October 13, 2011, 6:23 PM
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No one denies the long suffering of the Schalit family. Noam and Aviva Schalit and their relatives have endured five years and four months of uninterrupted anguish since their son St.-Sgt. Gilad Schalit was abducted from his army post by Palestinian terrorists and spirited to Gaza in June 2006. Since then, aside from one letter and one videotaped message, they have received no signs of life from their soldier son.
There is not a Jewish household in Israel that doesn't empathize with their suffering. It isn't simply that most Israelis serve in the IDF and expect their children to serve in the IDF.
It isn't just that it could happen to any of our families.
As Jews, the concept of mutual responsibility, that we are all a big family and share a common fate, is ingrained in our collective consciousness. And so, at a deep level, the Schalit family's suffering is our collective suffering.
And yet, and yet, freedom exacts its price. The cause of freedom for the Jewish people as a whole exacts a greater sacrifice from some families than from others.
Sometimes, that sacrifice is made willingly, as in the case of the Netanyahu family.
Prof. Benzion and Tzilla Netanyahu raised their three sons to be warriors in the fight for Jewish liberty. And all three of their sons served in an elite commando unit. Their eldest son Yonatan had the privilege of commanding the unit and of leading Israeli commandos in the heroic raid to free Jewish hostages held by the PLO in Entebbe.
There, on July 4, 1976, Yonatan and his family made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom of the Jewish people. Yonatan was killed in action. His parents and brothers were left to mourn and miss him for the rest of their lives. And yet, the Netanyahu family's sacrifice was a product of a previous decision to fight on the front lines of the war to preserve Jewish freedom.
Sometimes, the sacrifice is made less willingly.
Since Israel allowed the PLO and its terror armies to move their bases from Tunis to Judea, Samaria and Gaza in 1994, nearly 2,000 Israeli families have involuntarily paid the ultimate price for the freedom of the Jewish people. Our freedom angers our Palestinian neighbors so much that they have decided that all Israelis should die.
For instance Ruth Peled, 56, and her 14- month-old granddaughter Sinai Keinan did not volunteer to make the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom of the Jewish people when they were murdered by a Palestinian suicide bomber as they sat in an ice cream parlor in Petah Tikva in May 2002.
And five-year-old Gal Eisenman and her grandmother Noa Alon, 60, weren't planning on giving their lives for the greater good when they, together with five others, were blown to smithereens by Palestinian terrorists in June 2002 while they were waiting for a bus in Jerusalem.
Their mothers and daughters, Chen Keinan and Pnina Eisenman, had not signed up for the prospect of watching their mothers and daughters incinerated before their eyes. They did not volunteer to become bereaved mothers and orphaned daughters simultaneously.
The lives of the victims of Arab terror were stolen from their families simply because they lived and were Jews in Israel. And in the cases of the Keinan, Peled, Alon and Eisenman families, as in thousands of others, the murderers were the direct and indirect beneficiaries of terrorists-for-hostages swaps like the deal that Yonatan Netanyahu's brother, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, made this week with Hamas to secure the release of Gilad Schalit.
The deal that Netanyahu has agreed to is signed with the blood of the past victims and future victims of the terrorists he is letting go. No amount of rationalization by Netanyahu, his cheerleaders in the demented mass media, and by the defeatist, apparently incompetent heads of the Shin Bet, Mossad and IDF can dent the facts.
IT IS a statistical certainty that the release of 1,027 terrorists for Schalit will lead to the murder of untold numbers of Israelis. It has happened every single time that these blood ransoms have been paid. It will happen now.
Untold numbers of Israelis who are now sitting in their succas and celebrating Jewish freedom, who are driving in their cars, who are standing on line at the bank, who are sitting in their nursery school classrooms painting pictures of Torah scrolls for Simhat Torah will be killed for being Jewish while in Israel because Netanyahu has made this deal. The unrelenting pain of their families, left to cope with their absence, will be unimaginable.
This is a simple fact and it is beyond dispute.
It is also beyond dispute that untold numbers of IDF soldiers and officers will be abducted and held hostage. Soldiers now training for war or scrubbing the floors of their barracks, or sitting at a pub with their friends on holiday leave will one day find themselves in a dungeon in Gaza or Sinai or Lebanon undergoing unspeakable mental and physical torture for years. Their families will suffer inhuman agony.
The only thing we don't know about these future victims is their names. But we know what will become of them as surely as we know that night follows day.
