DAY 552 OF THE WAR—EREV, EREV, EREV PESACH 5785: Trump Says Hostage Deal is Near, Reservist Pilots Oppose Return to Combat in Gaza, Iran Negotiations to Begin, Turkey and Israel Talk
Wishing all our readers who celebrate a sweet and meaningful Pesach. While it is customary to say “happy holiday,” true happiness can only return once the 59 remaining hostages held in Gaza are safely brought home—those who are alive for rehabilitation, and those who are deceased for proper burial.
In observance of the holiday, our next update will be on Monday evening, April 14.
This Saturday evening marks the beginning of Passover, also known as “the Holiday of Freedom.” Numerous families hoped with every fiber of their being that on this auspicious occasion, their cherished loved ones, a total of 59 individuals, would be safely reunited with them. For the families, and for Jews throughout the world, the fact this is the second Passover that individuals are spending confined within the underground tunnels of Gaza is nearly incomprehensible. Passover festivities are severely diminished by the unthinkable suffering endured by the hostages, particularly considering that the majority of these individuals could potentially return home if the ongoing war was brought to an end
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During today's cabinet meeting, President Trump addressed the current status of the ceasefire and hostage negotiations, stating:
I was with the hostages. We’re making progress…You know there’s 59 hostages, but only 24 of them are living, and that’s the way it’s been presented to me by the mothers of some of the dead; mothers and fathers of some of the dead hostages, and they want the bodies of their baby, as they say, their baby, their young boys they want, they want them back—as much as if they were alive.
It’s amazing, because when I met the hostages two weeks ago, here, I couldn’t believe what they had to go through, by the way. But when I met them they said there are 59, but 24 are living. And they actually consider, I guess if you’re a parent, you do consider it this way, that the remainder who are dead, the 24 that are alive … the remainder that are dead, they want them back just as much as they would want them back if they were alive. It’s really pretty amazing and pretty sad.
So, we’re getting close to getting ‘em back. We have a lot came back. A lot of people are very grateful. And some came back in pretty bad shape. Some came back, they’re ok. I think they’re going to be scared mentally for a long time. Because if you sit down and talk to them as I have, what they went through is incredible. But we’re making progress. We’re dealing with Israel, we’re dealing with Hamas, and it’s a nasty group.
Although, as you know, I am not a great fan of President Trump, it's difficult not to appreciate him when he speaks about the hostages. I wish our leader could address the issue of the hostage with the same level of empathy and compassion.
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CRISIS OF THE AIR FORCE RESERVISTS
The main news in Israel today was the publication of a letter signed by nearly 1,000 reserve officers, both current and former members of the Air Force. Here is the text of the letter:
We, reserve and retired Air Force combat personnel, demand the immediate return of the hostages, even at the cost of an immediate cessation of hostilities. At this time, the war primarily serves political and personal interests, not security interests. Its continuation contributes nothing to any of its declared goals and will lead to the death of hostages, IDF soldiers, and innocent civilians, as well as to the erosion of the reserve forces.
As has been proven in the past, only a negotiated agreement can bring the hostages home safely, while military pressure primarily results in their killing and in endangering our soldiers. We call on all citizens of Israel to take action and to demand—everywhere and by every means: stop the fighting and bring back all the hostages—now. Every passing day puts their lives at risk. Every additional moment of hesitation is a disgrace.
This story became supercharged when Air Force Commander Tomer Bar announced that anyone who signed the letter would be dismissed from reserve duty. This decision, endorsed by the Chief of Staff, has triggered widespread uproar. Prime Minister Netanyahu immediately seized on the decision, releasing the following statement:
Prime Minister Netanyahu supports the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff in their decision to dismiss the signatories of the letter.
Refusal is refusal—even when expressed implicitly and in sanitized language. Statements that weaken the IDF and strengthen our enemies during wartime are unforgivable.
This is an extremist fringe group attempting, once again, to fracture Israeli society from within. They already tried doing this before October 7, and Hamas interpreted calls for refusal as weakness.
This loud fringe group operates with one goal—to overthrow the government. It does not represent our soldiers or the public. The IDF is fighting—and we all stand behind it.
