, joy, and happiness. In our case, the child we were given brought life back to us. He allowed us to focus on the positive aspects of life, even as we carried our grief alongside them.

We joined the activities of OneFamily, an organization that supports terror victims and their families. We had to return to work and live our lives as if we were “normal” people. At work, you must put on a “happy face.” You must appear normal, even when something triggers a memory of your murdered son and all you want is to find a quiet place to cry. But in OneFamily meetings, retreats, and trips, we were surrounded by bereaved parents like us. We could share our thoughts and experiences without fear of judgment. We could be ourselves without worrying about how we looked to others. After the October 7 attack, we met with newly bereaved families from our city to introduce them to OneFamily and the support it provides.

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Sadly, the family of bereaved people continues to grow. Even now, with the return of hostages taken on October 7 and later murdered in Gaza, new families will need tremendous support to rebuild their lives.

Israel is paying a high price to bring back its kidnapped citizens—dead or alive. Many convicted terrorists are being freed in exchange. Among them is Ali Hasan Al-Ragbi, who was sentenced to 18 life terms for his role in the attack that killed my son Asaf. Three other terrorists involved in the same attack were released in 2011 as part of the deal to free kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.

I am completely opposed to the release of terrorists. It is unjust, immoral, and wrong. It weakens Israel as a state and erodes our justice system. Worse, it encourages more young people to become terrorists, knowing that another deal will always come. In the past, I fought against these releases. But this time, I chose not to object. The sheer number of hostages, their ages, and the horror of what they have endured demand extraordinary measures.

Instead, I choose to fight for the future—to ensure that nothing like October 7 ever happens again. Israel must adopt a harsher policy against terror. No more containment, no more warnings, no more empty threats. We must act differently than we have in the past if we are to be safe.

My son Asaf was murdered. But I have three more sons and three grandchildren living in Israel. At Asaf’s open grave, I swore that I would do everything in my power to keep them safe—and that “Never Again” would apply, first and foremost, to my family.