Netanyahu has proven once again that taking IDF soldiers hostage is a sure bet for our Palestinian neighbors. They can murder the next batch of Sinais and Gals, Noas and Ruths. They can kill thousands of them. And they can do so knowing all along that all they need to do to win immunity for their killers is kidnap a single IDF soldier.
There is no downside to this situation for those who believe all Jews should die.
In his public statement on the Schalit deal Tuesday night, Netanyahu, like his newfound groupies in the media, invoked the Jewish tradition of pidyon shevuim, or the redemption of captives. But the Talmudic writ is not unconditional. The rabbinic sages were very clear. The ransom to be paid cannot involve the murder of other Jews.
This deal - like its predecessors - is not in line with Jewish tradition. It stands in opposition to Jewish tradition. Even in our darkest hours of powerlessness in the ghettos and the pales of exile, our leaders did not agree to pay for a life with other life. Judaism has always rejected human sacrifice.
The real question here is after five years and four months in which Schalit has been held hostage and two-and-a-half years into Netanyahu's current tenure as prime minister, why has the deal been concluded now? What has changed? The answer is that very little has changed on Netanyahu's part. After assuming office, Netanyahu essentially accepted the contours of the abysmal agreement he has now signed in Jewish blood.
Initially, there was a political rationale for his morally and strategically perverse position.
He had Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the Labor Party to consider.
Supporting this deal was one of the many abject prices that Netanyahu was expected to pay to keep Labor and Barak in his coalition.
But this rationale ended with Barak's resignation from the Labor Party in January.
Since then, Barak and his colleagues who joined him in leaving Labor have had no political leverage over Netanyahu.
They have nowhere to go. Their political life is wholly dependent on their membership in Netanyahu's government. He doesn't need to pay any price for their loyalty.
So Netanyahu's decision to sign the deal with Hamas lacks any political rationale.
WHAT HAS really changed since the deal was first put on the table two years ago is Hamas's position. Since the Syrian people began to rise up against the regime of Hamas's patron and protector President Bashar Assad, Hamas's leaders, who have been headquartered in Syria since 1998, have been looking for a way to leave. Their Muslim Brotherhood brethren are leading forces in the Western-backed Syrian opposition.
Hamas's leaders do not want to be identified with the Brotherhood's oppressor.
With the Egyptian military junta now openly massacring Christians, and with the Muslim Brotherhood rapidly becoming the dominant political force in the country, Egypt has become a far more suitable home for Hamas.
But for the past several months, Hamas leaders in Damascus have faced a dilemma. If they stay in Syria, they lose credibility. If they leave, they expose themselves to Israel.
According to Channel 2, in exchange for Schalit, beyond releasing a thousand murderers, Netanyahu agreed to give safe passage to Hamas's leaders decamping to Egypt.
What this means is that this deal is even worse for Israel than it looks on the surface.
Not only is Israel guaranteeing a reinvigoration of the Palestinian terror war against its civilians by freeing the most experienced terrorists in Palestinian society, and doing so at a time when the terror war itself is gradually escalating. Israel is squandering the opportunity to either decapitate Hamas by killing its leaders in transit, or to weaken the group by forcing its leaders to go down with Assad in Syria.
At best, Netanyahu comes out of this deal looking like a weak leader who is manipulated by and beholden to Israel's radical, surrender-crazed media. To their eternal shame, the media have been waging a five-year campaign to force Israel's leaders to capitulate to Hamas.
At worst, this deal exposes Netanyahu as a morally challenged, strategically irresponsible and foolish, opportunistic politician.
What Israel needs is a leader with the courage of one writer's convictions. Back in 1995, that writer wrote: "The release of convicted terrorists before they have served their full sentences seems like an easy and tempting way of defusing blackmail situations in which innocent people may lose their lives, but its utility is momentary at best.
"Prisoner releases only embolden terrorists by giving them the feeling that even if they are caught, their punishment will be brief. Worse, by leading terrorists to think such demands are likely to be met, they encourage precisely the terrorist blackmail they are supposed to defuse."
The writer of those lines was then-opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu wrote those lines in his book, Fighting Terrorism: How Democracies Can Defeat Domestic and International Terrorists.
Israel needs that Netanyahu to lead it. But in the face of the current Netanyahu's abject surrender to terrorism, apparently he is gone.
Originally published in The Jerusalem Post.
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Do you have children? What if Gilad were your son?
I refrain from giving my own answer since I do not live in Israel. But everyone who is angry about this deal gives no answer to my question.You all talk about the evil to come. This I understand is a given. But what would you do for Gilad? How would you ensure every member of the IDF that they will not end up dieing in a cell like Ron Arad?
