In one of the most emotionally charged weeks in Israel’s modern history, “Basic Law,” hosted by Aylana Meisel, executive director of the Israel Law & Liberty Forum, confronts the hardest question of all: When life is sacred, how do you measure its worth?
As Israeli families and Jews everywhere rejoice at the return of their loved ones, the nation also grapples with the unbearable price: 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including convicted terrorists, now walking free.
This episode features Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Brody, author of Ethics of Our Fighters: A Jewish View on War and Morality, for a conversation about the moral, legal and spiritual costs of hostage exchanges in Israel’s ongoing struggle for security.
Together, they explore how Jewish law (halachah) and Western international law approach the dilemmas of hostage negotiations and prisoner swaps. They revisit historical precedents, from the talmudic era’s laws of redeeming captives to Israel’s modern exchanges, and examine how religious values of solidarity and mercy intersect with hard strategic realities.
Brody challenges viewers to consider what happens when compassion collides with consequence: Does saving one life endanger many others? What are the limits of negotiation with terrorists? And can a democratic state rooted in Jewish ethics ever truly reconcile its moral imperatives with its survival instincts?
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The Israel Law & Liberty Forum is proud to partner with JNS to offer a platform for conservative and classical liberal legal thought from within Israel. Any opinions stated are those of the speaker and not meant to represent the positions of the forum or JNS. The forum is an organization that fosters thoughtful conversation and debate on key issues in Israeli law and democracy. The forum takes no official position regarding any specific policy issue, nor does it advance specific policies.
