The Guardian view on the power of forgiveness: a freed hostage’s gesture should not be forgotten | Editorial

Recognising the common humanity of Israeli and Palestinian civilians can break the endless chain of attack and reprisal

When 85-year-old Israeli Yocheved Lifshitz was released from Hamas's underground cells, she was filmed gripping the hand of a hooded fighter who had probably been part of her prison guard while saying shalom", the Hebrew word for peace. It was a startling moment of humanity in a frighteningly divided world. At a press conference, Ms Lifshitz said that she had been treated well in captivity despite a harrowing and brutal capture from her kibbutz.

A peace activist, Ms Lifshitz's views surely influenced her words, as probably did the knowledge that her husband was still being held by Hamas. But in these bleak times, Ms Lifshitz offers an important lesson: that a small gesture of kindness towards a person who represents your enemy can stop time, can show in an instant that we are all human, as opposed to an impulse for revenge that reinscribes the past, setting off an endless chain of attack and reprisal.

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