TA header

October 19, 2011  21 Tishri 5772


Quick Links

 

Temple Aliyah Website
Make a donation
List an event in ComingUp
Staff Directory
Calendar (website)

Calendar (PDF) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rabbi Carl M. Perkins
Cantor Gast�n Bogomolni
Cantor Emeritus Harry Gelman
Fredie Kay, President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

New Torah Scrolls

Reflections 

on the Release of Gilad Shalit

 

Rabbi Carl M. Perkins

October 19, 2011

 

That amazing moment yesterday morning - that moment when I heard the news, "Gilad Shalit is free" -- felt miraculous.

 

And yet, of course, it wasn't - unless by "miraculous," we mean "unlikely," or "unexpected." For the release of Gilad Shalit came about only as the result of very hard work and very difficult negotiations. Yes, many of us prayed for Gilad Shalit's release. And yes, our prayers were "answered." But this was no miracle.

 

There's a phrase that has appeared in press coverage of Gilad Shalit's release that I find problematic. That phrase is "prisoner exchange." The reason is two-fold. Yes, Gilad Shalit was imprisoned, and yes, he was released only on condition that over 1,000 prisoners held in Israeli jails would also be released. But Gilad Shalit was not the same kind of prisoner as the others who were released yesterday. Gilad Shalit had been kidnapped not because of anything he did, but because of who he was: an Israel soldier. The men and women who have already been or will soon be released by Israel were imprisoned precisely because of what they did, which is to plan or to execute crimes -- in some cases, heinous crimes.

 

There was an attempt by an Egyptian reporter (who had the appalling lack of decency to interview Gilad Shalit after his release from Hamas custody but before he had entered Israeli custody and been reunited with his family) to ask Gilad whether, now that he was free, he would work for the release of additional prisoners held by Israel - as if all "prisoners" are the same. The fact is, Gilad Shalit wasn't so much a prisoner as he was a hostage.

 

Yes, questions have been raised regarding the level of process afforded some Palestinians taken into custody in Israel - which is as it should be. The Israeli government should be expected to adhere to the highest standards of judicial process, to which it aspires. And it should be held to account. But to compare a young man who was abducted from Israel, held captive in a secret location and not permitted to have any contact with his family (or the Red Cross) for over five years, with Palestinian prisoners, some of whom have been tried and convicted of some of the most despicable crimes, is morally repugnant.

 

The word "exchange" is also problematic for it implies an equivalence of value -- which frankly each side would deny. Yes, there was an "exchange," but the two sides are dramatically different. Israel is a nation committed to justice. Israel is a nation committed to human rights. Israel does not randomly take Palestinians prisoner and hold them hostage, in order to exact concessions from its enemies. It apprehends suspects, tries and convicts them, and incarcerates them to protect its population.

 

Hamas, on the other hand, has evidenced an extraordinarily low respect for human life, and has shown a willingness to offer up its own adherents, as well as their innocent victims, on the sacrificial pyre. Hamas is committed to destroying Israel and annihilating its Jewish inhabitants. (By the way, lest we forget, Hamas is not only committed to the destruction of Israel, it is also committed to the eradication of worldwide Jewry. All Jews, whether Israelis or not, whether supporters of Israel or not, are potential targets of Hamas' genocidal impulses.)

 

Because of these great differences between Gilad Shalit and the Arab prisoners who are being freed, and between the state of Israel and Hamas, some have argued that the very idea of a negotiated "prisoner exchange" is repugnant.

 

There is indeed something horrifying about releasing over 1,000 Arab criminals in order to free one hostage Israeli soldier. To release, as Israel has, even one unrepentant, convicted, mass murderer who has vowed to go out and try to do it again, is appalling.

 

Sadly, in the Jewish tradition there is a long history of confronting such difficult choices. There is a communal obligation, a mitzvah, that is highly esteemed, known as "pidyon sh'vuyim," - the "redemption" of "captives." Throughout our history, Jewish communities have unfortunately had to face the challenge of negotiating with kidnappers. Communities have generally offered as much payment as they possibly could to free their kidnapped members. In doing so, they never thought of it as an "exchange" -- as if they were operating on the same level as the hostage takers with whom they negotiated. But negotiate they did, and ransom they often paid.

 

But is the capture of an Israeli soldier the same as the kidnapping of a Jew in the Middle Ages? Is freeing convicted murderers who have vowed to resume their inhumane, murderous ways equivalent to the payment of a monetary ransom, even a steep one? Well, no, but I personally find the word "pidyon" ("redemption" or "ransom") more palatable, more acceptable than "exchange," for that is what I believe we have just witnessed. Israel did not "exchange" over 1,000 Arab prisoners for one Israeli soldier. Israel paid a ransom. Almost by definition, the payment of a ransom is outrageous, and it should never be construed as suggesting that the payer of the ransom is actually putting a value on the released hostage -- or even necessarily inhabits the same moral universe as the hostage takers with whom he or she is forced to negotiate.

Whether we call it a "prisoner exchange" or a "ransom payment," it was not only repugnant, but also worrisome. Will this lead to increased terrorism? Will this embolden Israel's enemies? I hope to discuss some of the troubling questions raised by Gilad Shalit's release in shul on Shabbat morning, October 22.  Please join us.

 

In the meantime, and for the moment - and it may be only a short moment - the overwhelming emotion that I, at least, feel, is that of relief and joy. The joy is partial, but it is real. Knowing the lack of respect for human life of Gilad Shalit's captors, one can only be enormously relieved that this one young and very frail man is no longer in their custody. One can only, on this last day of Sukkot, our festival of thanksgiving, be grateful and joyous that Gilad Shalit has rejoined his family and can begin the undoubtedly painful and heartbreaking process of relearning what it means to be free.

 

Yesterday morning, after he greeted his son for the first time in over five years, Noam Shalit, Gilad's father, said that he and his wife have experienced the re-birth of their son. Indeed they have. We all have. And, as we all know, every birth is a miracle.

 

Today, tomorrow, and the day thereafter, we can all say, with greater kavannah (spiritual intention) than usual, Baruch atah -- Blessed are You, ... matir asurim - the One who frees the unjustly imprisoned.

 

Rabbi Carl M. Perkins 
 

Temple Aliyah | 1664 Central Avenue | Needham, MA 02492

Phone: 781-444-8522 | E-mail:

[email protected]