Netanyahu, release Gilad
Op-ed: Instead of resorting to fear-mongering, prime minister should free terrorists for Shalit
Five years without Gilad. We became accustomed to referring to the boy by his first name, Gilad. But beyond being Gilad, he is an Israeli soldier who embarked on a defensive mission on behalf of his state. It was not an offensive operation, but rather, a mission to defend communities near the Gaza border. He was abducted from our own soil because of failures of the establishment who sent him on his mission.
In our daily lives, each one of us has to pay for failures; even ones like breaking something at the supermarket. Yet the State of Israel is unwilling to pay the price of its failure. It is unwilling to pay the price needed for freeing a kidnapped soldier, and moreover, since the day of abduction it has accumulated more and more failures through foolish, erroneous moves.
Two governments showed typical Jewish weakness in dealing with Mahmoud Abbas; on the one hand, they released terrorists as a gesture to Abbas, yet at the same time accepted his dictates and rejected the notion that terrorists to be released for Shalit will return to Judea and Samaria. What hypocrisy and duplicity by Israel’s governments, and what capitulation too.
Since the day Olmert declared his refusal to release terrorists to Judea and Samaria (and Netanyahu jumped at the opportunity and followed suit) I wrote time and again – how foolish is this response, which provides an excuse for the lack of desire to free Gilad.
Now people are finally speaking out loud about the possibility that terrorists in Israeli jails are conveying their orders to Judea, Samaria and Gaza via the Internet access they are given free of charge. Did you already forget the 200-page document smuggled out of jail with detailed explanations about how to upgrade Qassam rockets and engage in psychological warfare against Israel? Are you naïve enough to think that it actually matters whether the terrorists will sit in Ramallah or in Timbuktu?
Time to face truth
Most Israeli governments resort to fear-mongering, such as the horror being spread in respect to the Iranian nuclear program. There are many states that Iran aspires to destroy before it turns to Israel. Yet the panic allows the government to divert our attention from the reality it creates. The same thing is done in respect to Gilad’s release.
They are warning us and sowing fear over the return of terrorists who may go back to harming us. Meanwhile, our latest victims have been murdered by terrorists who were never jailed before. On the other hand, the Shin Bet upgraded its methods and the wall we built also stops terrorist infiltration. Meanwhile, people are being killed on the roads daily, and moreover, Jews are being murdered by other Jews in daylight hours.
The greatest shame is that many Western states, whose friendship Israeli seeks, are currently calling for Gilad’s release. They are directing their calls not only at Hamas, but also at Israel. And so, foreign states are trying to help an Israeli soldier whom the Israeli government and its leader refuse to rescue. How are we being perceived in the world now?
Mr. Netanyahu, the time has come to face the truth. The time to release Gilad is here. The people have already decided to choose values over shame.
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