Thank you Caroline,
You are the only rational and coraugeous voice in a sea of madness. We can't keep blaming our enemies for our situation, because our leaders are the ones who always surrender to them. I though Netanyahu was different...
Caroline,
I was waiting for your commentary on this.As much as I can realize the Shalits' pain and desire to
have Gilad returned, I cannot help but to feel most aggravated by their incessant PR and the embarrassment it placed Israel.After awhile, their campaign too often appeared that they could care less about the rest of the country, the victims of these convicted terrorists to be released, and
those who will certainly be made more vulnerble as in the whole of Israel.I do not recall any calls for justice as in finding those kidnappers and holding them accountable.Were they caught, and did I miss that?Why wasn't that a bargaining chip? Why so many? Someone had written in a British paper that this deal can be said to show the Arabs place more value on one Israeli than on a thousand plus fellow Arabs.That one Jew, alone, is worth than 1027 Arabs.Why not one for one?
In any event, what happens to the hundreds of dismantled checkpoints and the areas now guarded by PA, socalled, US trained Fatah Security Guards? Their numbers are increased in their role as a Fatah, or PA,terrorist. Will the police resume taking action if they see Israelis attacked, because time and again,lately, there are reports the police no longer come to the aid of victims.
Are there any restrictions on the these released terrorists?Recitivism is high among non-terrorist felons, especially, those who have had long incarcerations once released, because they can no longer make it on the outside, so they do something to return.
How will Gilad feel when one of them murders, again?How will he be regarded in Israel, now? He can never hide.Or is some EU, or US, benefactor going to set him and his parents up somewhere?
Why are these terrorists to be released into' East Jerusalem' as well? This gives the Arabs' designation, or concept, of Jerusalem validity in addition to everything else.
It is very difficult to believe the IDF, Shin Bet, etc. could not find out where he was being hidden in five and a half years and go in and get him.How badly deteriorated is Israel's intelligence in Gaza, if this is true?
At the extant security checkpoints is there a facial recognition list for all known terrorists?
With the IDF head coming out in the NYT blaming Jews in Judea and Samaria and arresting them, but not Arabs, those in the West Bank are even more imperiled.Why is this idiot in charge there?Or is the tactic to make them so unsafe as to create circumstances to force them out to be able to hand over those lands to the Arabs?
After thousands of years, how is this happening?
what has happened to Netanyahu? No, matter, it is time for him to be replaced.I'm sorry.he could have become the leader of the Free World
after his speeches in DC.He had given the freedom -loving world a bright moment of hope.
He has killed the light.
Well it's about time you finished this column, mon mentor! Considering it is probably the most awkward subject this year, I wonder how many revisions were made before you settled on this particular version. LOL
I have no further comment.
".....defusing blackmail situations in which innocent people may lose their lives, but its utility is momentary at best."
He knows this is wrong in every way and yet he does it anyway?
Is the media that powerful? That ignorant? Can they in fact cause this to be done?
They are that powerful but they are not that ignorant. No one could be.
They do these things deliberately. They deliberately lie to the people and manipulate them to achieve what? Peace? What they want, cannot lead to peace their logic is impossible, history shows one that with extreme clarity. And yet they continue unabated.
They do not serve the interests of Israel or Jews or the victims that will follow who are not Jews. What interests then, do they serve?
If they do not serve the interests of peace, of life, then they serve the interests of death and conflict and are dangerous to all men, Jew and non-Jew but it will fall upon Jews first.
Jewish women and children.
Caroline, I've said it before and I'll say it again now: Why don't YOU become that leader that Israel needs? YOU are what Israel needs. Another Golda Meir. Be what Netanyahu has not become! With God's help, you can do this!!! Please seriously consider this opportunity!!! Your country, and even your world, needs you to volunteer for this critical mission. You can do this!
Caroline,
Why the surprise. Netanyahu long ago caved into terror, witness the Wye River accords. Netanyahu is in my opinion, no different than any other craven politician, that to say do anything to remain in power. He and the Likud, do not have the courage to admit that the "peace process" is an abject failure, so they pretend that it works, hence, the prisoner release.
I agree with ttomosky and suggest that you consider running for office, or assembling a political party. You have the courage and intellect to do it. I believe that if you lead others will follow.
Benjamin
Dear Ms. Glick,
You threaded the needle successfully. This is a terribly difficult issue to confront and analyze. However, as the author of the Tanya (R' Schneur Zalman) said, the mind must rule the heart.
