This week there have been two posts on this blog about the plight of Gilad Shalit. The first was a guest post by Joel Weiner, which suggested an alternative approach to the issue. It is an excellent post and if you haven’t read it I recommend you do so. The second post was my latest Jewish News column, which recounted my experience of meeting Gilad’s father Noam.
As Gilad’s case means so much to me, and has been the subject of so much discussion on this blog, I want to clarify one point. In Joel’s post, he wrote: “Every time a new campaign is launched to bring Gilad home… Hamas looks on with glee – and raises the price of his release.” I have heard this cause-and-effect link suggested before, primarily by Israeli politicians. I took it at face value, and it made me uncomfortable about my involvement in protests on behalf of Gilad.
The only trouble is, as I have just discovered, it is not true.
On July 1, 2006, a week after Gilad’s kidnap, Hamas demanded the release of 1,000 prisoners in return for his freedom. As of today, that price remains the same. I am not suggesting that Hamas is anything other than despicable, nor that Israel should necessarily agree to its demands. But let’s be clear: the campaigning doesn’t alter the price.
For Israeli politicians to slander the campaign of the Shalits is not nice at all, particularly given the disturbingly low priority given to his case by the IDF and Israeli government in the six months after his abduction. My prayers continue to go out to Gilad and his family. I am realising more and more how much they need them.
Thanks Chas. It always helps when objective fact replaces FUD. Although I am off on holiday, I have left details with my pastor so that my church can pray for him at the inaugural monthly prayer meeting on the 7th.
I think Gilad Shalit is in every Israeli’s heart. Since it’s so difficult and everyone is so concerned, why not putting the matter to a vote? We can make it annual.
Very good point Chas. Sometimes we get caught up that we don’t see the trees for the forest.
It never occured to me to look into whether Hamas had been changing their price.
it`s actualy not the number of the prisoners themselves, but the number of high ranking murderers that they demand
and they made a habit for themselves to rise the stakes in the last possible momnet of the talks
for instance they tell that a deal is almost made, and it`s only a matter of days before gilad can return and suddenly they want marvan barguti, that israel cant possibly give back, cuz he`s responsible for a large number of terrorist acts
there`s an israeli analist, mordechai keidar, who said that hamas cant possibly give gilad back, cuz withput gilad none will talk to them or care about them. and i agree with him on that one. so i think sadly it will be a long time untill we will se gilad back home
It’s actually not the number of the prisoners themselves, but the number of high ranking murderers that they demand
Yes, I wondered about that myself. Do you have documented examples of Hamas changing the identity of the 1,000 prisoners they want returned for Gilad? If so, are you connecting those changes with the Shalit family’s campaign, and if so how?
I have a simple solution to this:
Starting tomorrow, Israel kills 10 Palestinians for every day that Gilad isn’t released. The Palestinians would soon learn that their death cult fanaticism won’t wash. They need to understand that murder and extortion are no way to do things.
So murder and extortion are ‘no way to do things’… but Israel should murder and extort until Gilad is freed?
I assume you’re joking. As well as being immoral, such a tactic wouldn’t even work. Hamas would gladly see 10 Palestinians die every day.
Not if those executed are from the list of prisoners Hamas wants released. Israel can release them directly into Allah’s custody.
I’m still not sure.
Hamas demanded 1,000 terrorists be realeased immediately, true, but if the campaign wasn’t around, and there wasn’t pressure on the government to release him post-haste, maybe we could have not only successfully negotiated his release with Hamas, but also have done so at a lower price than 1,000 terrorists. Past negotiations with terrorists have shown us that more compromise is to be expected from the Israeli side. Nevertheless, I imagine that there’s a fair chance that had there been less pressure on the government, our side would have been able to get Hamas to back down somewhat from their initial demands.
Having said that, I have still come to value the campaign. It might be the only thing keeping Gilad alive. (See my post here: http://destinationisrael.blogspot.com/2009/08/coming-up-against-censorship.html)
Thanks Elan, though could you double-check the link? It isn’t working for me.
