That feeling you have in the pit of your stomach? We’re all there. A mix of hope, fear, anger and grief. An American friend asked me if I’m happy about the hostage deal, and it was hard to use that word in this context. Though I support the deal (like most Israelis) and believe it is the moral choice, it makes me sick to my stomach that we even had to negotiate with these b******s, not to mention give them anything that doesn’t drop from the wing of an F-15. More about that, and our listener Zoom in a minute. In the meantime, we present you this rare, early-release, joy-to-the-ears kvetch fest with two of our favorite ladies and co-hosts of Normally, Mary Katharine Ham and Karol Markowicz. You may know these ladies from either of their frequent apperances on Fox News, CNN, the NY Post, and any other place where people pay them to say what they think about things. They each also have two great podcasts of their own, The Karol Markowicz show (that’s, uh, Karol’s) and Getting Hammered.

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The next few weeks will be rough

As of today, 33 hostages are set to be released in the phase of the deal, with each day bringing new challenges and mind-f***s from the enemy. There are total of 98 hostages in Gaza, aged 2 to 86, and there is no guarantee that we will ever move into the 2nd or 3rd phases of the deal that are meant to bring them all home.

To clarify how evil Hamas is (in case you don’t get it in our podcast, we can be a little subtle sometimes), they are set to release the first group of hostages in about 12 hours, and they still haven’t told us who they are. Nor have they told us who is alive. For example, you all may have heard about little Kfir Bibas, who just celebrated his 2nd birthday as a hostage. He was kidnapped at the age of 6 months, and he and his brother Ariel (5) and mother are expected to return in this phase of the deal. We don’t know if these babies will return home in their mother’s arms or in body bags.

As many have said before me including head of the Shin Bet, the deal isn’t good - but it’s the right deal. I don’t think we could live with ourselves if we didn’t push for it, not just for our 98 brothers and sisters, but for our sense of solidarity and responsibility to one another. Every Israeli feels like they have been missing a limb for the last 15 months, and we need to be able to be whole again to move on. This may sound sentimental, and not like the tough, calculated soldiers that people expect us to be. But in a sense, the reason people put on a uniform to begin with and run into the line of fire is to save strangers and protect families, and who would we be if we didn’t do that now?

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Listener Zoom

Another weepy Zoom coming your way! Please join us Monday at 9pm EST for a much-needed group therapy session. Will you learn anything? Maybe, I don’t know. If you want to learn ask Dan Senor for a Zoom. Will you share all the feels and laughs with friends and strangers and leave feeling uplifted? 100%. Will send a separate email with details so watch this space.

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