The relatives of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza traveled to Jerusalem on Monday morning. Some relatives participated in Knesset discussions and others held a protest outside the building, demanding that the government reach a hostage deal with Hamas as quickly as possible. A number of relatives burst into a meeting of the Finance Committee with signs stating: “You won’t sit here while they’re dying there!” The chairman of the Finance Committee meeting, UTJ MK Moshe Gafni, got up and addressed the relatives, saying that this position and the position of the UTJ party is that the mitzvah of pidyon shevuyim is an extremely important one in Yahadus, especially in this situation where their lives are in danger. One of the protesters interrupted him, screaming [inaccurately]: “For chometz, you broke apart the government  but not for hostages?!” Gafni explained that he didn’t dismantle the government because of chometz and breaking apart the government for the hostages won’t help. He added that he spoke to the prime minister about the hostages and made his position clear. “I understand your pain,” he said. “I’m part of you. We’ll do everything so that everyone will return home safely.” On the other hand, some of the hostages’ relatives are adamantly against a hostage deal. In the video below, Tzvika Mor, whose son Eitan is being held captive in Gaza, says that a “hostage deal with Hamas will endanger the entire State of Israel.”   YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)