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| Gilad Shalit captured at age 19 |
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| Gilad Shalit today |
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| Free Gilad Shalit open air concert |
This is not the first time Israel has done this. Over the last 30 years, Israel has released about 7,000 Palestinian prisoners to secure freedom for 19 Israelis and to retrieve the bodies of eight others.1
Many folks are probably asking the obvious question, "Why exchange one soldier for a thousand criminals?" If that one soldier were your son, wouldn't you do anything to get him back? That is the attitude of Israel. Every life is important and the country will do whatever it takes to get its soldiers home safely. As a result, Israel has one of the most loyal armies in the world. Those soldiers take risks because they love their country and know that the country loves them.
Let's contrast this with the mentality of Hamas who encourages their young to strap suicide belts around their wastes and kill innocent civilians. How can Israel make peace with people who hate them more than they love their own children?
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9 comments:
Well put.
Have a terrific day. :)
I agree with Sandy well put... there is so much skewed news out there laced with political agenda the real picture gets fuzzy
I hadn't heard all of that, thanks for sharing. A facebook friend had posted something about it, but one of her friends turned it into a hatefest in her comments that she ended up deleting it before I could go read it.
I completely agree with you. The barbaric way some countries treat their children just outrages me.
I love your take on this bit of news. The way the Israeli government handled this matter is a reinforcement of great Jewish values.
Thanks for the comments. I would imagine Gilad feels important. He wasn't even a political leader or person in power--just a normal kid in the wrong place at the wrong time; he now knows he means the world to his parents and the people of Israel.
Loosing one good person is a great loss to any country, so is Israel.
Just knowing that ANY country still feels this way about their people gives me hope. Our youth are not for using to get what the government wants. Our youth are the future of our nation and should be treated as such. Thanks for sharing this story.
Your last sentence on this posting is a good question indeed. There is definitely an asymmetry of intention here between the two parties in this struggle: one wants to live in peace and security with the other, but the other wants "the whole enchilada": all the land and the people of the other nation pushed into the sea. And given such a difference in attitude, how will peace ever be possible?
Thanks for this Joyce. I also agree with Sandee. Well said. Israel does treat it's people like family.
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