The Air Force reservists’ letter did not, in any way, indicate a refusal to serve. Moreover, its wording reflects the views of the overwhelming majority of Israelis, who are all willing for the war to end in exchange for retrieving the hostages—a stance that the government does not support. The return to war, which is opposed almost unanimously by the families of the hostages and by absolutely all of the hostages who have returned, is also opposed by the pilots who signed the letter.
The statement that “At this time, the war primarily serves political and personal interests, not security interests,” seems to have angered the Air Force commander, though this too is a widely held belief among Israelis. In Israel, there is a longstanding tradition of allowing reservists who are not on active duty to protest. This marks the first time that the military has taken action against reservists for expressing political opinions.
Opposition politicians have all released statements on the matter, and the following reflects the views shared by most of them:
Chairman of the Democrats, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Yair Golan:
The authors of the letter are the people.
They represent the views of the majority of the people.
The IDF is the people’s army.
You cannot dismiss the people.
This evening, Navy Reserve officers released their own letter, with additional groups of reserve soldiers expected to follow suit.
ISRAEL AND TURKEY HOLD CONSTRUCTIVE TALKS ON SYRIA
Israeli and Turkish representatives, with the assistance of Azerbaijan, held a meeting to discuss the situation in Syria and to prevent any unintended military conflict between the two countries in the region. The meeting was productive, and further discussions are planned.
Talks with Iran are scheduled to commence on Saturday. It seems evident that President Trump is prepared to agree to a deal that won't dismantle Iran's nuclear program, but will, in principle, ensure they do not develop nuclear weapons—an outcome that aligns with his stated goals.
Trump: Well, they can’t have a nuclear weapon.
Reporter: Do you mean military action, though, if they don’t agree?
Trump: Oh, if necessary? Absolutely. Yeah.
Reporter: And do you have a deadline for these talks?
Trump: I do. You’re talking about with Iran?
Reporter: Yes.
Trump: Yeah. They’re saying he’s not—Do I want something definitive this weekend? Or do I see this as the start of a process? It’s a start.
Reporter: Do I have a timeline?
Trump: We have a little time, but we don’t have much time.
Reporter: What’s the starting point of the problem, Mr. President?
Trump: We’re not going to let them have a nuclear weapon. That’s the line.
And we’re going to let them thrive. I want them to thrive. I want Iran to be great.
The only thing they can’t have is a nuclear weapon. They understand that.
The people in Iran are incredible. They’re very smart—really smart people.
But they’re in a rough situation under a rough regime.
The leaders understand. I’m not asking for much.
I just—well, they can’t have a nuclear weapon. And I’ve said that.
I was a little surprised, because when the election was rigged, I figured they’d get the weapon.
But with me, they were broke. They had no money because of the sanctions.
Nobody could buy oil.
We did that to Venezuela recently, and we’ll do it to others if we have to.
Reporter: What about Russia and Ukraine?
Trump: I want to see Russia and Ukraine make a deal. They’ve got to make a deal.
When schools get blown up and bad things happen like I’m hearing about, it’s no good.
I hope we’re going to get a deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Reporter: When would the talks need to conclude before you’d act? Can you be specific?
Trump: When you start talks, you know pretty quickly whether they’re going well or not.
So the conclusion would be—when I feel they’re not going well. That’s just how I’d know.
Trump: If it requires military, we’re going to have military. Israel will obviously be very much involved in that — it’ll be the leader of that, But nobody leads us. We do what we want to do.
SUMMARY OF THE IDF FINDINGS ON THE OCTOBER 7 ATTACK AT KIBBUTZ RE’IM
According to this IDF report, a primary finding was the failure of the IDF to adequately protect Kibbutz Re’im. The report concluded that the military was not prepared for a large-scale, simultaneous attack on numerous communities and army bases. There was a lack of a prepared scenario within the IDF for such a significant infiltration of terrorists.
