Posted on 10/18/2011 8:11:31 PM PDT by ventanax5
I can still see his eyes and his twinkling smile as I walked him to the bus, with his rucksack over his back and a pair of ‘kafkafim’ (shower shoes) tied on and dangling from a piece of string.
It was Sunday night, the first week of June 1982 and once again Israel was at war. After incessant shelling from the PLO in Lebanon forcing the people in northern Israel into their bomb shelters all weekend, Israel had finally had enough. AT 5 a.m. on June 5, IDF forces crossed the border into Lebanon. That evening, Rav Amital z”l, the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion strode into the study hall at the beginning of the evening study session, banged on the lectern, announcing, “All fourth and fifth year students should head back to their rooms and pack their gear. In half an hour buses will be coming to take you north.“
The silence in the study hall was palpable; our friends and comrades were going to war. I was still a greenhorn American, barely a year in the country and a full year away from my own IDF service. I walked back to the dorms to say goodbye to a few of my Israeli friends.
Twenty minutes later, Zack Baumel came out of his room with his rucksack and shower shoes, and the incongruity of it puzzled me. I asked him, “Why do you need those if you’re going to war?” Zack responded,“ Are you kidding? These are the most important things you can take to the army!”
That was the last time I saw Zack Baumel. I distinctly remember walking him to the bus; remember waving goodbye and seeing his grin flash one more time from the bus window, and remember wondering what was really waiting for him.
(Excerpt) Read more at thejewishstar.com ...
Israel values it’s people.
Yes it does, but.. releasing a thousand crazed maniacs?
Nothing good will come of that.
the answer is NO PRISONERS!!!!!!
Yeah
The Mossad in five years couldn’t find out where he was?
Us leaving Americans behind in Vietnam we one of the most disgusting things the US Govt ever did. The answer is to always get the POWS back at all costs, and then deal with the new problems it does or doesnt cause.
If a single US POW from Vietnam was miraculously still alive (i think they are all long dead now) i’d trade every prisoner in gitmo for them.
Killing our soldiers in combat is one thing. Abandoning POWS to better achieve national policy goals is utterly another. Theres a fine difference that is hard for chickenhawks to understand. Bibi understands,,
Some say we go balls out to rescue downed pilots because its costs millions to train them, and they have secrets we don’t want divulged. The truth,,is that it is far more than that. Glad the kid is home. And if you released a few pieces of garbage go to do it,, then ok.
They knew where he was. He was supposed to be in an underground holding cell, wired with explosives. It was well guarded and any rescue was certain to trigger his death.
And something else to consider for those worried it was a bad deal. He wasn’t just a POW,, he was a hostage. Notice how the Israelis were very hesitant to respond to all those Kassam rockets coming in from Gaza? There were reports that he was held in northern Gaza in such a way as to prevent effective counterfire, or ground attack responses.
I think Bibi has more than earned our benefit of the doubt. Some Israelis pols,,no, but Bibi has.
Actually he was kidnapped. He wasn’t a POW. The tank he was in was blown up by HAMAS coming through the fence. The tank was there on patrol. It killed two of the IDF and he was kidnapped. It’s pretty much 50/50 in Israel on the swap.
The Mossad in five years couldn’t find out where he was?
Read the other day that the Mosad have known for years where he was, but the setup where he was guarantied he would be kiled if they sent in a resque squad
Thanks. DesertRino sent a post pointing that out.
I see your point,, but if you view the Israelis and Muslims as being in a war,,and a tanker out on patrol, survives an attack from an “enemy” squad coming into Israeli land, and is kidnapped, thats POW enough for me.
The differences are merely academic.
It will be interesting to hear what he says after the debriefing. (what we are allowed to know of course!)
And i can’t escape the powerful message that Israel sent. That that young soldier was worth hundreds of their enemy.
It speaks volumes.
As I watch the unfolding of the Shalit exchange across multiple television news channels, including Israeli, France, CNN, BBC and UK I find the most of the reporting disconcerting. Why? The reporters are either ill informed, intentional in distorting the truth or truly ignorant. There is no other possibility.
Let me clarify a point repeatedly, across almost all of these news stations regarding Shalit’s abduction. He was taken on 25 June 2006 by Hamas terrorists from Gaza in a cross-border raid. A Hamas terrorist group attacked a Merkava Tank Mark 3, which was guarding the security fence and an army post, both in Israeli territory. During the attack, the commander and a fellow tank member were killed. Shalit was abducted near the Kerem Shalom crossing and was dragged under the security fence into parts unknown in Gaza. This is a critical point, Hamas terrorists illegally entered Israel and kidnapped Gilad. He was not engaged in a battle or a war and was not ever granted POW status. Why? Simple, he was kidnapped.