My only slight disagreement is in the statement that our enemies hate us for our freedom, a euphemism also employed by President Bush. Walid Shoebat claims to have had a conversation with a Palestinian-Arab Muslim who asserted that the war against Israel would cease instantly if all Israelis converted to Islam.
Our freedoms are the only the visible part of their grievances. Their principal grievances are our religion and our lives.
Be well, and chag samei'ach.
"his cheerleaders in the demented mass media" - not his cheerleaders but his puppeteers.
Not being an Israeli, or Jewish, it is hard to fathom this decision. Being sympathetic, the temptation is, as usual, to assume a kind of magical quality to Israel's judgement in these matters, that no matter how self destructive it looks, there must be some kind angle behind it that grounds it in Israel's interests.
The other conclusion is that Israel is succuming, step by step, to becoming a self governing ghetto in "Palestine". Where Jewish suffering is the agreed price for simple existance, and Jewish existance is always in a state of fear and anxiety. Where Jewish achievement is nothing more than the public relations of a model concentration camp.
I agree with many who say that a good part of the solution is for Israel to impose the death penalty on terrorists. Israel already is willing to impose death on terrorists by way of assassination, and this is simple self defense. What could be more reasonable than attacking somebody you know is about to attack you? Executing terrorist is the best response to those like Hamas who, even now, proclaim more kidnappings in the future. Certainly, a leisurely retirement in comfortable Israeli jails is little deterrent against those who wonder if a life as a terrorist is the life for them. Add to that, the reliable process of kidnapping and negotiating for release, and it becomes little more than an idle game for mass murderers.
Hi Caroline
You make a powerful argument. However, my story is that on the day that Gilad Shalit was kidnapped I felt very strongly that I had to pray for his release. I have done this faithfully every day for 5 years, and was delighted to hear about his release.
I can't argue with you, but I do believe that it is God's will. I have had a relationship with your God for nearly 40 years, and I do know His voice. I could not be clearer when I say that this is what He wants.
In the same way that Israel will free 1000 terrorists to release one man, the Lord has paid an incredible price by allowing His Son to pay the price to redeem us.
It doesn't make sense, but I'm so glad He did it.
PS An Israeli family passed by our house in England today. They saw my IDF teeshirt and I welcomed them in and we spent a wonderful afternoon with them. It was a privilege to meet them, listen to them.
The only people on the planet who may be justified in rejoicing at this decision are Gilad and his family. The rest of us have no rational basis for embracing actions that will certainly cause this drama to repeat. This horrible transaction, sealed in Jewish blood as Caroline said, puts each of us in Israel at greater risk, especially those in the IDF now increasingly more likely to follow in Gilad's footsteps.
I agree, it's not halachic, it's not biblical, it's unwise, it's immoral, it's demoralizing, in other words, par for the course for Israel's corrupt totalitarian elite mammonocrats.
The YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/palwatch, the YouTube channel of Palestinian Media Watch ( http://palwatch.org ), which is an organization that observes, and translates into English, and posts, with English subtitles, content of the television media of the Fatah-PLO-PalestinianAuthority and Hamas television stations, has been terminated. Fatah-PLO-PalestinianAuthority and Hamas, on their television stations, broadcast racist genocidally anti-Jewish programs and state, in Arabic, their intentions to annihilate Israel. Palestinian Media Watch presents, with English subtitles, that programming broadcasted by Fatah-PLO-PalestinianAuthority and Hamas. Palestinian Media Watch endeavors to present, to the world, that programming broadcasted by Fatah-PLO-PalestinianAuthority and Hamas. The YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/palwatch of Palestinian Media Watch ( http://palwatch.org ) had several hundred video clips of the television media of the Fatah-PLO-PalestinianAuthority and Hamas television stations.
Now, navigating to the YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/palwatch results in there not being displayed the YouTube channel palwatch, but, rather, instead, results in there being displayed a page which contains the following message:
"This account has been terminated due to repeated or severe violations of our Community Guidelines and/or claims of copyright infringement."
I suspect that the cause of the YouTube channel of Palestinian Media Watch being terminated was a campaign of false flagging by 'Palestinian' Arab activists, and/or Muslim Arab non-'Palestinian'-Arab activists, and/or Muslim non-Arab activists, and/or Western so-called "Anti-Zionist"/"Pro-Palestinian" activists (Western totalitarian anti-Jewish racists).
I'm opposed to the deal myself but when Ms. Glick says that this was simply "paying for one life with another life" she is wrong. She overlooks the fact that a risk to a specific person is generally viewed much heavier than a risk to a person or persons that are unknown as yet.