A significant problem highlighted by the report was the delayed arrival of IDF forces at Kibbutz Re’im. Despite the proximity of the Gaza Division base, no IDF troops from the local battalion or regional division reached Re’im during the initial stages of the attack. The first soldiers to arrive were individual Golani troops who came independently around 9:30 a.m.. The report notes that the Gaza Division's forces were occupied defending the border and their posts, preventing their initial deployment to Re’im. This delay left the initial defense primarily to the local security team, police officers, and armed residents.
The IDF's investigation also pointed to stark readiness gaps between the army and the police. Police officers near the kibbutz quickly understood the scale of the attack and requested reinforcements via police radio, with units from places like Rahat responding rapidly. In contrast, IDF reinforcements were delayed and struggled to coordinate due to a lack of shared communication frequencies. Walla News corroborates this, stating that police reacted quickly after hearing distress calls, unlike the delayed army response.
Furthermore, the report indicated that at a certain stage, a problem of command and control arose due to the multitude of forces arriving at different times. While commanders who arrived took initiative, there was a lack of coordination between the various units operating in the kibbutz. The late arrival of IDF reinforcements was also noted, with the report stating they arrived "late and at random" and "without the appropriate weaponry”.
The report highly praised the local alert squad of six members, emphasizing their crucial role in repelling the first wave of terrorists and preventing even greater devastation. Equipped with their own gear, including bulletproof vests, helmets, radios, and rifles kept at home, and having recently conducted an infiltration drill, they demonstrated alertness and initiative. Walla News describes their strategic movement as creating the illusion of a larger force, which helped to deter the attackers. The report also acknowledges that the squad "disrupted the enemy’s plans and prevented a much more severe incident". However, the report also implicitly acknowledges that the necessity for this self-equipped team to be the primary defense for an extended period suggests a neglect of security components in the Gaza border communities.
Finally, the IDF report revealed intelligence findings indicating that the attackers intended to reach Ofakim and the Nevatim Air Force Base, with maps found on their bodies. The failure to reach these targets was attributed to roadblocks and the resistance they encountered in Re’im, particularly from the local security team and responding police officers.
Timeline of Events:
• 6:29 AM: Hamas launched over 1,000 rockets at Israel, mostly aimed at military bases. No impacts hit Re’im, but the community’s defense squad was alerted.
• 6:38 AM: The chief of the local security team notified members about nearby gunfire and told them to get ready. The team members split into pairs and stationed themselves at strategic points.
• ~ 7:00 AM: Eight members of the Kibbutz Re’im emergency response team deployed to the four main gates. Around 30 partygoers fleeing the Nova music festival arrived at Re’im.
• 6:58 AM: Dozens of partygoers fleeing the Nova music festival arrived at Re’im, and locals led them to homes and a synagogue. Other partygoers tried to shelter at roadside bomb shelters, which Hamas attacked.
• 7:20 AM: The local security officers spotted approaching terrorists on pickup trucks but did not initially know they were terrorists.
• 7:50 AM: The kibbutz security coordinator reported the infiltration of terrorists who disabled the entrance gate.
• 7:51AM: The chief of the local security team reported that 15 terrorists infiltrated the community via the back entrance on foot because the electronic gate was disabled. Two security team members opened fire.
• Just before 8:00 AM: Dozens of terrorists arrived at the main entrance and chased after fleeing Nova partygoers, murdering and abducting them, including at a bomb shelter outside Re’im. Also at the entrance: Supt. Stanislav Sheinkman was killed.
• 8:00-8:30 AM: Most killings and abductions in Re’im occurred, in the “young generation” neighborhood and the industrial area.
• 8:04 AM: Around 40 terrorists entered the community after opening the main gate.
• Around 9:00 a.m.: Additional terrorists entered via the cemetery entrance and began setting fire to homes. The local security team fired at them, causing them to retreat.
• Around 9:10 AM: Several police officers who had been at the Urim Junction arrived outside Re’im and exchanged fire with terrorists.
• Around 9:30 AM: The first IDF soldiers to arrive were individual Golani troops.
• 9:37 AM: Commander Jayar Davidov and other police officers were killed on the highway.
• 9:39 AM: Some police officers reached the back entrance to Re’im, killing two terrorists.
