Israel's strategy has failed hostages and decimated Gaza

Watching the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin speak was devastating, as a dad, as a Jew, and as a human being.

Much of Israel is furious that hostages only seem to be coming home in body bags. Hundreds of thousands of Israeli protesters (out of a country of only about 9 million) are demanding a deal that would bring home hostages instead of bogging potential deals down in military objectives and cessions of power to which Hamas will never agree. The Netanyahu administration continues to prioritize these goals over hostages’ lives (while also pursuing other objectives, such as the decimation of Gaza generally, or turning a blind eye while ultra-nationalist settlers run amok in the West Bank or destroy convoys of aid en route to Gaza).

Relatives of the hostages themselves are blaming Benjamin Netanyahu. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant blames Netanyahu and states that his recent prioritizing of control over the Philadelphi corridor over hostages’ lives in deal negotiations is a "moral disgrace." At the funeral, Israeli President Isaac Herzog asked for forgiveness for failing to bring Hersh home, a not-so-veiled criticism of the prime minister’s handling of the war. More moderate Benny Gantz resigned from the war cabinet in June for similar reasons.

Yet at home, this critical eye toward Israel’s conduct is strangely lambasted as supportive of Hamas or somehow traitorous to the hostages or to Israel. If that’s the case, then we should be leveling the same accusations at much of Israel’s own population.

No one wants to negotiate with terrorists (and Gaza is indeed run by fanatical terrorists), but at the moment those terrorists are still holding about 100 hostages, many of whom are already believed to be dead. If measured by the number of hostages brought home, the military response has thus far been an abject failure (and that’s without considering the carnage unleashed on Palestinian civilians in the process). There’s nothing traitorous, anti-Zionist, anti-Israel, anti-American, anti-democratic, anti-hostage, or pro-terror in saying so and demanding that a deal get made.

Paul Balik, Rogers Park

Little League practice goes a long way

Every year I watch as much of the Little League World Series baseball games as I can because I am absolutely amazed at how these youngsters play the game. These talented kids play their positions without hesitation and without many flaws or errors.

This year's world championship game went into extra innings and saw the team from Chinese Taipei and Lake Mary, Florida, locked in a tie which led to extra innings. And what do you know? The winning run came in on a perfect bunt that hugged the first base line but never drifted into foul territory.

Can you imagine that kid from Lake Mary practicing his bunting skills at every practice and hating it? But practice he did, and the humble bunt made him and his team world champions.

The lesson here must be that when life entices us to swing for the fences, it's the little things we do every day that make us winners.

Kathleen Melia, Niles

Put country over Trump

For what I call true Republicans like myself, a light seemed to flash on at the end of the tunnel of darkness that Donald Trump has cast over our once great party when I learned that more than 200 Republicans who worked for previous presidential candidates and early on for Trump himself are now supporting Vice President Kamala Harris for our nation’s highest office.

In recognizing the importance of putting our country over the party that has become drunk on the Jonestown elixir offered by the insurrectionist-in-chief, they are providing a worthy example for all voters to follow.

Jeffrey L. Stern, Highland Park

Enthralled with walls at DNC

Hats off to the Chicago Police Department and Supt. Larry Snelling for the way they handled the protesters at the Democratic National Convention. They put together a great plan. I did notice that there were some type of structures that were erected around the convention center and along some of the routes, which seemed to be helpful in keeping the protesters at bay. What were those? What do they call those? Oh that’s right — walls. I guess walls do work.

Peter Caruso, Bridgeport

Don’t bury news on Georgia school shooting news

I guess school shootings have become so commonplace that they are buried in the Sun-Times, as they were in Thursday's newspaper on Page 31 — behind the classified ads, comics, crossword puzzle and TV listings. Of course, the Georgia high school shooting was superseded by the deadly CTA shooting story, which made it to page 6 (with the front page picture and headline at least). Naturally, the "Pension Pressure" story took precedence over all. Really? The Sun-Times can do better than that.

Mary Leah Prazak, Lisle