A good example is car traffic. We know that it claims thousands of victims every year. Yet we tolerate this risk because nobody knows who will be the victims. Where the names of all the vicitims known in advance car traffic would be banned altogether at once.
This shows clearly that weighing one specific life against a specific other is something categorically different from what has happened here.
the outrage of this unspeakable policy by the PM places Israel in grave and horrific danger.
Aside from the betrayal to the founders and leaders such as Golda and Moshe, it disgraces the souls of the 6 million who linger within the spirit of Israel.
The PM and those supporters in the cabinet should resign, the policy stopped, the exchanged ended, and the real sense leadership must deal with the Nazi on its boarder who will put 3 million and tel aviv into radioactive sand.
It is time that we stop running like sheep from cairo, take up our weapons and stop the insanity of a pathetic
God gave Israel the brains to have nuclear weapons. Will the world hate us more to burn the madman's machines?
Israel will find support from the Saudis, Kuwait, and does not need the lost president in the WH placed there by the Jews ---
we are truly our worst enemy.
the wandering is at an end --and the PM has placed every Israeli in harms way and began the suicide of the state of Israel.
it's time to remember the 1930 German Jews who supported the twisted cross in it's infancy...
this PM has lost the meaning, purpose and mission of Israel.....stop the insane policy now!
And later bring Pollard home!
unpr
While I had already come not to expect much from Netahyahu, I have to say I was actually shocked by this.
That Netanyahu capitulated on Palestinian statehood was not shocking (depressing, yes, but not shocking).
That he would knowingly release 1000+ terrorists is unbelievable.
What insanity seems to grip every 'leader' we have had for the past 30 years?
It's long past time for Gilad Schalit to be brought home. Time for his agony to end. But not this way. I'm with those who find it very hard to believe that Israeli intelligence hasn't known his whereabouts these past years. I don't believe the rubbish line that a rescue mission hasn't been a strategic option. It does indeed beg the question 'why now'?
What Judaism says:
The Mitzvah of Pidyon Shvuyim
(literally: Redemption of Prisoners) is to bring about the release of any Jew held captive by gentiles. It is considered an important commandment in the Jewish Halacha.
The Talmud calls Pidyon Shvuyim a “Mitzvah rabbah”, a great mitzvah, as captivity is viewed as even worse than starvation and death (Bava Batra 8b).
Maimonides writes: “The redeeming of captives takes precedence over supporting the poor or clothing them. There is no greater mitzvah than redeeming captives for the problems of the captive include being hungry, thirsty, unclothed, and they are in danger of their lives too. Ignoring the need to redeem captives goes against these Torah laws: “Do not harden your heart or shut your hand against your needy fellow” (Devarim 15:7); “Do not stand idly by while your neighbor’s blood is shed” (Vayikra 19:16). And misses out on the following mitzvot: “You must surely open your hand to him or her” (Devarim15:8); “…Love your neighbor as yourself” (Vayikra 19:18); “Rescue those who are drawn to death” (Proverbs 24:11) and there is no mitzvah greater than the redeeming of captives.” (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Matanot Aniyim 8:10-11)
Maimonides himself wrote letters exhorting his fellow Jews to redeem captives and collected money for pidyon shvuyim. The Cairo Genizah contains receipts to Jews who donated funds for that purpose written by Maimonides himself!
The Shulchan Aruch adds: “Every moment that one delays in freeing captives, in cases where it is possible to expedite their freedom, is considered to be tantamount to murder.” (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah 252:3)
“One does not ransom captives for more than their value” because of Tikkun Olam (literally: “fixing the world”; for the good order of the world; as a precaution for the general good). One of the aims of this restriction is to avoid encouraging kidnappers, or those seeking financial gain by capturing Jews and demanding a Kofer (a ransom) in exchange, due to the knowledge of how sensitive Jews are to rescuing their prisoners at any price.
Modern Rabbinical Responsa are both pro and con but I concur with that of Rabbi Shlomo Goren who was against such exchanges. R. Goren says: “that we must learn the law from the Mishnah in Gittin that we do not pay more than their value. It is true that Tosafot in Gittin 58a said that when there is danger to the captive we may indeed pay more than the captive is worth. But Ramban (Spain, 1195-1270) and Rashba (Spain, 1235-1310) disagree. Furthermore, all captivity in ancient times was dangerous (see Bava Batra 8b quoted above) and the Mishnah nonetheless ruled that one does not pay more than the captive’s value because this will encourage the kidnappers to kidnap more Jews and endanger the public. He adds that the safety of one or a few Jews in captivity does not take precedence over the safety of the entire public. In addition, he agrees with the Radbaz, and not R. Yosef Karo, that a person does not have to put himself in possible danger in order to save his fellow Jew from definite danger. Finally, in our case, freeing hundreds or thousands of terrorists definitely endangers the public because they will all be free to attack Israel and to take more hostages. Therefore, everything Israel did is against the halakhah of the Mishnah and the legal authorities and against the security of the Jewish people in Israel and the Diaspora.”