• 9:47 AM: The first group of police officers entered Re’im, joining the local security team.
• Around 10:00 AM: Police arrived.
• 10:13 AM: A security team member spotted and killed another terrorist trying to breach Re’im.
• 10:20 AM: A group of officers killed five terrorists at Re’im’s main entrance while trying to reach surrounded cops.
• 10:45 AM: IDF soldiers from the Bislamach Brigade and police officers arrived at the back entrance.
• 11:26 AM: The local security team and police began searching the kibbutz; all terrorists had moved to the young-generation neighborhood.
• 11:41 AM: Troops of the IDF’s elite Multidomain unit entered Re’im. Col. Roi Levy took command.
• 11:54 AM: Additional police officers, members of Sayeret Matkal, and Metzada unit officers arrived.
• 12:20 PM: onwards: Troops exchanged fire with terrorists in the neighborhood.
• 12:45 PM:: Soldiers from the Golani Brigade arrived independently.
• 1:25 PM: Troops breached a home and rescued a resident.
• Around 1:25 PM: Col. Roi Levy and Cpt. Yotam Ben Bassat were killed.
• 2:00 PM:: Maj. Moti Shamir of the Golani Reconnaissance Unit was killed.
• Around 2:00 PM: Police Commander Itzik Buzukashvili and Sgt. Maj. Yakir Blohman were killed.
• 2:30 PM: Lt. Adir Gaory of Sayeret Matkal was killed.
• 4:00 PM: More IDF troops arrived.
• 4:30 PM: Maj. Ariel Ben Moshe began assigning tasks to soldiers to close in on the homes where terrorists were.
• 7:00 PM: During an attempt to breach a home, Maj. Ariel Ben Moshe was killed.
• 8:00 PM: A tank arrived and shelled the home where terrorists were holed up.
• 8:30 PM: A backhoe was brought in to breach the fortified rooms.
• 1:30 AM (October 8): The final two terrorists fled and breached a local security officer’s home.
• Overnight and morning of October 8: The remaining residents and partygoers were rescued.
• October 10, 8:00 PM: The last terrorist, armed with a knife, was killed while trying to attack patrolling soldiers.
Our next stop will be Kvutsat Kinneret, one of the original Kibbutzim established during the Second Aliyah. The settlement was founded by the “Trio of Togetherness” (שלישיית היחד)—Ben-Zion Israeli, Nachum Naftulsky, and Meir Rotenberg—members of the Second Aliyah. At the Kinneret courtyard, a group formed around the ideology of the “Conquest of Labor,” becoming known as the “Labor Conquest Group.” They moved between various jobs, from the Kinneret courtyard to Sejera and Kfar Uria.
The group planned to settle in Hauran, in the Golan Heights, but in 1913 (5674 in the Hebrew calendar), they responded to a call from Dr. Arthur Ruppin, director of the Palestine Office of the Zionist Organization, to return to the Kinneret courtyard and take over the management and operation of the farm from the “Poalei Tzion” group, led by Eliezer Yaffe, which had managed the farm for a year.
The original founding group that returned to Kinneret Farm to establish the kvutza (communal group) included thirteen men and three women: Ben-Zion Israeli, Nachum Naftulsky, Meir Rotenberg, Aharon Shidlovsky, A. D. Gordon, Yosef Salzman, Yitzhak Tabenkin, Yitzhak Feinerman, Alexander Neufeld, Avraham Kravitzky, Yitzhak Bernstein, Yehoshua Adler, David Feuerman, Chaya Israeli, Ova Tabenkin, and Chaya Bershkovsky.
Another founding group that worked at the site in the early days of Kinneret were the “Kinneret Yemenites,” who arrived under the leadership of Rabbi David ben Yisrael Tzeiri to work on the farm in 1912. The Yemenite immigrants, who were permitted to live in the Motor House and its surroundings (outside the Kinneret courtyard itself), formed a culturally and socially separate group. In 1930, after ongoing conflict with the main group, the Yemenite families were transferred from Kinneret to the Marmorek neighborhood in Rehovot.
