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Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Shalit for Over 1000 Pieces of Garbage

Good news:  Gilad is going home BE"H!

Bad news: So are over 1000 terrorists, which some reports say includes Marwan Barghouti ימ"ש (whose release, if you use a little imagination, was predicted long ago).

See Debka, which attributes this deal to Panetta's recent visit and meeting with Mashaal ימ"ש, and says:
By procuring the release of 1,000 Palestinians from Israeli jails, Hamas has outperformed is rival, the Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas as the lead champion of the Palestinian cause. After defying the Obama administration by applying for UN recognition for Palestinian statehood, Abbas is now getting his punishment.
So we have a small glimpse of how things work in Shamayim.  We all were nervous about Palestinian statehood. However, the whole Palestinian statehood attempt just got the U.S. angry, which, in turn, led the U.S. to punish Abbas, which, in turn, led to a U.S. meeting with Hamas, which, in turn, led to this Shalit deal.  This is an unbelievable example of Yad Hashem.

Now, as for those who have big problems with this deal because it will lead to more terrorism, I understand you.  Here are the logical arguments against the deal and the counter-arguments:
  • Statistics are that 80% return to terrorism.  However, 80% is still considered a Shema, especially when you add the probability of the terror being successful ל"ע.  And the rule is Bari VeShema - Bari Adif. 
  • אין פודין את השבויין יותר על כדי דמיהן.  What they're getting back doesn't even come close to Shalit's value.  His value to Am Yisrael is priceless.
  • This will lead to more kidnappings.  Again, a shema, which is trumped by a bari of getting Shalit back.
Then, there are the emotional arguments made, like "how can you release the guy (or woman) who killed so-and-so and many others?"  Yes, I agree that it's emotionally gut-wrenching to do so.  However, we must follow Halacha here, no matter what our emotions may tell us.

Of course, it's not as simple as that - and we are talking about life and death matters either way it's handled.  The decision must have been a painful one for all involved.  That's why we have a gadol like Rav Ovadia to make these decisions.  And it seems that he supports the deal of releasing these pieces of garbage for Shalit.  Some other gedolim may have ruled otherwise in the past about it, but I support Rav Ovadia's decision.

May Hashem justify the decision he made.

Update: Similar sentiment expressed by the chief rabbis of Israel:
The Chief Rabbis of Israel, Rabbi Shlomo Amar and Rabbi Yona Metzger, released a joint statement Tuesday welcoming a proposed deal to free Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1,000 captured terrorists. The two also said they are praying the deal will not cause harm to the country.

“We call on the entire people to pray for Gilad, and to pray that the joy [of his release] will be complete and will not be accompanied by sorrow or damage as a result of the agreement and its aftermath,” the rabbis wrote. “In the merit of the mitzvah of freeing captives, the greatest of the commandments, may the Holy One, Blessed is He, hear our prayers and hasten our redemption.”

6 Comments:

At Tue Oct 11, 07:10:00 PM 2011, Blogger Jesterhead45 said...

I don't wish to be the cynic here, but thinking of pass swaps how can we be sure that Gilad is even still alive?

 
At Tue Oct 11, 07:24:00 PM 2011, Anonymous Yosef said...

There is strong halachic precedent that indicates that this exchange is totally assur. It is forbidden to pay exorbitant ransom to kidnappers because it encourages further kidnapping. See the story of the Maharam M'Rotenburg, hy'd.
Hundreds of Israelis were killed by the terrorists released in the exchange for Tennenbaum a few years back in the years following that foolish debacle. We don't need more in this, and no Israeli government has the right to decide that one individuals blood is redder than that of many others. This is true even though of course we ALL want him free and his and his family's suffering to end.

 
At Tue Oct 11, 08:34:00 PM 2011, Blogger joshwaxman said...

"Statistics are that 80% return to terrorism. However, 80% is still considered a Shema..."

80% of 1 is a shema. But 80% X 1000 = 800, almost certainly.

Here is another omitted logical argument. It encourages more terrorism (not just kidnappings) since it strips some of the impact of arrest. One is only arrested until the next prisoner swap.

 
At Tue Oct 11, 10:51:00 PM 2011, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It would be a just swap if afterwards, the Shin Bet knocks off the ones with the bloodiest hands.

 
At Tue Oct 11, 11:04:00 PM 2011, Anonymous Shiloh said...

Yes Yaak, that's why Obama has promised to deliver to the palestinians some 200 million in funds that the congress had stopped.

When you see Gilad alive in Israels hands then talk. Until then it's best to be quiet for this most unfortunate leftist who's family has connections here in Israel.

 
At Fri Oct 14, 04:04:00 AM 2011, Blogger shimonmatisyahu said...

Yes, but what about Rav Ovadia's decision many years ago for his Shas party to abstain from voting pertaining to the Oslo Accords, and then as a result of these accords, many Jews were murdered? It was only after a long time did Rav Ovadia finally wake up and realize that giving pieces of Israel land for "peace" to our Arab enemies only led to pieces of Jewish bodies, which was quite the opposite of the Pikuach Nefesh reason that Rav Ovadia gave for his decision of yielding to these "peace" agreements.

 

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