In other words, the public takes precedence over the individual, even if this endangers the individual. Exchanging hundreds or thousands of terrorists for one Israeli encourages kidnapping of Israelis, and frees hundreds or thousands of terrorists who will pick up their weapons and attack Israel. In other words, it endangers the public and should not be done.
Caroline thank you for speaking from the heart. I don't know how I would feel if it were my grandson who is approximately the same age as Gilad Schalit was when he was abducted. I cannot begin to fathom the pain that the Schalits have been suffering for the past five years. What I do know and what you have bluntly stated is by their actions, the Netanyahu government has given free license to murderers and barbarians to commit the same heinous deeds over and over again. Where is the Israeli courage and strength and yes, chutzpah under fire? Are we that eager to hasten our demise? HaShem yerachem.
Ms. Glick: Please take note of the role that the Bundesnachrictendienst (BND) is claiming in this exchange (see the story in The Local). In light of the BND's history (including their penchant for hiring hundreds of Nazis into their ranks, never mind what they did to the USA vis-à-vis Curveball and the "GWOT" in general), more Israelis should insist upon diminishing the role of Germany in the so-called "peace process".
What can one say about a government that releases the man (pictured in article http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/148794#.TpsMonLNTiR) who participated in the mutilation of two human beings?
I'll say nothing regarding the fairness of this swap, except to say that Jews apparently value human life more than the Palestinians. Big surprise.
What confuses me, though, is why Shalit is being received in his home town as a great hero as I write this.
Can someone tell me precisely what, in particular, this soldier has done to be ranked as such a great hero?
What about the soldiers that were killed during his abduction? Are they not far greater heros?
Can you be a hero for surrendering to your enemy and then managing simply to survive during your captivity?
I'm not saying that we shouldn't rejoice in his release. It's just the hero's welcome that bothers me a bit.
Pardon my political incorrectness. I'll bet this post won't even see the light of day, on account of that.
To avoid such a lousy surrender situation Israel Knesset has to vote the mandatory death penalty for any terrorist attack that kill someone . There is only one answer to the kind of vicious bloodthirsty murderer : the capital punishment. When there will be no murderer left alive waiting for the next kidnapping of israeli to be released, we shall see who will have the upper hand. This is a radical necessity in front of a radical and vicious murderers ring. Now the Knesset seems to be too weak and divided to enact such a drastic change. But if the israelis living abroad were authorized to vote as is the rule for americans, french, britons, italians etc.. we would see a much more patriotic majority in the knesset and such majority would really change many things for the good.Now do check who is strongly opposed to the vote of Israelis living abroad : The left, the orthodox, the arabs ( the defeatists, the draft-dodgers, the hatemongers ).It is time to wake up and get involved the one million or so israelis living abroad.
When will Caroline Glick tackle the subject of Islam?
There was a Roman legend about a certain Roman Consul captured by the Carthaginians during the Second Punic War. When his captors realized that this man was from an influential Roman family, they gave him his parole and send him to Rome with the Carthaginian demands to end the war, he did his duty and when he was done, his family and fellow Romans told him, stay here, you are free now. He refused stating that he gave his word to his captors and he expected the Romans to rescue him themselves . He returned to Carthage and depending on the sources, he died there, never to see his homeland again.
Gilad and his family knew the risks when he put on the uniform of an IDF soldier. What his family, their supporters and the Israeli government did was unforgivable, they surrendered the lives of other Israelis so that Gilad will see his family again. They release the killers to kill again so that one family will see their son again. I hope that Shalit's family and their supporters will have the courage to face the families of every Israeli who will soon be killed and murdered that the price is worth it regardless of what it will cost the country and their own people.
A pact with Amalekites
And the Lord said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed...Then Samuel said,
Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the
Amalekites...And Samuel said (to Agag): As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women.
And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before YHVH, the Lord of hosts, in Gilgal. 1 Samuel 15
Is there no justice in the land of Israel?