He was kept in primarily inhumane situation, his eyeglasses taken from him most of the time, he lived in solitary confinement, he was NEVER, not one time allowed a visit by the international Red Cross. We had no actual evidence that he was alive until two years ago. Still, after the infamous “still alive” video no visit permitted by any humanitarian or health organization. This alone is illegal in terms of International Law and at the very least demonstrates the inhumane character of our enemy.
For the MSM media to not even mention this background material is disingenuous when they present an empathetic view of the poor, just released, prisoners. For the MSM not to focus upon the released criminals, many of who engaged in barbaric actions murderers of primarily civilians breaches the integrity that should be displayed by professional journalists. I note that all of this was missing-I know they possess these minimal details and have chosen to with hold from today’s stories.
This is no small detail; it is central to my point that the MSM are misrepresenting entire experience today. They have contributed the following:
Lead the viewing public to believe that the prisoners should be released; it is after all only humane. Never mind that many are murderers serving over 15 consecutive life sentences, they should be viewed with empathy. No, they should be seen for what they are, first-degree murderers and they did not have the courage to take on fighters, they murdered innocent civilians. They murdered children, women eating pizza at a favorite pizza joint. Imagine you are enjoying a Little Caesars or Incredible pizza with all the toppings surrounded by your family and then in an instant they were targeted and blown to pieces.
These prisoners deserved freedom and annulment of their crimes of blowing up innocent civilians on busses, ask the Roth’s if they have any sympathy for these terrorists?
The MSM does not hold Hamas or Fatah speakers to the truth regarding using International law to justify their positions. They are using the day’s release event, as we knew they would, to lie to the viewers. Article 5 of the Geneva Convention does not apply as these two groups are not state parties to the Geneva Convention applies to their “fighters” are not legally “protected persons” under the definition of the convention.
Either the “journalists” do not know international Law or they do. Whichever is the answer to this statement my response is the same. Shame on the MSM for not holding these speakers to two points: 1. Are you not using this event for political outcomes? 2. You know as well as we know, the Geneva Conventions do not apply to you, why are you being so deceitful?
There will be peace in the Middle East before the MSM ever steps up and does their job correctly. They do hold us in Israel to a higher standard, sometimes known as hypocrisy.
Gilad was kidnapped, held in inhumane conditions for 5 years. Israel was held hostage by Hamas, the international community who supported the untold inappropriate ratio of terrorist prisoners to one Israeli and the media would have you believe the world should feel compassion for their families. No compassion for the hundreds and hundreds of innocent civilians murdered by these barbarians. The media speaks not one negative word about the celebrations in the Arab villages. The MSM speaks nothing about the inappropriateness of dancing and celebration by Arab “leaders” for having murderers released unjustly. No, instead they pitch how now maybe the Israelis may be ready to re-engage in talks with these ruthless people. Yet another lie-you know and I know we in Israel have not been the ones to negotiate-tell the MSM to stop supporting terrorists with their distortions.
GS Don Morris
Israel does not value its people. The hundreds that were killed and thousands wounded by these terrorist have no value at all now, neither will the future victims that will be the result of an emboldened enemy.
No more money for Israel. We don’t support surrender monkeys.
Israel is preparing for war. It's tidying up all the loose ends and when all is ready and at the time of their discretion Syria, Iran, Egypt, Libya and any other country with an organized air force or proximity to the high lands around Israel will be targeted. I'd do that all at once. As hard and as fast as possible with no let up and then stop after everything you've set out to destroy is in a heap of rubble.
What would really be interesting is that if India and Israel decided that Pakistan needed to be dealt with as well. Just clean up the mess with on big push.
There will be those that say, "the Arabs will have a reason to hate you then."... I've got news for them.. they already do. If an Arab/Muzzie had his way, we'd be sitting on an ash heap or bowing down to Allah.
There is nothing that we can do to make them "like" us. It's cultural like the Bushido and needs to be stomped on and burned out, like we did to the Bushido culture of the Japanese warrior class.
Yeah whatever.
yeah it’s all Sun tsu. Just like Palin’s supposed election strategy.
What we do know is that over 1000 terrorists have been released and the palis will push for even more.
What got me was the CNN talking head saying the “misguided youth” had spent many more years in prison that this young man. Disgusting. “Misguided youth”????????
I'm thinking that over the next couple of months, the site of the safe house is bombed and all the perps involved are sent to hell.
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