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Sunday Aug 31, 2008
I am sorry that they have not caught my son Koby's murderers. But not that sorry. I am afraid that the killers will hurt other Jews if they are not apprehended. But at the same time, I fear that if they catch the murderers, then one day the Israeli government will choose to release them. Then the killers will be celebrated. They will have a square named after them. They will be released to a ticker tape parade. They will be called liberators or militants or war heroes. While my son lies in the ground, the killers will have posters of their likenesses plastered on buildings, garlands of flowers thrown at them.
My fears are not unfounded. Last week in order to strengthen Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas, 198 Palestinian terrorists were released, among them 2 murderers with blood on their hands, one who killed Yehoshua Saloma, a Danish immigrant in 1980, point blank in the market in Hebron; another killed Tzila Galili in 1977.
That's why I'm relieved that Koby and Yosef's murderers haven't been apprehended. The 13 and 14 year old boys were murdered 7 years ago near our home in Tekoa, trapped in a cave by terrorists and stoned to death.
How could I confront people so evil as to kill children with stones, face to face, pulverizing them? But evil doesn't figure into our government's goodwill gestures. They have released Sami Kuntar, the child killer who killed a father in front of his daughter and then killed his daughter with the butt of his gun, and now they are releasing other killers with blood on their hands.
There is no exchange that is worthy of exhonorating these criminals. We should all be protesting, standing in front of the prime minister's house, crying and screaming that you devalue the life of innocent Jews when you release their murderers.
Instead we are silent, on vacation (Olmert is probably on one of his all expenses paid jaunts to Italy), relaxing at pools, while the terrorists are vindicated and go home to their families, and our own families are crushed, destroyed, broken with no hope of the return of our loved ones.
And this prisoner exchange is sold as a gesture of "goodwill." Releasing murderers is not a gesture; it is a full fledged mistake. And goodwill should mean that the will of the court has significance, and that if a person is found guilty, they stay in prison. Instead us parents who have lost children are put in a mental prison knowing that if terrorists murder our children, the terrorists can one day be vindicated. And our children's lives are expendable and their honor is expendable.
No wonder a study recently found that the parents of Israeli children who were killed by terrorists are angry with our government, even more than they are angry with the terrorists. It is our government that creates a climate that in many ways props us and legitimatizes the terrorist who may, after all, one day be set free - to murder again.
1 | Ken Besig, Kiryat Arba, Israel, Sunday Aug 31, 2008
We have divided ourselves into Tribes once again, and no one cares about the welfare of anyone outside of their Tribe. The fact that the killers of the innocent boys are on the loose is certainly terrible, but what about the constant rocket attacks on the settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip or the ongoing Hizballah threat on the Northern Border? In Haifa or Tel Aviv or even Jerusalem, most Israelis don't care about anybody but themselves if they aren't personally threatened. Israel needs a national leader who is concerned about Israel, not just himself, his party, or his constituency.
2 | Miriam Davidowitz, Monday Sep 01, 2008
I have had you andyour family in my heart here far away in South Africa ever since we visited Tekoa and found out abut Koby's terrible murder with his little friend. Your story is heartrending, your thoughts on this subject must be so hard for you - but they ring so true. I am an old lady - my husband and I both in our seventies are making Aliya this year BH and my dearest wish would be to meet you G-d willing. We love and pray for you and with you.
3 | Ben Ami, Monday Sep 01, 2008
From Ken Besig, Kiryat Arba: " In Haifa or Tel Aviv or even Jerusalem, most Israelis don't care about anybody but themselves if they aren't personally threatened." This statement is outrageous. Maybe it represents the type of people Ken Besig mixes with in Kiryat Arba, but definitely not the majority of Israelis in Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem. Israel is one of the most closely knit societies in the world, in which everyone knows someone who has been hurt or killed in action. The subject of this article is painful, serious, and complex, and it is disgraced by such moronic statements.