I am glad you still value the campaign. You – quite rightly – include the words ‘maybe’ and ‘fair chance’ in your assessments. Such uncertainties are not enough for anyone to ask the Shalit family and their supporters to stop campaigning.
I am sure some Israeli politicians would love the Shalits to stop rocking the boat. But a human life is worth much more than a smooth sail.
The closing bracket got attached to the link. That’s why it didn’t work.
Anyway, here it is: http://destinationisrael.blogspot.com/2009/08/coming-up-against-censorship.html
And after all that, I’ve realised that this particular blog entry, while relevant, is not the link I wanted to share.
After hunting around on my blog a bit, I can’t seem to find the right article. Maybe I never put my thoughts into words. Maybe they only made it to the draft stage. Either way, I’ll summarise my theory here:
Schalit is not the only Israeli MIA. I remember how there were campaigns in previous years for Ron Arad, Guy Hever and Yehuda Katz, for example. What separates Schalit is that after his abduction, we obtained reasonable proof that we he was captured alive. Moreover, we subsequently received concrete proof that he was still alive after over three years in Gaza. Whereas other MIAs may or may not have been captured alive, we know that Schalit definitely was.
Nevertheless, one frightening occurence has frequenly crossed my mind; that one day Hamas will decide that enough is enough, that their demands are not being respected. I shudder to think what they could do to him. And yet, after four years of little progress, they have refused to kill Schalit.
It seems to me that the campaign for his release encourages Hamas in a different way; not to give up hope on their own mission of exchanging him for terrorists. As long as they know that there is a popular pressure to give in to their demands, they will keep their offer on the table. If they realise that we are totally unwilling to give in (and so far the government has done a good job of giving that impression), they would surely act with haste in order to shock and bewilder the Israeli public and its government. That they have held back from doing so thus far indicates a potential suspicion on their side that a deal might eventually come about.
I couldn’t agree with you more. Hamas doesn’t care what others think, only in achieving their goal. The campaigns don’t put pressure on Hamas so much as they put pressure on Israel to help free Gilad.
And thanks for the talk you gave today on blogging. It was very informative.
Thanks. That means a lot.
Chas, this should cheer you up a bit
http://www.jwire.com.au/news/shalit-demonstration-reached-melbournes-cbd/11398
Personally I think Hamas is just happy to use Gilad S to taunt the Israelis with.
Why should they release him, or do anything in fact to make the Israelis’ lives easier? Do they attract penalites for their behaviour? No. Apart from some principled people, the world does not care, or eggts them on, or pays them their jizya.
Whatever happens, they have nothing to lose, and they behave accordingly.
I’m sorry to disagree with you again Chas, but you’re not thinking miltarily, you’re still thinking in terms of Hamas being normal nice people who may have gone astray her and there. everything they do is a strategy to weaken Israel under the rubric of jihad.
To say, oh becaseu they’re bad we should not be bad is inappropriate. it would be lovely if Giald Shalit and the other soliders were returned in a spirit of peace and harmony, but he and the others were kidnapped with military intentions – to demoralise israel and to gain the release of Hamas killers, murderers and thugs whose freedomg ensures that they will kill more Israelis.
Hamas is NOT on the same page as Israel, no matter how many “talks” occur. Israel wants to live and grow. Hamas and co-jihadists want to kill and get jizya, and die for Allah.
It’s in their covenant and those are their priorities.
I dont’ wish to imply by my post that I have the answer – I don’t. But hamas are the ONLY people not losing in this whole sorry debacle.
I’m sorry to disagree with you again Chas, but…you’re still thinking in terms of Hamas being normal nice people who may have gone astray her and there.
Clearly, I am absolutely 100 percent not thinking that. What a ridiculous thing to say to me.
Can you explain how you came to that absurd conclusion?
And also what are you disagreeing with?