A sad day in Israel. A prisoner exchange deal is taking place. Israel is expected to receive two bodies and some body parts collected by the Hezbollah organization in Lebanon. But given the Hezbollah did well in not disclosing the state of the two prisoners, and given that Jews don’t lose hope that easily, to the last minute there was still hope that at least one of the soldiers would be returned alive. Israel would return five live terrorists, and a couple of hundred bodies of Hezbollah members killed during the second Lebanon war which took place precisely two years ago.
The suspense was incredible. At 9:00, the entire state of Israel was watching TV, listening to the radio with a minuscule hope. All hopes were shredded to pieces when a black van was opened, and two coffins were taken out. The dead soldiers were driven to a nearby military base for identification. Once the identification is complete, the rest of the deal will be completed. 199 bodies and five live terrorists will be handed to the Hezbollah. The deal was brokered by the UN and the International Red Cross.
Seemingly, just another prisoner exchange deal following a war. But is it? Let me point out the differences. Israel was willing to give everything for the remains of two of its boys. Lebanon celebrated the return of a child killer. That pretty much sums it all, but let me explain.
Einat Haran and Samir Kuntar met on Saturday April 22, 1979. It was their first and last meeting. Einat was four years old at the time, Samir was sixteen. He shot her father Danny in the back, and then smashed her head with his gun. When he saw she was still alive, he hit her again and again until she was dead. (http://www.samirkuntar.org/)
Child killers are not very common. Thankfully. But they do exist. People around the world dislike them. What’s there to like, right? Furthermore. Child killers serve their sentences, and those who don’t get the death penalty may eventually be released from prison and go on with their lives. But I have absolutely no recollection of a child killer whose release was celebrated by a country. Do you? Lebanon is littered with flowers in honor of a child killer. What does that say about Lebanon? What do you think?
Samir Kuntar was released yesterday from an Israeli prison after twenty nine years of being imprisoned for killing Einat Haran, her father Danny, and a couple of others who were unfortunate to have met him that night. Israel released him in good shape, well groomed, even a little chubby. Israel had released him and four other live terrorists for the remains of two soldiers. They aren’t well groomed like Samir Kuntar, they weren’t fed and their rights weren’t respected. Nobody will ever know how they died, and whether they have received proper medical care. All we will know is that they are dead, and that they will find their final rest back home. Their parents, family and friends will have a grave to visit and place flowers on. They will have closure.
Yes. It is that important to Jews and Israelis to be brought home, at whatever shape, for proper burial. It is so important that we’re willing to give up murderers, terrorists, in a seemingly completely unfair deals, just to have this closure. Some of Israel’s enemies mistake it for weakness. They are unequivocally wrong. The willingness to do anything and everything to get closure is, in my mind, a sign of strength. Celebrating the return of a child killer is a sign of weakness.
Lastly. Yes indeed, we are all grieving the death of Eldad and Udi. But take a short look around the middle east. As an Israeli, would you want to trade places with any of Israel’s neighbors? The answer, again, is unequivocally, absolutely, categorically: NO. The freedom, the freedom of speech, the freedom to vote, the freedom to wear what you like, to go places, to travel, to work, to study is precious to us. The value of human life, any human life is so dear to Israelis that they will do anything to preserve it. Where would you choose to live?
One last observation. When the Hezbollah representative handed the dead soldiers to the Red Cross, I was watching him. He looked like your next door neighbor, like someone you could meet at the local grocery store or at the movies. He was wearing a fare colored jacket and pants, no tie. His beard was well groomed and short. He was fluent, and his message was clear. It was obvious, the guy was well trained with the news media, I’m almost ready to bet that he has a degree in communication or marketing, even an MBA. But wearing a suit does not give anyone a free membership to the human club. For that you have to have values. I’m afraid the Hezbollah representative’s application to the human family was rejected.
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