The Tikva Forum on Sunday issued a statement expressing full support for the government’s coordinator for hostages and missing persons, Gal Hirsch, following criticism of remarks he made opposing protests during the fighting.
According to the forum, Hirsch “told the painful truth," arguing that public pressure and calls made during wartime undermined efforts to secure the hostages’ release.
“Those who demanded surrender during wartime damaged the release efforts," the forum said, adding that Hirsch should “ignore the weeds."
The statement continued, “Anyone who chose, during wartime, to demonstrate in favor of surrendering to Hamas’s demands not only failed to help free the hostages, but in fact hardened the enemy’s stance, raised the price of a deal, and directly prolonged the time and suffering of our loved ones in captivity."
Forum members said they support Gal and urged him to continue his work with pride, while dismissing what they described as attempts to discredit him. “Efforts to weaken someone who devoted all his days and nights for two years to this sacred mission are a disgrace to his critics," the statement read.
Tzvika Mor, whose son Eitan Mor was held captive and later released, and who serves as chairman of Tikva Forum, said he had come to know Hirsch over the past two years as “a man driven by a guiding mission."
“Gal Hirsch invested enormous effort, day and night, to bring back my son Eitan and the other hostages," Mor said. “Throughout the entire process, I saw someone who did not shy away from difficulty, who turned over every stone, and who listened to our pain with a deep sense of shared destiny."
Mor added that Hirsch “did not merely fill a role, he fought for all of our children as if they were his own sons," thanking him for his determination, his candor, and his unwavering belief in the justice of the cause.