Chief Rabbi David Yosef: "Israel must release terrorists in exchange for hostages"

In a significant intervention into Israel's hostage crisis debate, Chief Rabbi David Yosef has voiced strong support for a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas, citing his father's historic religious ruling on the matter.

Speaking in an emotional interview with Kikar HaShabbat, Rabbi Yosef revealed his intimate encounters with families of the October 7 hostages. "It breaks your heart. Meeting them in my office, seeing their pain – it's impossible not to weep with them," he said, describing families living in uncertainty about their loved ones' fate.

The Rabbi made his position clear on the controversial issue of prisoner exchanges: "My father issued a very clear ruling that it is permissible and necessary to release terrorists, even many terrorists, even those with blood on their hands, in exchange for hostages."

While acknowledging he isn't privy to negotiation details, Rabbi Yosef emphasized his stance on the core issue. "I stand and say loudly: Yes, we must release terrorists to free the hostages." He traced this position to a ruling his father, the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, made before Operation Entebbe, documented in his influential work "Yabia Omer."

Addressing concerns about released prisoners returning to terrorism, Rabbi Yosef offered a practical and theological perspective: "We know these terrorists won't become saints. We must take precautions, like exiling them to other countries. But the halakhic question here weighs immediate danger to the hostages against future risks – and my father ruled that the immediate danger takes precedence."

Kiakr HaShabbat contributed to this article.