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June 29, 2008
It will never end
as long as we do things like this:
Israel's Cabinet voted 22-3 to OK the deal to return the bodies of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, captured by Hezbollah in a July 2006 cross-border raid that sparked a vicious monthlong war.
Before a six-hour Cabinet debate, Olmert announced for the first time that the soldiers were dead. He nevertheless pushed for the deal to be approved, citing the country's deep moral commitment to its dead and captive soldiers.
Commitment? Commitment? I read those words and I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. Samir Kuntar should be dead, as dead as the innocent people he killed and there can be no justification for releasing that animal to kill again. The Israeli Government rewards kidnappers by releasing prisoners and the international community (including the United States of America) rewards his kidnappers by giving them cash money to fund more terrorist attacks. No wonder they keep kidnapping soldiers, they get a big return.
I suppose I should be grateful that at least this time we get something in return, but I'm not. I'm just sick and tired of appeasing terror. I will never understand why the War on Terror stops at the border of Israel and terrorists suddenly become partners in peace, and politicians.
Like many, I have believed that Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were killed when they were captured, or immediately thereafter. Back in July of 2007, it was reported that at least one of them were dead, and it was denied by Nasrallah. No one cared then, and no one will care now. I look at the remains of their humvee, and I wonder how much they suffered:
Were they alive when captured, were they injured? And if so, who treated their injuries, what medicines were they given by the animals who took them? I look at that humvee, and I believe that they were injured, and I know that they were likely just bandaged up and left to live or die on their own. That's murder and no one seems to care, as no one cared when we suffered through reports that Gilad Shalit was gravely injured and in need of medical attention.
Amazing how the world continued to pressure Israel to make concessions to these terrorists even as it turned its back on Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser, and Eldad Regev, indifferent as to whether they lived or died, or how they were killed.
The "war" that immediately followed should not have ended unless and until they were returned, dead or alive. Now, two years later, we release a monster to obtain their bodies in what can only be called a victory for the terrorists. Israel should have fought until Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were released or until every single square inch of Lebanon and Gaza was buried under rubble. Hezbollah, Hamas, and Fatah should have been destroyed, completely destroyed, along with every single one of their supporters. The world would be a better place. Instead, Israel gave up and accomplished nothing.
Olmert is not compelled by any moral commitment, he has done this deal for political gain.
Their lives mattered only to those who love them. To the terrorists, and to the country they served, they were pawns, bargaining chips. And to the rest of the world, their lives mean nothing.
I hoped and I prayed for them, even as their names and their faces had already faded from the news, as the world forgot they ever existed, as they have forgotten other Israeli soldiers who have disappeared into the hands of terrorists, never to be seen or heard from again:
Three soldiers, captured by terrorists during a battle with Syrian and Palestinian forces near the Lebanese village of Sultan Yaqub. June 11, 1982. Twenty-six years ago, over 9,000 days.
Two soldiers captured with them were released in prisoner exchanges with Syria and Achmed Jibril's PFLP-GC (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command). Every once in a while, their names come up (including the 1988 Amnesty International Report and the 1993 Amnesty International December Update) but reports are conflicting and nothing is verifiable. Zachary Baumel is an American citizen.
Israeli air-force navigator Ron Arad was taken captive after his F-4 Phantom warplane went down over Lebanon. October 16, 1982. Twenty-five years ago, almost 9,000 days.
Ron Arad was taken captive by Amal, a Lebanese Shi’ite militia group lead by Nabih Berri, who today is the speaker of the Lebanese Parliament. In 1987, Arad’s family received several letters and a photo of Arad confirming that the missing navigator was alive and in Amal’s hands. Mustafa Dirani, the Amal security chief who allegedly captured Ron Arad when his plane crashed in Lebanon, reportedly broke away from the terrorist group in 1987, taking Arad with him. It is believed that Dirani then "sold" Arad to either Hizbullah or Iranian elements.
According to Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot, as recently as 2003, three former Iranian diplomats and intelligence officials living in Europe claimed that Ron Arad is alive and being held in a prison near Tehran. But these reports cannot be verified.
Twenty years later, we know nothing about the fate of Ron Arad, although I have my own thoughts on that.
Guy Hever, a soldier in the Israeli Army who was reportedly last seen standing at the Katzabiya junction, just a kilometer away from the Syrian border. He disappeared, and has not been heard of since. August 17, 1997. Almost eleven years ago, over 4,000 days.