4 | Yoel Nitzarim, Skokie, Illinois USA, Monday Sep 01, 2008
It is beyond anyone rational person's imagination why the present Israeli government is willing to release murderers to bolster Mahmoud Abbas. Not only is Mahmoud Abbas a terrorist, but Fatah, his party, is a terrorist organization whose own charter contains virulent language calling for the annihilation of the Jewish State of Israel. Israel needs a prime minister, foreign minister, and defense minister who represent Jewish values regarding the sanctity of life as well as the preservation of the Land of Israel bequeathed to the tutelage of the Jewish people by HaShem thousands of years ago.
5 | Roz-Chicago, USA, Tuesday Sep 02, 2008
The Mandells are absolutely right, based on common sense, and the Torah's perspective. But the families of captive Israelis, understandably, feel that any price to redeem their beloved captives is not too high. From an emotional stance, we can empathize, but the Torah/Chazal well understood that following an emotional perspective wiil only lead to further, and greater, trouble. But how do we convince our secular leaders, who are largely devoid of Jewish values, to do what is right, and have the courage to face, and strengthen, the grieving families while saying no to them?
6 | Ben Ami, Tuesday Sep 02, 2008
From Roz-Chicago, USA: "How do we convince our secular leaders, who are largely devoid of Jewish values, to do what is right." Firstly, Roz, as long as you write from Chicago, these are not your "secular leaders". Come to Israel and share the danger and risk with us, and we will then listen to what you have to say. In particular, your claim that the Israel leadership is "devoid of Jewish values" demonstrates a remarkable degree of ignorance. There are much more "Jewish values" in the leadership of Israel than in people who send us their advice from the comfort of their Chicago homes.
7 | Ken Besig, Kiryat Arba, Israel, Tuesday Sep 02, 2008
Dear Mr. Ben Ami,
When was the last time there was a demonstration against the Kassam rocket attacks on Sderot in Haifa, Tel Aviv or Jerusalem? Well, there haven't been any. All your self righteous talk of how "close knit" Israeli society is is just that, hot air. Moreover, your rather strange criticism of a Jew in Chicago who dares comment on Israeli government policy just goes to show what I stated, in modern Israel most Israelis are selfish, superficial, and only care about themselves, and the rest of the country can go hang.
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About this blog
Heart-Earned Wisdom
Seth and Sherri Mandell on living with loss, establishing the Koby Mandell foundation, spritual healing and becoming authors.
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Recent Comments
Valerie, Israel: Visiting the consulate in Jerusalem has always been a nightmare for me. Recently it has changed to making appointments to get your passports renewed, and is much smoother. Altho I also had to go to the social security office at the consulate recently, i looked it up on the website and there was no mention of anything Israeli, a week before Rosh Hashana...I was also surprised...the social security office doesn't need an appointment and after the thorough security check, which was unpleasant, the clerk was quite helpful...
I agree w/Sherri about not feeling welcome...and hope it gets better..
Jerry, Florida: Lowell: youre right. Passport-losing visitors (like me) get expedited service. Olim need on-line appointments. Ben: because I praised our consulate 1 day after Hag and disagreed (politely, not harshly), with a known righteous woman, Im therefore not religious? Amazing ad-hominem shtuyot. Rx: Logic 101. For Seth our consulate is a racist, anti-Semitic, disgusting perversion, oy vey. (4 slanderous epithets.) The only obnoxious behavior I saw was by kvetchers in line, some sporting kippot. I saw consular staff treat all equally: the bare-headed, the kippa'd, and the hijab'd.
Lowell Blackman, Ramat Ilan, Israel: Poor Sherry. But let us be honest: the Consul General in Jerusalem really serves as the ambassador for the Palestinian state-in-waiting and that, in part, goes a long way to explaining a subtle, but perceptible air of unfriendliness towards American residents in Israel especially those from the territories. A quick look at the post-State Dept careers of a number of former consuls in Jerusalem tells the story. To wit, there is Edward Abingdon, who almost immediately became a chief lobbyist for Yasser Arafat and the PA and a harsh, mean-spirited critic of Israel.
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