Israel's POW

The power of words has never been more emphasized than when we speak of Israeli-Palestinian politics. I say that Gilad ShalitGilad Shalit is a Prisoner of War, at the same time that I know that many Israelis will be upset with this word - what war? He was not "captured", but "kidnapped" during peacetime. So I do apologize to Israeli readers for using a controversial word; but to American fans, no other word makes sense in this case.

The Jerusalem Post today reports that the Israeli government (Prime Minister is Benjamin NetanyahuBenjamin Netanyahu), together with German and Egyptian mediators, came to an agreement with Hamas: the freedom of 20 female Palestinian prisoners of Israeli jails in exchange for a videotape proving the life and well-being of Gilad Shalit.

Gilad Shalit was 20 years old, a soldier in the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces; official name of the Israeli military), when he was taken by Hamas-Palestinians while on patrol of the Israel-Gaza border. This happened on the 25th of June, 2006. Since that day, the Hamas has refused the Red Cross to visit and proof of his real conditions has been lacking. At first, Hamas was demanding the release of all female prisoners and all prisoners under the age of 18 in exchange for proof of Shalit being alive. Later, it became a list of 1000 female prisoners.

Two factors seem to make these exchange suggestions unacceptable.

The first is that these prisoners include people who strapped on explosives and killed or attempted to kill multiple random civilians. They are not simply women who got caught up in running drugs for boyfriends or teenagers who lost their temper and shot off a gun. They are criminals, and some are terrorists. To release one thousand terrorists at once is to endanger the lives of Israelis and Palestinians of all heritages and religions, as we learned in the last large prisoner release.

The second is that it seems that the Israeli government has been trying to downplay Shalit's situation. A difficult thing to do, as he is the only possibly living POW of this country.

Why would this be a policy of the government? Well, look at this:

On July 12, 2006, eighteen days AFTER Shalit was kidnapped by the Hamas, the Hezballah performed a similar raid (but on the Lebanon-Israel border) and kidnapped two soldiers: Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser. Their capture was the official reason for the Second Lebanon War in 2006. In media all over Israel, it seems that a form of Orwell's Double-Think was being used - to make it appear that Regev and Goldwasser were taken before Shalit. For example, in a large book of memorable articles compiled by Maariv (a leading newspaper and publishing company) showed articles and explanations in order of time - but the Regev-Goldwasser article is two pages before the Shalit article.

Israel went to war against Hezballah in Lebanon in 2006, because of two kidnapped soldiers; yet nothing was done against Hamas for the sake of Shalit.

When Hezballah began to bomb northern Israel, it was a big deal on every level from government to civilians. When Hamas bombed southern Israel for eight years, the government did almost nothing and the people heard about it only occasionally.

These are simply facts and observations; I don't have a final statement making sense of this. The only summary is that Shalit has been held in probably deplorable conditions, for three years, and only now steps are being taken...and for what? That we can know he is alive? What about him having contact from his parents? When is that going to happen?

Look at this in another light:

Twenty convicted criminals, the greater percentage affiliated with terrorist organizations, go free completely; in exchange for a video of an innocent young man, guilty only of joining his country's military when drafted.

If this is Hamas' idea of fairness, what does it say about their philosophy on the worth of life?