On Tal Hartuv’s chest is a jagged scar, one of 18 stab wounds on her body from a brutal attack outside Jerusalem in 2010 that killed her friend.
Next to the seven-centimeter mark lies a dog tag engraved with the phrase “Our heart is captive in Gaza.” This has become a well-known emblem supporting a ceasefire agreement that would trade Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
On Friday, amid celebrations of an agreement between Israel and Hamas following two years of conflict, Hartuv reviewed the list of Palestinian prisoners slated for release and noticed the name Iyad Hassan Hussein Fatafta. He was one of the three individuals who attempted to kill her and was convicted of murdering her friend Kristine Luken, an American tourist in Israel.
A decision to maintain empathy
Since learning about her attacker’s upcoming release, Hartuv has been overwhelmed by feelings of anger and betrayal. In those moments, she explained, she looks at a photo of a hostage or their distressed parents on her phone, seeking solace in their eyes.
“It doesn’t melt me, but it creates that room for empathy and reminds me there’s another side of the coin,” she said.
“That doesn’t erase my anger at the Israeli government for their negligence in not even notifying me, or my sense of betrayal towards Western governments for not holding Hamas accountable, but it does somewhat ease my sense of injustice.”
Hartuv wishes more people could navigate between these heart-wrenching stories, accommodating both perspectives. She feels that Israeli discussions have been so preoccupied with the hostages that anyone questioning the deal’s costs has been marginalized.
While she doesn’t want to halt the agreement, Hartuv seeks acknowledgment for the price Israel, and she personally, have paid once the hostages are freed, as well as recognition of the fear that this might trigger further attacks.
“It would make the release of the hostages so much more magnificent if you understand how necessary this is for Israel, but also how difficult,” she said.
