The situation in Israel worries me so much. I am very much pro-Israel rights, but I am also pro-Palestinian rights. I think both parties have rights to the land, but they have the right to live in peace along side each other. Israel gave up the Gaza Strip several years ago to let Palestinian have their own land to form a viable society along side Israel. Instead of the Palestinian using the land to create their own country with a growing economy, they used the land in militant ways. When Shalit was captured at a checkpoint near Gaza Strip, it was by Militants on Israeli land. Shalit wasn't in Gaza Strip; he was on his own turf when he was captured. Militants in the Gaza Strip have also been firing rockets into nearby Israeli towns. I think the act of the militants abducting Shalit was the straw that broke the camel's back.
I feel that for once Israel wants to deal with the terrorists once and for all. In the past Israel has negotiated and has released Palestinian prisoners in exchange for peace. However, I don't think Israel wanted to release prisoners this time around, because released prisoners may become the next militants.
Israel and the Jewish people have a right to exist. We have a right to live without the fear of being persecuted for our beliefs. We have the right to live in Israel and be free; but we also have the right to live without the fear of being blown up by a suicide bomber at an Israeli restaurant, discothèque, or shopping mall.
Palestinians have the right to exist as well and live in Israel, however they must renounce terrorism in order for there to be peace in the Middle East. They have the right to be free, but they do not have the right to blow themselves up and take many innocent lives with them.
I can't even begin to say how nervous I am that an all out war is going to happen between Israel and terrorist forces. It concerns me greatly that Iran or Syria may join in on the conflict between Israel, the Palestinian in the Gaza Strip, and Lebanon. It concerns me even more that Iran may have nuclear weapons that they would use against Israel.
Right now Alex and my cousin are both in Israel on a tour. I am so worried about the safety of my best friend and I just keep praying that this situation will be resolved quickly. I worry that if the conflict escalates then the airport will shut down, and they will be stranded in Israel until the conflict resolves. I am praying for the safety of Israeli civilians and soldiers fighting for their rights. I am praying that this conflict ends soon, the soldiers come home, and then they can try to resume peace talks.
However, with the way things are, praying can only do so much.
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Here is an editorial from a Jewish Newspaper for further insight:
Saving Corporal Shalit
By Joseph Aaron
This is a tough one. A really, really tough one.
One that raises all kinds of questions, really, really important questions.
It was a couple of weeks ago that a 19 year old Israeli soldier by the name of Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by Hamas militants.
As a result, Israel has unleashed a powerful barrage of military might, having its troops reenter Gaza, arrest a significant number of Hamas ministers, bomb bridges and other infrastructure in Gaza and more.
Now, on the one hand, all that is understandable, even admirable. Israel clearly values human life, clearly is willing to do anything, everything to rescue one soldier.
There is something very beautiful about that. In Judaism, a life is the whole world. Beyond that, those who wear the uniform of Israel know that they will never be abandoned. That's an important and powerful message for those who serve in the Israeli army. And that's an important and powerful message for the enemies of Israel.
But I believe the taking of Corporal Shalit calls for some serious soul searching, for us to rise above simple answers, for us not to be intimidated by all the armchair warriors who come out at a time like this and urge the Israeli army to do anything to save this beautiful, young boy.
It's easy to say this is a no-brainer, that a soldier is missing and all must be done to save him. Yes, all must be done, but not necessarily everything.
One of the saddest developments in Judaism today is the fear that grips so many. Judaism is founded on a belief in asking questions, in examining issues, in being unafraid to explore and think things through, in not just settling for the convenient answer or the politically correct way.
Today, we are all scared. Scared because too many are so quick to call Jews with whom they differ the most ugly of names, to question their Jewish patriotism, their very Jewishness. Are so quick to call those who question, an Arab lover or a self- hating Jew or a naive fool or worse.
And so, I am well aware of the danger of even raising the question of whether how Israel is handling the Shalit matter is the best way, the most Jewish way.
But I do so because that is the exact purpose of an independent Jewish newspaper, the mission of those few of us still left who are truly independent and who believe real journalism is vital to the health of a community.
The truth is that how to handle the taking of Gilad Shalit is not an easy question to answer. But it is an important question to ask.
I frankly find myself uncomfortable with what Israel is doing and no, it's not because I'm a bleeding heart, pro peace process liberal.
Fact is, that I'm disgusted with the Palestinians. They keep talking about how the occupation so hinders them, how much they deserve to do their own thing. Well, the sainted Ariel Sharon gave them that chance when he gave them total control over Gaza.
Did they use their first chance at running their own place to start building hotels and apartment buildings, to provide jobs, an infrastructure, a good life for their people? No, they used it to send missiles into Israel and to kidnap an Israeli soldier.
So, no, my unease about all this has nothing to do with the Palestinians. And everything to do with the Israelis.
For starters, my unease stems from the fact that how this is being handled is not as Israel historically has handled such matters.
