1027 to 1.
Those are the terms of the deal between the Israeli government and Hamas, a bloodthirsty terrorist organization, the charter of which calls for the destruction of Israel and the murder of every last Jew.
Hamas has agreed to return their Gilad Shalit, an Israeli sergeant who was captured in a deadly terrorist attack in 2006. In return, Israel has agreed to release 1,027 prisoners, many of whom have committed acts of indescribable horror. Promised justice for the killers of their loved ones, Israeli families are only now discovering that woman who groomed and chauffeured suicide bombers to playgrounds – the man who blew up a synagogue with their loved ones inside – the internet seductress who slits young boys’ throats for jihad – these people and many, many more just like them are going to be released to celebration and fanfare.
Never again let it be said that Israel does not care for human life. For one man – one – they are willing to defile the memory of their myriad slaughtered countrymen and risk the safety of every last living Israeli by releasing one thousand of the most dangerous fiends on earth to kill again.
This is a fanatical devotion to life at any – and potentially the ultimate – cost. The differences between Israel and Hamas could not be greater: one side grooms suicide bombers and rejoices in a cult of death – the bigger the body count, the greater the glory, with extra points for pregnant women – while the other will do the unthinkable to save one of their own.
Except it’s not unthinkable, not to the terrorists who have learned that crime does, indeed, pay.
Israel has a history of one-sided swaps, even going as far as to release convicted murderers in exchange for the bodies of Israeli dead, “information” regarding hostages, and (in Shalit’s case) 20 female prisoners simply for a video of him alive. There is every reason to believe that Israel’s history of negotiating with terrorists is only increasing the premium on the head of every one of its citizens.
So here we are: celebrations for released murderers (“heroes”), renewed grief and disbelief for the families of the slain as they watch the killers walk free, the increased confidence among would-be terrorists that Israel’s harshest punishment lasts only until the hostage is taken.
We’ve reached that ubiquitous moment in the movies where the villain mocks the hero’s naïve devotion to saving lives. “It will be your undoing!” he gleefully cackles, as the hero, seeing a hostage, slowly lays down his weapon.
Everyone knows what happens next – the hero buys time, comes up with a plan, and the villain is defeated in a dramatic scene.
But this is real life, where the villain simply smiles and shoots you both.
