Stand for Israel

Lop-sided swaps reveal Israel's truest nature

 

 

The Israeli security cabinet approved swapping prisoners for information about Gilad Shalit’s fate on Wednesday. According to the deal, Israel will hand over 20 female prisoners on Friday and Hamas will hand over a videotape that offers evidence that the kidnapped soldier is still alive.

 

Insightful Israeli blogger The Muqata questions the worth of the videotape anyway, since the German mediator apparently already saw the video: “If he’s already seen it,” Muqata asks, “why do we need to release 20 Palestinian FemaleTerrorists?” (And goes on to lament that the world community appears to place a higher value on the lives of Palestinians being held for terrorist acts than on the lives of the Jews they murder.)

 

Israelis will be debating the wisdom of the swap (and of the proposed exchange of 1,400 prisoners for Shalit himself) – there’s no question that such exchanges provide direct incentives for terrorist groups to kidnap more soldiers, as well as Israeli civilians and even Jews who aren’t citizens of Israel. The wisdom of that is for the Israeli people to decide.

 

One thing the existence of the debate does provide clear evidence of, though, is the incontrovertibly paramount value that human life holds for the Jewish state and the Jewish people. Most of us around the world cannot imagine making such an un-even swap. But Jews live by a tradition that tells them that saving one life is the equivalent of saving the entire world.

 

And Jewish law teaches that pikuach nefesh, saving a life, takes priority over nearly every other act (a notable exception is desecrating the name of God).

 

It is precisely this value—the preciousness of life—that Israel’s tyrannical enemies exploit. And yet, we lovers of Israel know that, vulnerable though it may make us, it also is our greatest strength.

 

How sweet it would be for Gilad Shalit to sit in the Sukkah, reunited with his family and all of the nation of Israel, during the next week’s Feast of Tabernacles.

 

May Israel’s leaders receive wisdom and guidance, and may the Source of Comfort—and Salvation—lower His protective cloak over Gilad Shalit and his family:  “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” (Isaiah 61:1)

 

To listen to audiotape (with subtitles) of Shalit from 2007, click here.

Squabbling Palestinian factions agree: Kidnapping Israelis gets results

The incomparable Palestinian Media Watch reports that Hamas and the Palestinian Authority--whose frequent disagreements have flared into gun battles on more than one occasion--have found something to agree upon: Kidnapping Israeli soldiers works!

Since Israel changed its decades-old policy of not negotiating with terrorists, "militants" have been able to get huge concessions from the Jewish state--releasing thousands of Palestinian prisoners, including outright murderers--for the release of a few soldiers, the bodies of a few more, and one civilian captive.

The cartoon below refers to Hamas' confidence that they'll be able to get Israel to release up to 1,400 prisoners (yes, that's one thousand four hundred separate people)  in exchange for Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier kidnapped just before the start of the 2006 Lebanon War.

The cartoon ran in Al Quds newspaper (Aug. 28, 2009) and shows Shalit as a key. The text on the lock reads "prisoners."

PMW also points to a cartoon (a cartoon?) mocking Shalit, promising "You [Israelis] will all be Gilads. We'll capture you." Another ridicules Shalit's fate, depicting him calling for his mother while a child laughs at him, saying, "You've been rotting here for 3 years, and no one cares."

Find more about Shalit here and watch SFI for how you can help him.

Video: Netanyahu's speech at the UN

The Jerusalem Post has posted video of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's powerful speech at the UN yesterday. It's well worth watching in its entirety -- and it's also worth reading an analysis of the speech in which Michael Oren, the Israeli Ambassador the the US, calls the speech "successful and even historic." The Israeli Ambassador to the UN agreed that the speech was effective and would stay in the memories of those who heard it for a long time, but, she cautioned against thinking that supporters of Israel can expect much change from the UN General Assembly.

Meanwhile, officials from Hamas and the Palestinian Authority made clear that their positions aren't changing:

1. A Hamas official called the Gaza war the "largest massacre of the century": " 'Netanyahu spoke of the Holocaust but Israel committed the largest massacre of the century,' Army Radio quoted a Hamas spokesperson as saying in reference to Operation Cast Lead."

2. Hamas denied any Jewish claim to the land of Israel: "Another Hamas representative was cited by Israel Radio early Friday morning as rejecting references Netanyahu made to the Jewish people's claim to Israel, saying that 'Palestine has never been Jewish land.' "

3. The Palestinian Authority made clear that they will not recognize Israel as a Jewish state: "Saib Erekat, the Palestinian Authority's chief negotiator with Israel, called Netanyahu's demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state unacceptable."

What does it say about the prospects for peace when even the ostensibly more moderate of the two ruling Palestinian groups cannot bring itself to accept one of Israel's most fundamental, non-negotiable -- and entirely legtimate -- conditions for making peace?