Yes, Israel has always valued all of its citizens and done all it could to rescue them. But Israel also always considered those taken hostage as "soldiers," whether or not they wore a uniform.
Meaning, they were to understand that while, yes, Israel would do all it could to save them, it would not do things the Jewish state simply could not do; would not, could not, harm the country to save one person.
That was how Israel always operated and all those who lived there understood that. Israel has had a wise policy, from day one, of not negotiating with terrorists, understanding that to do so only invites further terrorism. And so, every Israeli understood that if taken hostage, they must consider themselves, they were considered by their government, to be soldiers in a war.
I don't know when that changed, why that changed, but it seems to have changed in the case of Corporal Shalit.
I think that's dangerous and not only because of Israeli history but Jewish tradition. While Judaism values human life above all else, the Talmud also teaches that a Jewish community must choose to sacrifice a Jewish life in the short run if, in the long run, not doing so would cost more Jewish lives. Meaning you don't do anything to save one Jew now if doing so will endanger more later.
One gets the sense that that is what is happening now. It is the first rule of handling such things that you do not do what Israel is doing, namely make the hostage so valuable to you that it emboldens the kidnappers.
By taking the overwhelming actions it has, Israel has told Hamas that this soldier is a very, very valuable commodity. And that tells them to hold onto him as long as they can, for the price will only go up, they will be able to get more and more.
Beyond that, it is important to remember a couple of things. One is that attention is the lifeblood of the Palestinians. Their most powerful weapon is being noticed, is being center stage on the world stage, being in the newspapers and on TV.
By devoting the entire attention of the prime minister and the defense minister and the Israeli military to saving Corporal Shalit, Israel has said to the militants holding him that the longer you do, the more it will stay in the headlines, the more you get to determine how we act, what we do.
It is also important to remember that this whole thing is being orchestrated by Hamas leaders in Syria. Meaning those who are totally unaffected by any Israeli bombing of Gaza. No skin off their nose. Indeed, it just makes them more powerful, shows they, not the Hamas prime minister in Gaza, is really calling the shots. Why would they want to give that up?
Sometimes, the wisest course is to set your own agenda, not let it be set by your enemy. And yet I fear what is happening is that Israel is dancing to Hamas' tune. Hamas kidnaps a soldier and Israel makes like nothing is more important than getting him back.
As I say, on one level, that is beautiful. On another, that is a luxury a sovereign government that must protect all five and a half million of its citizens simply cannot afford.
Has all the bombing of Gaza done anything to hasten Shalit's release? I have my doubts. For the fact is that most Palestinians see every day they take the Israeli bombing as a mini- victory. Fact is that taking it only hardens their resolve. Fact is they like to feel they have Israel on a string, getting it to do all kinds of things to get back its soldier. Because Israel has responded as it has, Palestinians feel powerful and they're likely to want to hang on to that feeling.
Israel clearly did not give a moment's thought to what was in the best interest of Israel in terms of responding to the kidnapping. It reacted immediately and has been reacting ever since.
What concerns me about that is it feels that Prime Minister Olmert is being primarily motivated by two things. One is to show how tough he is, something always dangerous. Two is to use the Shalit kidnapping as a means of destroying the Hamas government, also not a good idea.
Olmert is a new prime minister. He follows in the footsteps of military giant Ariel Sharon. Olmert has no military background whatsoever. His defense minister, Amir Peretz, has no military background whatsoever. And so you have two guys who want to show they are tough, even when toughness may not be called for, even when toughness may, indeed, be counterproductive.
Beyond that, Israel should have learned by now that you can't choose your enemy's government. Israel has tried to do that over and over, always with disastrous results. And yet, it looks as if the kidnapping gave them the excuse to try to militarily destroy Hamas, which is an impossibility.
Finally, what concerns me about how Israel is handling this is that bombing Gaza day after day after day, destroying bridges and houses and all the rest, all for one soldier, is bound to eat away at Israel's soul. No matter how good the reason, it does something to a country to do that. One day, it was Israeli friendly fire that killed an Israeli soldier. The next, it was a bomb gone awry that killed three Palestinian teens.
Israel is already a place lacking in civility, where there is so much coarseness in life, that adding more coarseness, endangers the very fabric of the society.
I applaud how much Israel cares about Gilad Shalit. And I certainly favor doing all it can to win his release. He is the best of us, a 19-year old doing his duty, a beautiful neshama with a father and mother back home who are enduring hell every moment he is being held.
But Israel must act in a truly wise way, must think and then do what is truly best in terms of hastening his rescue and not just acting for the sake of acting. And it must remember that while yes, saving the life of this Jew is of paramount importance, the only thing more important, what must come first, is ensuring the lives and souls of all Israelis and of Israel's future.
My guess, by the way, is that Corporal Shalit would completely agree with that. May G-d protect him.
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