A video that has taken social media by storm has asked the painful question: Who would you prefer to care for your child, a trained professional or a Hamas terrorist?
Creators Barak Rivkind and Dani Schoffman, Jerusalemites who have been volunteering for the Hostage and Missing Families Forum since the October 7 massacre, were looking to create a video for World Children's Day to highlight the struggle of those whose kids were kidnapped.
That is when they came up with the idea for a job interview-style video. An array of applicants for a babysitting job sit down on the couch in turn, laying out their credentials proudly, each more qualified than the one before.
"I'm happy to teach the child piano," one says.
"I'm currently getting my Masters in child development," another says.
The video then cuts to the question, "Who would you choose?" at which point a man clad in Hamas terrorists' garbs sits on the couch.
"The parents of 40 children still held hostage by Hamas didn't have that choice," the video says.
The video was made in cooperation with the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, whose slogan, "Bring them home now," is sprawled across the screen at the end of the video.
Indeed, many mothers in Israel are currently experiencing the worst nightmare imaginable: not knowing if their children are dead or alive while being held hostage by armed terrorists.
'Basic moralities of humanity'
"It's still hard to believe that people still think that a lot of what's going on is fake," Schoffman said. "Specifically related to children, it's a subject that... every parent can relate to. Who's taking care of your child?"
Rivkind explained that he sees the global public's approach to the war in the region as a disagreement on "the basic moralities of humanity.
"People are questioning whether or not... Hamas is a terrorist organization," he explained. "Other outlets are calling them militants or fighters. There is no agreement on basic facts."
Of the children currently being held hostage by Hamas, Schoffman said, "It's not like they're in jail or that the Red Cross is going to see them. One is still nursing, another has asthma.
"The parents don't even know if they're getting their medication, if they're still wearing the same clothes they were taken in."