Does Olmert, or anyone else, feel a deep moral commitment to these men? Does anyone even remember who they are? Sadly, no, most people don't remember them, if they ever knew about them in the first place. Disappearing Jews don't make headlines.
We'll be hearing from Samir Kuntar again, and when we do, it will likely be because he killed again. That's what they do. Israel lets them go, and they kill again.
There should be the death penalty for terror attacks and attempts at terror attacks, but in Israel, they only give the death penalty to a convicted nazi. Stupid, considering how many terrorists with blood on their hands are in Israeli prisons.
I've said this before, I've said all of this before and I'll say it again. My solution would be to take the list of prisoners the palestinians want released, and I would execute one a day, until all our men are returned, or I run out of prisoners. That way, the end result is a good one, either way.
Anything less is nothing but appeasement.
Posted by LindaSoG at June 29, 2008 08:39 PM
Comments
LindaSoG - I feel your pain and certainly recognize your passion. I don't think I know of anyone who has commited their life to one mission as you have. That being said...I'm not sure I can agree with your solution. My problem is that I can't suggest a different or better solution. I wish I could....I just don't know (or can condone) killing one person a day. Obviously, my pain is different than yours. Stay well!
Posted by: Dammit Woman at June 30, 2008 12:33 AM
You are so right
Posted by: Yona at June 30, 2008 02:10 AM
Linda, I believe it is written and forgive me if I misspeak, to return to the law of an eye for an eye.
The Jews, for so many years have been tolerating this back and forth game of life and death of its soldiers and citizens with those who hold nothing but hatred for the Jewish people, simply because they exist.
The Israeli government's willingness, in the attempt to promote peace, to exchange live prisoners for the bodies of the Jewish dead only appears to propagate the atrocities. It does indeed seem that the time has come for, as the Torah says, "Do not take a ransom for the life of a Murderer, who is wicked to the extent that he must die"; for the murderer, there is no monetary amount that is sufficient to grant him atonement in the eyes of G-d! Only payment with his life will secure that atonement!
If nothing else, it would assure that the evil ones, at least, one murderous soul at a time, would no longer have the opportunity to repeat their crimes against the Jewish People.
Bless you and your people.
I stand with Israel!
Posted by: Melissa In Texas at June 30, 2008 07:01 AM
Dammit Woman, I'm talking about killing terrorists with blood on their hands, who have killed, or helped kill, innocent people.
People like Samir Kuntar, who killed a three year child by bashing her head against a rock with the butt of his rifle, after making her watch them kill her father.
He should have gotten the death penalty thirty years ago. I'd be more than happy to give it to him now.
Posted by: LindaSoG at June 30, 2008 07:05 AM
Melissa - Quite informative - Thanks
LindaSoG - Point taken. I'm sure I could also kill the bastard who did that to the child. Maybe it's a part (flaw?) of me that I'm not willing to accept? I do recognize the difference you pointed out. Stay well.
Posted by: Dammit Woman at June 30, 2008 10:18 AM
Linda, Terry and I agree with you 100%. And hello to Dammit Womann and Melissa
Posted by: cuchieddie at June 30, 2008 06:04 PM
Perhaps Dammit Woman needs to read the account of Kuntar's murderous rampage.
I absolutely, totally agree, Linda. Death is the only fitting punishment for these bloodthirsty animals, the only thing their brethren in death can grasp and quantify. Give it to them... ALL of them.
And for his total commitment to his selfish power quest and unflinching betrayal of the Israeli people, Olmert deserves the same punishment as Kuntar... perhaps firstly.
Posted by: Defiant_Infidel at July 1, 2008 03:04 PM
Linda said:
"I've said this before, I've said all of this before and I'll say it again. My solution would be to take the list of prisoners the palestinians want released, and I would execute one a day, until all our men are returned, or I run out of prisoners. That way, the end result is a good one, either way."
With you Linda. But I'm not sure just 1 a day is sufficient. Vitamins, sure..terrorists? Maybe not... Perhaps one AM, one PM. One for lunch on a good day...or maybe if say, for example, a group of 5 was caught all at once, they should go as a collective unit..But I am reasonable, and if you prefer 1 a day, I can live with that.
Although I also believe that you should never have a terrorist as a prisoner in the first place. Just a body count.
Posted by: Bohica at July 2, 2008 12:40 PM
I agree with all you said Linda.
I would only change one thing, each day add an additional terrorist. Day one 1, day two 2, day three 3 like that.
Posted by: Wild Thing at July 3, 2008 12:06 AM
Hello. And Bye.
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