In 1922, a large group of members left Kvutzat Kinneret to join the Gdud HaAvodah (Labor Battalion), including Shlomo Lavi, who went on to help found Kibbutz Ein Harod. The veteran members who remained in the Kinneret courtyard turned to the “Vilna Group,” a group of pioneers from the Third Aliyah, who were then camped in Upper Tiberias after completing the construction of a British Army camp at Givat Haruvah near Jenin, and invited them to join the settlement. After this group joined, the development of Kinneret’s diverse agricultural enterprise began.
The group grew, children were born, and the site became too small to contain them. In 1929, the members moved to a permanent settlement on a hill about two kilometers south of the Kinneret courtyard and about one kilometer west of the Motor House. That location is where Kvutzat Kinneret remains to this day.
Naomi Shemer, who was born in Kinneret in 1930, recalled that she did not grow up in a children’s house (a kibbutz institution). During her time, “in Kinneret, there was always sleeping at home with the parents.”
In 1939, a “Festival Scroll” was written for the 25th anniversary of the group:
On a small, desolate plot, covered with stones and thorn bushes, which could barely support a few Bedouin families who often surrounded themselves with robbery and murder—Kinneret now supports and houses over 300 people.
Kvutzat Kinneret was a partner in the water project “The Five Kibbutzim Plant,” established in 1942–1943. It included a pumping station on the banks of the Yarmouk River, which lifted water to the head of an aqueduct. From there, the water flowed through an open canal system to irrigate the fields.
When visiting Kinneret, one of the most significant and moving sites is the cemetery, where many of the leading lights of early Zionism are laid to rest. Among them are:
Berl Katznelson (1887–1944) was one of the central ideologues of the Labor Zionist movement and a foundational figure in the shaping of the Yishuv (Jewish community in pre-state Palestine). Born in the Russian Empire, Katznelson immigrated to Palestine during the Second Aliyah and quickly became a leader among the socialist pioneers. A passionate advocate of “constructive labor” and Hebrew culture, he founded the influential newspaper Davar and helped establish key institutions such as the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor) and Mapai, the workers’ party that would dominate Israeli politics for decades. Deeply committed to education, ethics, and nation-building, Katznelson left a lasting intellectual and moral legacy on the labor movement and the emerging state of Israel.
Rachel Bluwstein (1890–1931), known simply as Rachel the Poetess, is revered as one of modern Hebrew literature’s most cherished voices. Born in Russia, she immigrated to Palestine in 1909 and lived in several early agricultural settlements, including Degania and Kinneret, where the landscape deeply influenced her poetry. Writing in simple yet profound Hebrew, Rachel’s poems explore themes of longing, love, Zionism, illness, and unfulfilled dreams—many of them shaped by her personal struggles with tuberculosis. Her lyrical and emotive style made her work widely accessible, and her poems have been set to music, taught in schools, and cherished by generations of Israelis.
Naomi Shemer (1930–2004) was one of Israel’s most iconic and influential songwriters, often called the “First Lady of Israeli Song.” Born in Kvutzat Kinneret, her music was deeply rooted in the landscape, history, and emotional texture of the land. Shemer composed scores of beloved songs that became part of the national soundtrack, blending folk influences with literary and biblical references. Her most famous composition, Yerushalayim Shel Zahav (“Jerusalem of Gold”), written just before the Six-Day War, became a symbol of national longing and unity. Through her melodies and lyrics, Shemer captured both the joys and sorrows of Israeli life, leaving a musical legacy that continues to resonate across generations.
Moses Hess (1812–1875) was a pioneering thinker who bridged socialism and Zionism, and his writings laid some of the earliest philosophical groundwork for Jewish nationalism. Born in the Rhineland, Hess was initially a collaborator of Karl Marx and an early proponent of socialist theory. However, in his later years, he turned toward Jewish identity and the idea of a Jewish homeland in response to rising European antisemitism. His seminal 1862 book Rome and Jerusalem: The Last National Question argued that Jews must reclaim their national identity and establish a socialist state in Palestine. Though under-appreciated in his time, Hess is now recognized as one of the intellectual forerunners of modern Zionism.
