{"id":118829,"date":"2025-02-01T17:00:56","date_gmt":"2025-02-01T15:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=118829"},"modified":"2025-01-31T15:56:54","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T13:56:54","slug":"30-00-94","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=118829","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A Bad but Necessary Deal\u2019: Five Members of His Family Were Murdered \u2014 Today, Their Killer Walks Free"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>\u2018A Bad but Necessary Deal\u2019: Five Members of His Family Were Murdered \u2014 Today, Their Killer Walks Free<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h5>\n

Debbie Weiss<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"\"Oran Almog, right, addressing the UN Security Council next to Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon on July 25, 2017. Photo: Screenshot<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n

While the\u00a0release of three Israeli hostages on Thursday<\/a>\u00a0brought relief and elation across Israel, it also triggered a wave of mixed emotions, especially among victims who saw the terrorists responsible for their suffering set free. One of them is Oran Almog, who was just ten years old when a Palestinian terrorist disguised as a pregnant woman blew up the restaurant he was in, killing five members of his family and leaving him blind.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, while Thursday\u2019s release of Sami Jaradat \u2014 the mastermind behind the October 2003 massacre of Almog\u2019s family \u2014 was a deeply personal blow, the return of hostages remained a necessary step, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat the terrorist who killed my family will find himself free is deeply painful, heartbreaking even,\u201d he told\u00a0The Algemeiner<\/em>. \u201cBut at the same time, I know that even today \u2014 especially today \u2014 I must set aside my personal pain and focus on the significance of this deal. And the significance is clear. We are getting our hostages home, and that is the only thing that matters.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Almog\u2019s father, Moshe Almog, his younger brother, Tomer, his grandparents Admiral (res.) Ze\u2019ev and Ruth Almog, and his cousin, Asaf, were murdered when the suicide bomber, Hanadi Jaradat, a 29-year-old lawyer from Jenin, managed to get past the security guard of the Maxim restaurant \u2014 jointly owned by a Jewish Israeli and an Arab Israeli \u2014 and blow herself up. Sixteen other people were also murdered in the attack, among them four children. Almog lost his eyesight, and his mother, sister, and aunt were among the 60 injured Israelis.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSami Jaradat\u2019s continued imprisonment will never bring my family back, but his release can bring the hostages back home alive,\u201d Almog explained.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Emotional meeting between Agam Berger and her family at Beilinson Hospital in Israel. Photo: Haim Zach (GPO)<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n

Almog knows firsthand what it means to be on the receiving end of a hostage-prisoner exchange.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just two weeks after marking the 20th anniversary of the Maxim restaurant attack, another tragedy struck his family. On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists brutally murdered Nadav and Yam and abducted Chen, Agam, Gal, and Tal from the Almog-Goldstein family in Kfar Azza.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fifty-one days later, in November 2023, they were released from Hamas captivity in a temporary ceasefire deal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Under the\u00a0current ceasefire agreement reached<\/a>\u00a0earlier this month, Hamas will release a total 33 Israeli hostages, eight of whom are deceased, according to the terrorist group. In exchange, Israel will free over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom were serving multiple life sentences on terrorism offenses. Thursday saw the release of three Israelis \u2014 including IDF surveillance soldier Agam Berger, 20, and civilians Arbel Yehoud, 29, and Gadi Mozes, 80 \u2014 and five Thai nationals, who were working in Israeli kibbutzim when they were abducted.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a bad deal, very bad, but the alternative is that much worse,\u201d Almog said. \u201cWe must look ahead, put today aside, and recognize that releasing prisoners serves a greater purpose.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

However, Almog expressed hope that Israel would move toward a more decisive and uncompromising approach in its fight against terrorism.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI sincerely hope that as a country, we will have the wisdom to decisively thwart terrorism,\u201d he said, emphasizing the need to break free from the ongoing cycle of prisoner exchanges.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want us to find ourselves trapped in a cycle of releasing terrorists, only for them to return to terror, and then repeat the process again and again,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n

Almog has previously addressed the UN Security Council, urging action against the so-called\u00a0\u201cpay-for-slay\u201d scheme<\/a>, in which terrorists and their families receive monthly stipends from the Palestinian Authority. The terrorist behind the murder of Almog\u2019s family received $3,000 a month while behind bars, making him almost a millionaire by the time of his release.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, Almog concluded with a deeply uplifting message for the returning hostages, confident that they would have a chance at a good life, drawing from his own experiences since the terror attack.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Oran Almog. Photo: Facebook<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n

After his release from the hospital, he began a long rehabilitation process, culminating in third place at the World Blind Sailing Championship with Etgarim, a nonprofit founded by disabled veterans and rehabilitation experts, and supported by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ). He was chosen to light a torch at Israel\u2019s Independence Day ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the state and, despite his disability, insisted on enlisting in the IDF, serving in an elite unit. Today, he is a managing partner at a financial technology fund, works with Etgarim, and shares his story globally through lectures.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know the hostages will be able to return, to live, and to live well. With enough support \u2014 and a great deal of willpower \u2014 it is truly possible to rebuild life, even after the deepest catastrophes,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Zawarto\u015b\u0107 publikowanych artyku\u0142\u00f3w i materia\u0142\u00f3w nie reprezentuje pogl\u0105d\u00f3w ani opinii Reunion’68,<\/em>
\nani te\u017c webmastera Blogu Reunion’68, chyba ze jest to wyra\u017anie zaznaczone.
\nTwoje uwagi, linki, w\u0142asne artyku\u0142y lub wiadomo\u015bci prze\u015blij na adres:
\n<\/em>webmaster@reunion68.com<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018A Bad but Necessary Deal\u2019: Five Members of His Family Were Murdered \u2014 Today, Their Killer Walks Free Debbie Weiss Oran Almog, right, addressing the UN Security Council next to Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon on July 25, 2017. Photo: Screenshot While the\u00a0release of three Israeli hostages on Thursday\u00a0brought relief and elation across […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118829"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=118829"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118949,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118829\/revisions\/118949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=118829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=118829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=118829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}