Your analysis of this shameful deal is spot-on. I have linked to this post, as well as to Treppenwitz' forceful remarks.

I am beyond frustration. I can barely read about it.

Ralzy:

Thanks so much. It's an honor to be linked along side my friend David.

Hopefully this will be the day that forces a change in Israeli policy and a return to decision making that is based on strength, and right versus wrong - not on opinion polls, vacillation and political correctness.

May we never see a day like this again.

May Kuntar pay the supreme price for his crimes - and the sooner the better.

Kishke:

I was barely able to write this post. My hands were shaking, and my so-called brain is just sputtering along in anger and frustration.

Mark:

I see no reason to be optimistic about Israel's future. In fact, today's shameful swap set a suicidal precedent. In the future, the Arabs will point to this deal and demand the same. And bereaved families will expect to steer a national policy that favors the tragic few rather than the existential interests of the Jewish State and the Jewish people.

Released?
Now it's time for Israel to target him.
Why no policy exists to eliminate all terrorists remains a mystery.
Ah, human rights?
This monster left all humanity behind when he murdered those innocent children.
Clearly, he is a dangerous beast and should be taken out.

I wrote before and I'll write again that I fail to see why Olmert didn't try to do this on Tisha B'Av. It is among the few ways that he could make this more painful.

Foolish, foolish man.

Robert,

You make a brillant point....
To quote:
And bereaved families will expect to steer a national policy that favors the tragic few rather than the existential interests of the Jewish State and the Jewish people.

That in essence is Israeli politics and, if I can take it a step further, many in Israeli society expect much the same.
It is the me mentality...
As long as my needs, my community, etc....is being taken care of, the hell with everyone else.

The political parties play the game....
the unions....just name the group.

So of course, the families will be self centered, because Israeli society is self centered.

Until some one with backbone comes along to break this cycle, Im afraid we will see little change.

Robert, my sole wish is that the piece of dog dreck named Kuntar, die a slow and painful death. Then again, a fast one would suit me fine.

I'm unable to comprehend how Olmert and his enablers are able to survive politically. Israel certainly has a screwed up political system, in which MKs bear no responsibility to their constituents.

I'm not religious, but Rabbi Kahane was right.

I wanted to write some jokes today to ridicule those who would approve such a "trade." I couldn't do it... totally blocked. As the father of a little baby named Yael, it's hard to even use humor as a weapon.

I had the same reaction as Jack, the three week mourning period has had an early start this year. The Second Temple was destroyed because of needless hatred between Jews, (sinat cheenam) Now, self-love, unbridled, short sighted narcisssim and the gratification of the id above all is leading Israel towards a similar path of self destruction. Jeremiah redux. Eichah—how did this happen?

I am just sick to my stomach about this. What happened to the courageous Israel of the past? Is this the same nation that did the Entebbe rescue?? Israel needs an intervention - maybe a divine intervention. What a sad day.

You broke your own rule about Israel bashing, "a kapo state". But you are 110% right. When I found out that the animal, Samir Kuntar, that murdered a four year old Jewish girl after forcing her to watch her father murdered, was given conjugal visits and allowed to complete his college degree in sociology, my blood boiled and I wanted to vomit.

Compare that to Susan Atkins, who will die in prison.

I saw the pictures of Samir Kuntar at the banquet welcoming him back home. He looked pretty good for a guy who was rotting in prison since 1979. He looks to be about 50 pounds over weight. Compare that to the way Israelis are treated by their captors.

I am not an Israeli, I will never face the prospect of being a POW, and so I don’t feel comfortable criticizing the way the government handled this situation.

All I can say is that my heart goes out to the Regev and Goldwasser Families. I pray that the Shalit family has their son home soon and as we approach the three weeks we can do so for the last time.

Yesterday was a very sad sad day in Israel.
There was live news coverage of the full exchange broadcasted on all 3 local networks.

As the bodies were being tested for DNA compatibility(which took several hours),
families of all concerned were interviewed incessantly .The usuall barage of political experts ranging from Govt. Ministers to retired Mossad chiefs blazened the airwaves.
Needless to say TV ratings soared as each channel tried to outdo the other with breaking updates and live shots of the events.

The debate over whether to exchange a live murdering terrorist for dead soldiers has been the hottest topic over the past few months.
The media on every level infused empathy toward the families of the captive soldiers, almost willing the govt to make the exchange.