Is it just to let the sinners, the murderers of
the innocent ones, live and go free? Hearken unto the commandments of the Lord, which he
commanded your fathers by the hand of Moses: The murderer shall surely be put to death, saith the Lord of hosts; blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under the heavens.
Hate the evil, and love the good. Establish judgement in the gate and justice throughout the land of Israel, in Judea and Samaria. Avenge the innocent blood that has been spilled in the land.
And it may be that the Lord G-d of hosts, Adonai Shem, will be gracious unto the remnant ofJacob. Amos - the messenger.
I agree with the comments, tough situation. However, here is a hypothetical that I wonder how I would answer. If a family member of mine was murdered and his killer was in an Israeli jail and I was asked by the government to agree to the release of that killer to free Shalit would I honestly say "yes" or "no". Would my anger at this murder and desire for justice allow me to deny freedom of Shalit and prolong suffering of his parents who cry daily for the return of their child? Yes, I know that releasing this murderer could put additional blood on his hands. However, there will always be more recruits eager to wash their hands in blood even if my murderer rots in jail. I do not think it will cause additional spilling of blood, just change whose hands become covered in it.
A soldier's responsibility goes further than battle.
A less selfish soldier than Sergeant Schalit, upon learning the terms of his release, would have found a way to kill himself—thus saving untold numbers of his countrymen from death at the hands of Terrorists freed on the Sergeant’s behalf.
Killing himself was the Sergeant’s duty: it would have been a no more remarkable act than a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save his comrades.
I was a supporter of Netanyahu for a long time and was disappointed to see his first tenure as prime minister end the way it did.
I had high hopes for him and I wish he had meant what he said in the quote cited above.
But instead he choose to have Israel vainly feed the crocodile yet again.
Bibi, you disappointed me.
Caroline, you did not.
Shalom from the southern USA.
Gilad once more came across as a very courageous youth, a disarming smile, but somewhat of a childish quality. Was this young person qualified to be in a position of charge on the crucial Gaza border?
Secondly how did it happen that a very long tunnel started in Gaza, crossed the border, and allowed the savages to attack from behind? Has that ever been explained?
Thirdly was Sharon when he was considering the withdrawal from Gaza already a somewhat ill person, was his future illness even then having a physical effect on him?
Fourthly I often ask in such situations as this, what might Leon Trotsky or Vladimir Lenin have done, both having been highly involved in ruthless civil war situations? And a follow up to that question I also often ask are the Jews too conservative and too doctrinaire to learn the lessons of war from a Lenin or Trotsky?
As many have often remarked, Palestinism in all of its forms is really the baby of the British Imperialists, transferred from 1945 onwards into the swaddling clothes of the American Imperialists, whether that be George and Condi, or the present Muslim in Charge.
Hence it is no accident that Netanyahu, who always does the bidding of the US and EU Establishment, once again rescues Palestinism, thus we have Hamas very handily because of this deal being safely transferred into Cairo from the doomed Damascus, and Hamas Gorillas also (note how fat they are on release!) being given a shot in the arm to take the leadership away from the barren Abbas. For the US and EU it was always about Hamas, you know! The US and British elites have always been unerring in their choice of partner, always preferring the Fascist Armed men on the Streets type.
Where does this leave the Jews? It leaves the Jews in a very difficult position, without a credible leadership of any kind. Herzl knew very well what Jewishness and Judaism was (Feiglin does not!): it was a religion and a culture all tied into the package of nation. Note well it was never a theory and practice with which it was possible to confront the modern scourge of Fascism.
We have reached a kind of end of road situation with this deal. The responsibility lies with all layers of Israeli leadership. Their inability to act like a Trotsky in a situation which has always demanded a Trotsky opened the door for these consequences (the withndrawal from Gaza and the criminal “secular” attacks on religious youth at the time was always only a sign of the illness, not the illness itself)
Mrs Glick
After reading the article, or lies, you wrote about South Africa I don't believe anything you say!
With all due respect to you, you have never served in the army. I trust Bibi and the IDF have Israel's security in mind and they have thought of all the ramifications.
Secondly you are not an expert on Halocha. Majority of Rabbi worldwide have given their brocha.
Thirdly, do you think that during the last 5 years Hammas has not being trying to kidnap more soldiers?? How can you honestly think that only now will they think it's a good idea?
And when will you appologise to South African Jewrey for the lies and defamation that you spread?