A revelation from Iran

Iran has disclosed to officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency that it is building a second uranium enrichment plant:

Iran notified the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency in a letter on Sept. 21 “that a new pilot fuel-enrichment plant is under construction,” Marc Vidricaire, an IAEA spokesman, said today in an e-mailed statement. The IAEA demanded access to the site “as soon as possible,” the spokesman said.

President Barack Obama, U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will make a statement today in response to the revelation of the plant, France’s ministry said. The leaders are attending the opening of the G-20 economic summit in Pittsburgh.

Britain and France urged the UN to consider stepping up pressure on Iran as Obama presided over a unanimous Security Council vote yesterday for a measure resolving to rid the world of nuclear arms.

There couldn't be a better time to read The Rise of Nuclear Iran by Dore Gold, recommended by Rabbi Eckstein in his message this week.

U.N. General Assembly live

The Washington Post has a live video feed of the U.N. General Assembly.

Setbacks for anti-Israel activists in mainline churches

CAMERA's Dexter Van Zile notes a shift in the attitude of mainline churches toward Israel:

The summer of 2009 proved to be a season of discontent for anti-Israel activists in North America. This was the summer when efforts to recruit progressive Protestant churches in the U.S. and Canada into the campaign to demonize Israel suffered some obvious setbacks.

Two denominations – the Episcopal Church and the United Church of Canada – repudiated statements that demonized Israel. A third church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, passed a fair-minded and balanced resolution about the Arab-Israeli conflict. And the executive council of a fourth denomination, the United Church of Christ, issued an imbalanced statement that still acknowledged that Israel had a story to tell about the Arab-Israeli conflict.

These statements may seem pretty benign, but that's exactly the point. In 2004 and 2005, at the end of the Second Intifada – when Israel was most entitled to the support and sympathy from right-thinking people in North America – mainline Protestant churches aligned themselves with anti-Israel extremists by passing a series of one-sided resolutions that blamed Israel for the violence directed at it.

Hotel cancels event to be attended by Ahmadinejad

Bravo to the Helmsley Hotel chain, which has made it clear that during his upcoming visit to New York the Israel-hating Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cannot appear at any events in their facilities:

"As soon as Helmsley corporate management learned of the possibility of either the Iranian Mission or President Ahmadinejad holding a function at the New York Helmsley Hotel, they immediately ordered the cancellation of that function," said Howard Rubenstein, spokesman for Helmsley Properties.

"Neither the Iranian Mission nor President Ahmadinejad is welcome at any Helmsley facility. The Helmsley organization is grateful to United Against Nuclear Iran for bringing this matter to its attention so that appropriate action could be taken."

Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), which marks the beginning of the High Holy Days, begins tonight at sundown. From Rabbi Eckstein's message this week:

Jewish Sages teach that our fates are "written" as God judges the world on Rosh Hashanah, and "sealed" 10 days later on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and the holiest day on the Hebrew calendar. The period in between the two holy days is known as the 10 Days of Repentance, during which our reflection and penitence intensifies: We know that we are judged by our actions during the course of the whole year, but just as one would be that much more careful while sitting in a courtroom in front of the presiding judge, we know that now is our last chance to make good before the King of Kings, the Judge of Judges.

And, of course, this spirit of humility and reconciliation is to follow us throughout the year, throughout our lives. The High Holy Days are when we have the most power to transform ourselves and channel our abilities and resources to serve God.

L'Shana Tova to all.

Nuclear conference criticizes Israel

The International Energy Agency, an "intergovernmental organisation which acts as energy policy advisor," has just voted by a narrow margin to criticize the nuclear program of a certain country. They must be talking about Iran, right? No:

Overriding Western objections, a 150-nation nuclear conference on Friday passed a resolution directly criticizing Israel and its atomic program for the first time in 18 years. Iran hailed the vote as a "glorious moment."

The result was a setback not only for Israel but also for the U.S. and other backers of the Jewish state, which had lobbied for 18 years of past practice — debate on the issue without a vote. It also reflected building tensions between Israel and its backers and Islamic nations, backed by developing countries.

Ahmadinejad slams Israel

Prior to his scheduled appearance at the U.N. next week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad breaks out the usual anti-Israel rhetoric:

Ahmadinejad addressed worshippers before Friday prayers at the Tehran University campus, reiterating his anti-Holocaust rhetoric that has drawn international condemnation since 2005, questioning whether the "Holocaust was a real event" and saying Israel was created on "false and mythical claims." ... Ahmadinejad also accused world powers of double standards in favor of Israel and of disregarding violations of Palestinian rights. He repeated his old predictions that Israel would soon cease to exist and urged people to stand up against Israel's "Zionist regime as a national and moral duty."