I too feel for the families of the dead soldiers but I cannot agree with this exchange.
My Israeli Govt. capitulated once again to media bias and political considerations when making national security decisions.

If Israel wants Schalit back she should mount a daring rescue operation.

From your mouth to G-d's ears Robert. After what happened yesterday we have all the more reason to fear from Shalit's safety and well-being.

My kids have loved to start every fourth of July by watching "Raid on Entebbe".

What a tragic change in 32 years.

Doesn't seeem too different than once great Britain, now with the Archbishop of Canterbury calling for Sharia law and apologizing to Muslims for his Christian faith.

I had an interesting chat on the subject of the swap with a co-worker yesterday. She is a sabra and a newlywed. Both she, her husband and probably most of their friends and relatives did service. For what it is worth, she is also dati leumi (modern orthodox). Anyway, when I brought up the swap (my holding a "we are opening ourselves up to more kidnappings" position), her opinion was that the swap was the right thing to do. As she put it--soldiers put their lives on the line because they know we are behind them. Israel does not desert her soldiers and if it did...how could she expect anyone to serve? (It should also be pointed out that those doing the service already feel like they are getting shit on between the draft dodging, low enlistment rates from wealthier communities and blanket exemptions granted to the Haredi community. Suffice it to say that it is not helping enlistment rates).

So far as I know, my co-worker does not know the Regev or Goldwasser families, and has no connection to them. What she does have is a husband who does miluim (reserve) duty. My manicurist and her daughter (also Israelis, also did the army, also have family members who serve) had a similar opinion. The trade sucks, we have done them before and we will do them again-- we have a moral obligation to bring the boys home.

In general I have found that the opinions, including my own, become a lot more hard core the further the person is removed from the reality. One has the luxury of being "idealistic" when it is all theoretical anyway. For me, to the extent that I have no children in the army, have never had children in the army, did not serve myself, have no spouse who served or who doing reserve duty...and in short, can propose policies "risk free", I have that luxury. How would I feel if I had a son who I knew would be enlisting in a year...and knew that if he is kidnapped...that is it?

How would you feel? If it were your son, or your spouse and you had no idea if he were alive or dead...are you saying you would accept never knowing what happened to him for the good of the state?

Seriously--take a minute and try to imagine that it is your child. Really--close your eyes and put yourself there.

All that being said, if (has v'hallila) if the terrorists come to get me from my lovely coffee shop in Tel Aviv, the buck can stop here--don't trade me for terrorists. And if I am dead, especially not. Give some money to charity in my name and move on.

With respect to Gila's voice, I strongly disagree that this is only an internal Israeli issue.
This act touches every Jew in all the world.
Any Jew, anywhere, in a coffee shop in Seattle or a yeshiva in France or a disco in Texas-- is now not only a target for kidnapping-- but there remains no incentive for terrorists to keep their victims alive.
None.
Perhaps they should have insisted on quid pro quo, the return of dead soldiers for Kuntar-- with a bullet through his head. That would have been fair.
Do you honestly think terrorists will stop with Israelis? Like WWII ending with millions dead-- this is only the beginning.

Jewish parents Sent Jewish children To defend the Jewish people.

The Jewish people made sure to bring them back (ושבו בנים לגבולם)because this is what we are commanded to do.

Does not our relationship with Hashem, now - this minute, take presedence over what the future could or may bring?

I'd be interested in your and your readers thoughts.

"Any Jew, anywhere, in a coffee shop in Seattle or a yeshiva in France or a disco in Texas-- is now not only a target for kidnapping-- but there remains no incentive for terrorists to keep their victims alive."

This is an interesting point. I invite each of you who condemns the trade to take a stand now. Let us suppose that tomorrow, your mother or your father or your spouse or one of your children are kidnapped. No one knows for sure if they are alive or dead.

So...negotiate? Trade? Or let them rot? What is your preference? If they are dead, okay, so you are giving up on a corpse and some closure. You will suffer but they will not. But if they are alive...you are abandoning them to a life in hellish captivity.

Please state your beliefs for the world to know, so that when this happens to you, when it is no longer theoretical, when it is no longer something happening far away, when it is your little boy or your little girl or your spouse, we can hold you to it. When you cry to the world "but that is my baby..." the world can tell you "sorry, but we don't negotiate with terrorists and you agreed with that rule!"

