Cheryl Hines recently appeared on Adam Carolla’s podcast and made a comment that highlights a larger problem: many Americans still don’t know the basic facts about what happened on October 7th and what has unfolded since.
During the conversation, Hines criticized the Left’s habit of protesting an issue and then ignoring any progress on it. She said she had seen this recently when “both sides released their hostages” after the ceasefire agreement, and she wondered why there was no gratitude from people who had been demanding the hostages’ release for two years.
That single remark wasn’t just a slip of the tongue. It showed a serious misunderstanding of the situation. Anyone with even slight exposure to Jewish communities would have seen the reaction to the release of the Israeli hostages: prayers, tears, gatherings, songs, and deep relief. Jewish leaders and ordinary people expressed their thanks to God and to President Trump for bringing home those who had survived. There was no shortage of gratitude from the people who had been living this ordeal day after day.
More importantly, there were not “hostages on both sides.” The only hostages were Israeli civilians held by Hamas. The individuals released by Israel were prisoners — many of them violent offenders, including terrorists. Placing these two groups in the same category is not a minor mistake. There is no moral equivalence between kidnapped civilians and people serving time for violent acts.
And only one side had been calling for hostages to be freed. The pro-Israel, pro-peace side demanded the release of innocent people. The other side spent the past two years chanting for Israel’s destruction “from the river to the sea” and celebrating violent uprisings. That is far beyond ordinary political grievance.
It’s also worth noting who made the mistake. Hines is not an average person with limited access to information. She is married to RFK Jr. and moves in circles where accurate information is readily available. If someone at that level can still be so unaware — or so easily swayed by a one-sided media narrative — it raises real concerns about how an average person is expected to sort through layers of noise, misleading coverage, and outright falsehoods.
Anyone can misspeak in an off-the-cuff conversation, and no one is claiming Hines acted out of malice. But her comment shows how widespread the confusion has become. Ignoring those moments only makes things worse. The only way to push back against this gap in understanding is through questions, honest conversation, and clear explanations. When we hear something incorrect, it can be tempting to let it slide, but those who know the facts have to speak up. Education — even when uncomfortable — is the only way to push back against the growing fog of ignorance.
Emily Yaffe is a Jewish educator with a passion for integrating traditional Jewish and Western values. Her writings can be found on Future of Jewish and her Substack, The American Jew.
