Two Israelis' 50-hour hunger strike in cage seeks 50 hostages' release from Gaza
July 7 (UPI) -- A rabbi and another Israeli resident are enclosed in a cage without food or water in Jerusalem, vowing to remain inside for 50 hours to represent the number of hostages still held in Gaza.
Rabbi Avidan Freedman, a 45-year-old resident of the Efrat settlement in the West Bank, told Haaretz that he conceived of the idea and was joined by Tzvika Novik from the Galilee on Saturday night in front of the Knesset.
They are enduring the scorching sun, including a high of 90 degrees on Monday.
They have been joined by members of Shift 101, who are seeking the release of the hostages. They also have protested in Tel Aviv.
Freedman's rallying cry is all the hostages freed "at once."
Freedman, an educator, said that since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, he has been consumed with one goal: bringing the hostages home.
"I'm trying to channel all my abilities and energy into saving them," he said. "To me, this is the most important moral and Jewish responsibility."
Thirty-five days after the war began, he went into Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, where he drew a circle around himself and "went on a hunger strike and didn't leave."
He was demanding an immediate Red Cross visit to the hostages and a call to halt humanitarian aid going into Gaza
"Back then, I still believed that military pressure could bring about their release," he said.
He changed his position after six hostages were executed in Rafah in late August by their captors in a tunnel after Israeli forces closed in.
"I felt we had to step up our pressure, even though everyone was already exhausted and despairing after more than 600 days of failing to bring them back," he said. "Suddenly it was evident to me there's a window of opportunity here and that we can't compromise. As a people, we must make it clear: There has to be one comprehensive deal that will include everyone."
He entered the cage on Saturday night, before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed for Washington, D.C. Netanyahu was to meet Monday night with U.S. President Donald Trump about a deal with Hamas to end the war. A 60-day ceasefire has been proposed by the United States and both sides are studying it.
There was a cease-fire between Jan. 19 to March 1, during which 25 Israeli living hostages and 1,737 Palestinian prisoners were released.
"It's madness. Simply madness," he said. "A partial deal means more suffering for the hostages and their families. There's no justification for it -- none. Not moral, human, Jewish or halachic. There's no reason for anyone to remain there. Everyone must return now."
The rabbi said he thought it was an ideal time to enter the cage.
"I asked myself -- what's the most powerful way I can express this?," he said. "Another demonstration just wouldn't do. Then I remembered the cage we had built a few months ago, something we hadn't used until now.
"I told myself: 'Now is the time.' Netanyahu is departing abroad for 50 hours and there are 50 hostages, so I'll be here, inside the cage, for 50 hours. Not moving, not eating, for one purpose only: to make this cry heard as loudly as possible."
He noted the hardship of hostages' families.
"The families are exhausted," Freedman said. "They're living through daily hell. We, who have no personal connection to them -- we're the ones who have the strength and privilege to act."
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