Again, I am not saying that I agree 100% with the swap. I am saying that the whole issue is complex, and that there are valid arguments on both sides. No, we are not as vile as Hezbollah...but do we want to be?

Or as my father likes to say "put up or shut up".

I stated my position in my original comment to this post--I am not a trading card and certainly not a get out of jail free card for a terrorist. Anyone else ready to take that plunge?

Gila:

Thanks so much for your comment ands allowing me to state clearly and succinctly the core of the dilemma.

Personal feelings are just that, personal. They should have no bearing whatsoever on geo-politics, especially in the existential situation Israel finds herself with genocidal Arab-Muslim enemies, state and non-state players.

This swap for corpses only assures more kidnappings, more captives, and many, many more corpses.

The consequences of this infamous deal are obvious: Hizbullah and all jihadists now gleefully understand that they don't have to keep Jewish captives alive. They can kill them and get the exact same deal. Don't forget, the jihadists never even offer "proof of life," a prerequisite for all rational kidnapping negotiations.

Thus, to reduce statecraft to individual "feelings" is to invite national suicide.

Convicted terrorists should *never* be sentenced to long terms in prison: they should be executed after trial. Keeping them in jail makes hostage-grabbing almost inevitable.

Israel needs to quickly reconsider its position on the death penalty. Why is it morally acceptable to kill a terrorist with a Hellfire missile--always with some chance of hitting the wrong target--but unacceptable to shoot him after trial? Makes no sense to me.

Gila:
I was living in Israel during the "genius" Oslo--seeing my husband off on the bus in the morning, never knowing if he would get blown up and make it home.
The carnage around us was horrifying-- yet all the government could say was "We must continue with the peace process." And, "There is no other way."
It's this type of black and white thinking, of boxing ourselves into a horrific process in the name of morality-- this is not morality-- it's insanity.
I feel for these boys, I feel for these families. I pray daily that this pain, this carnage ends.
That said, I believe that Israel has the intelligence have known the fate of the boys-- as well as to have pursued rescue operations.
They didn't.
Olmert's tears mean little to me. Too little, too late.
Take a stand? The question isn't to negotiate or not with terrorists, or to push ourselves into dangerous scenarios in the name of an ideal. As a people, we cannot "feel" what is moral. Our Torah points the way as to what is true morality-- and it doesn't always look pretty. We need to find alternate solutions to dealing with this evil, than what has come before.

If G-d forbid someone tried to kidnap me I'd have to assume that they had no intention of letting me live. Therefore I would respond accordingly.

I pray that I never find out.

I feel compelled to respond after reading Gila's comments. Ihave a son currently serving in the Israeli army. I have spoken to him about this issue many times and without hesitation he declared that the swap was an insane act on the part of the government. His life and those of his friends are far more at risk now that our enemies know that a dead soldier is worth as much as a live one. All his friends serving with him feel the same.

Once society capitulates to terrorists, we are all doomed.It's time for us to realize that there is evil in the world and that such evil must be eradicated and not rewarded.The ethically and religiously corrupt Israeli leaders are leading the country down a suicidal path.For all those that love Israel it is time to stop the insanity.

How would someone feel returning from captivity knowing that their freedom was paid for by releasing a child murderer, a living breathing monster who wants to keep killing Jews like it's his favorite activity on earth?

Can you imagine how that would feel?

The Jewish people made sure to bring them back (ושבו בנים לגבולם)because this is what we are commanded to do.
Does not our relationship with Hashem, now - this minute, take presedence over what the future could or may bring?

The verse ושבו בנים לגבולם (and the children shall return to their borders) is a prophecy of the Messiah's time, not a command to us.

Although there is a mitzvah to redeem prisoners, it (a) applies only to live prisoners, and (b) is overridden if there is reason to believe that it will lead to more prisoners being taken. We are therefore enjoined in halachah not to pay astronomical sums to redeem captives, for this will cause the enemy, recognizing the huge potential for profit, to take even more captives. So yes, we are absolutely expected to take future consequences into consideration when dealing with the security of our people.

Obviously, it's even worse to overpay for non-living prisoners, since this will not only cause more captives to be taken, but will remove all incentive on the part of the captors to keep the prisoners alive!

Robert,

Now, if there was only a way to get Olmert to read your blog!

Bsuros tovos,
Mordechai