Nobel Laureate: "Pressure for a Hostage Deal Is Surrender, Not Victory"
In a heated ynet interview, Nobel laureate Prof. Israel Aumann warns that public pressure for a hostage deal risks handing Hamas victory, insists only its elimination can secure Israel’s future, and blasts the government for prolonging the war.
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Prof. Israel Aumann, Nobel Prize laureate in economics and one of the world’s leading scholars in game theory, gave an interview to ynet and strongly opposed a hostage deal that would allow Hamas to remain in power in Gaza. According to him, the demonstrations and public pressure "are not truly for the hostages, but rather a call for surrender."
Aumann argued that internal protests in Israel undermine the war effort, since they signal to Hamas that pressure works.
“From the very beginning, the demand was that we withdraw from Gaza, leave Hamas in place, and restore the situation as it was, this would be a disaster for Israel,” he said. He stressed that while demonstrators do not consciously seek Israel’s destruction, in practice they are pressing to stop the war and release terrorists, which would broadcast victory for Hamas.
Sharp Criticism of the Government
Aumann also criticized the prime minister and the government: “I don’t understand why this war has been going on for two years. Why haven’t we conquered Gaza? What are we doing there?” He linked the failures of October 7 and Hamas’s growing strength to Israel’s disengagement from Gaza and to clauses in the Oslo Accords that, in his view, were never implemented on the Palestinian side.
"The Good of the State Above the Good of the Individual"
In addressing the families of the hostages, Aumann said: “I understand their pain and want their sons to come home, but the good of the entire state outweighs the good of the individual. If we surrender, we will continue another hundred years of violence. I don’t want my grandchildren or yours to be killed.” He warned that capitulation would only perpetuate the cycle of violence and endanger future generations.
On Social Cohesion and Global Antisemitism
Aumann emphasized that internal cohesion in Israel is very important, but insisted it cannot come at the expense of national security: “I regret the rift in society, but I do not want to surrender.”
On the rise of antisemitism in Europe and worldwide, he noted that while the situation does not resemble Germany in the 1930s, it is “very worrying.”
Still, he added, one positive outcome is that it encourages Jews to immigrate to Israel.
In his closing remarks, Aumann reiterated: “I am against surrender. I don’t understand the conduct of this war, but it is clear to me that Hamas must be eliminated, otherwise we will go on paying a heavy price for generations.”