Only Israel & We Should Be Proud - The Painful Price Paid to Bring Gilad Shalit Home

Gilad is home!

After five years and four months, the Shalit family’s nightmare is at an end.  Their hopes and prayers, along with those of most of the country have been answered. Gilad Shalit is home and today he begins his road to recovery from a hell that we cannot begin to imagine. We can only wish him and his family well as they regain their lives once more.

Only Israel would pay such a heavy and truly painful price for the return of one soldier.  One thousand and twenty seven convicted terrorists, many of whom are responsible for some of the worst acts of terror and cold blooded murder of many Israelis, men, women and children; were released in exchange for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.

The Americans would never have done such a deal, or the British, or the French or any other country in the world. Interestingly, one Palestinian who was interviewed on Israeli TV in the lead up to the exchange wondered aloud, if the shoe was on the other foot where Israel was holding one Palestinian prisoner and Hamas was holding thousands of Israeli prisoners.  Would Hamas be prepared to exchange one thousand and twenty seven Israelis for one Palestinian?  Almost laughingly, he concluded they would not, they would never entertain such a thing… and that is exactly the point.

No other country would allow itself to pay such a terrible price in order to recover one of its own.  Only Israel would dare do such a thing and of that very fact we should be very proud indeed.  Our preparedness to put aside all the pain, anger and sense of injustice, not to mention the considerable risk; in order to bring home our soldiers is to be commended.  The risk has by no means been ignored.  Those at the highest levels of the security apparatus supported the deal and have stated that while the release of such terrorists does indeed present a certain danger, they are confident in Israel’s ability to contain the situation.

The Shalit deal has been attacked by detractors as “giving in to terror” and as a display of weakness.  Quite the opposite, the difficult and brave decision to sign this deal is a sign of our strength, of our commitment to our soldiers, the young people who are drafted and put in harm’s way in order to defend and protect our country and our people.  It confirms firstly to ourselves and to the world that the lives and welfare of Israeli soldiers are above all other considerations.  It is imperative for those who serve and those who will serve in the future that they have the utmost confidence that their country is behind them and will be there for them in every manner possible, no matter what.

Whereby we deeply regret the painful price we have had to pay, and in particular the grief and anguish this deal has caused those families of the many victims of terror who are horrified and bemused by the release of those who cruelly murdered their loved ones, we have demonstrated loud and clear that the government of Israel and the people of Israel will not abandon our own.  We have demonstrated our strength of will and determination to maintain our commitment to our young men and woman in uniform and that is the greatest show of strength possible.

In bringing Gilad Shalit home to his family, we have shown the very best of ourselves. We have displayed our love of life and our value for life above all.  We have confirmed and acted upon our core values and beliefs, in order to do that which is right and proper, despite the very real and painful cost. 

In the process we have also displayed our ability and willingness to endure the seemingly unendurable when absolutely necessary. This was indeed such a time.