Tal Schneider is an Israeli mom with a son and daughter serving in the Israel Defense Forces. She also happens to be a noted journalist, the political and diplomatic correspondent for the Times of Israel. On Oct. 17, Schneider shared her perspective on the war with Hamas during a presentation at United Hebrew Congregation. Schneider has also spoken with congregations in Chicago, Milwaukee and Vancouver during her North American trip. Before returning to Israel, Schneider sat down with the Jewish Light to reflect on prospects for peace and the safe return of the hostages still held in captivity.
What kind of questions have you been getting from Jewish congregations?
The big important question is where was the military (on Oct. 7, 2023)? Where was Israel’s most famous military intelligence? Where were they? How can this happen? Some of the things we do know, we are aware of the way there was an appeasement going on between Israel’s government led by (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu, and the Hamas. But some of the things we did not get answers yet, and there has not been a national inquiry to get those answers.
What are you learning about the American Jews you’ve met?
They are highly committed to Israel. They can be both criticizing the Israeli government and be highly committed to the country at the same time. We struggle with the same thing.
Will the death of Yahya Sinwar speed the recovery of the remaining hostages?
There’s no way to know. It’s a chaos in there. Up until now, the government was negotiating with Sinwar through Qatari interlocutors. Sometimes he was offline for months. Without him, the big question is, who do you talk to? They need the Qatari to be able to get in and try to meet someone. It’s pretty difficult.
Is this the beginning of the end for Hamas?
It is, but what do you call “the end?” Hamas is an ideology. It’s not like you can cancel it altogether. But as for infrastructures, they seem to be mostly doomed.
What motivates you in your work?
I just love being a journalist. You sit in the front row of history. I was at the inauguration of Barack Obama. I was in the room when Netanyahu and Biden met in the UN in September 2023 when they were talking about normalization with Saudi Arabia. Then I talked to Netanyahu later on and asked him, ‘What are the chances for that?’ And he said 50-50. So you get to see things sometimes unfiltered.
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