Ms. Glick,
It is hard for me to believe or want to believe that Mr. Netanyahu would make this trade without having considered all the negatives. I would like to believe that apart from relieving Israel of the need to care for 1,000 prisoners for life, there are other returns in the offing. For example, how many of the prisoners were "turned" by Mossad and will provide invaluable intelligence in the future. Another point to consider is the fact that whereas Israel has no death penalty for these terrorist, it can kill them on the battlefield or if they are caught in other acts of violence. It may very well be that a day of reckoning is coming again for Israel's enemies who may be foolishly emboldened by the recent madness described as the Arab Spring. I don't think this time Israel will act as cautiously as it did in the recent war with Hizbollah in Lebanon. Although one hopes and prays that lasting peace will come, it probably won't given the madness alive in much of the Islamic world. My greatest fear is that the continuing economic weakness of the U.S. and the socialist bent of the U.S. President will cause a miscalculation among the Palestinians, Egypt, Syria, and Iran. I would be surprised if plans based on such a miscalculation have not already been put in place by these and other psycho-pathic, neo-Islamic regimes in the Middle East. I hope and pray that Mr. Netanyahu's actions are part of a broader plan to establish a more permanent peace for Israel but if this prisoner release means less peace in the short term, then my hope is that the leaders of the Knesset have plans to level such a devastating blow to its enemies that you won't have to again write about the injustice of this kind of prisoner exchange, or in fact, hostage taking.
I am extremely angry to see what the captors have done to young Mr. Schalit by starving him. This cruelty is a sin against him and against G*d Himself for doing such a thing to one of His creatures. The major news outlets are criminal accomplices if they fail to report this and cover the atrocious nature of it in depth. None of the captors are skin and bones. None of the 477 prisoners released by Israel were skin and bones. Cruel evil must be stopped by good, strong men/women who rely on G*d to come to their aid.
Israelies: I urge you to turn to G*d and cry out to Him for salvation. The U.S.A. is really no one's true friend, only G*d can save you. Some trust in chariots, some in horses (i.e. war machines), but you - remember the Name of the Lord your G*d. Psalm 20.
Cut electricity to Hamas & they'd be begging to return Gilad. Why were no ultimatums issued to Hamas like economic blockades or military strikes? Is it bc/ the EU & UN would n't like it...better to sacrifice the blood of Israelis & nullify terrorists' sentences. This was not a black or white decision...there were viable alternatives to freeing Gilad. Bad day for all fighters of terrorism...why bother if it's just a revolving door. Maybe Ms. Glick you can help explain why releasing 1000 terrorists was the only means of securing gilad's release.
PM Netanyahu made the wrong choice of appeasing and capitulating to these murdering Terrorists..
Did the murdered dead at the hands of these terrorists, make any capitulation and appeasement to them.. No.. So why should 1 soldier be any different, as that is what every single Jewish person in Israel, let alone a Soldier in the Israeli Army, as they must all pay the price, in their struggle to be, stay, and live Free, in the State of Israel, and around the world.
You cannot negotiate, let alone appease and ignore, radical hate mongering rapists, terrorists, murderers, and their medieval
barbaric cult, called islam. They worship death, and the darkness of evil itself.. Their people are brainwashed with this vile hatred and evil attitudes, and thus will never, and can never be trusted, period. These are the same people who enslave their women, rape children, stone women to death, and or give them 99 lashes with a whip, then indoctrinate them to believe all of this is God's will.. and should accept all of this, and be good islamic muslims, and assist in their evil hatred, destruction, and genocide of the State of Israel, and the Jewish people.. let alone the enslavement of the rest of the Western Free World..
Now tell me, what civilized Free society would ever accept this as good and normal.. NO ONE.. and what do American and European Liberals advocate, support, defend, and ally themselves with.. That's right, the arab islamic muslim cause, of Israel's and the Western Civilized World's annihilation and destruction..
All PM Netanyahu has done, is to reinforce these murdering terrorists policies, as working, in their eyes..
Some of the killers released will go to other countries to carry out their nasty plans. Many would like to support Israel,but won't support a Nation so disconnected from reality. You can't protect a man from himself nor a Nation from themselves.So get ready for more kidnappings of soldiers,more Jewish children body parts spread across your streets,more swaps,more trading of your land for a non-existent peace,and more fools proclaiming your greatness.Now we know why God chose the Jews. He knew He could glorify Himself to the greatest extent,by choosing the most naive and simple minded of the earth.
It is indeed sad. Israel submits, acts the subservient dhimmi in the land of the Muslims, giving in to their demands. Blame the PR campaign, blame the media, but the government did not do what is in the long range interest of the nation or its people. However the submission was generated within Israel, the net effect is dhimmitude. The Palestinian glee and shouts for "more Schalits" show they believe they hold the winning hand.