We have two opinion pieces on this prisoner exchange. We are all pleased that Gilad is alive and well. We are happy that he is now with his family and friends.
By DONNIEL HARTMAN
For millennia, we have been taught that the righteous and wise path is identified with a life of moderation, or what Aristotle termed the Golden Mean – in successfully balancing between opposite extremes, vices, and even virtues. Thus courage is to be found somewhere in between recklessness and cowardice, and charity a balance between selflessness and selfishness. In addition, because life’s central challenges rarely entail a choice between good and evil, but between competing goods, the paths of wholeness, health, prudence, good judgment, and righteousness are found in finding the proper balance between them, and effectively calculating the measure which each ought to contribute to one’s life.
Yet, there are moments when moderation and the middle path are simply too narrow and limiting, and inadequately give expression to the feelings, values and commitments which are central to our lives. Human life can indeed find prudent wisdom in the middle path, but often it is not the place where one achieves greatness. There are times when we are called upon to leap, to leave balance and moderation behind – not only in order to live life to its fullest, but to allow our deepest instincts and values to fully and more clearly have their say.
Over the last five years, we Israelis were at a loss to try to find the golden mean, to locate the space between our moral responsibility to Gilad Shalit and our moral responsibility to the security of the country and its citizens. What is the “right” number of terrorists which ought to be exchanged for one soldier, the number that will adequately encapsulate the value that we place on every single life without itself diminishing the value of life by creating an incentive for further terrorism? What is the “correct” number of terrorists with blood on their hands who can be released in order to fulfill our responsibility to the Shalit family without at the same time undermining our responsibly to the families who were the victims of these murderers?
The search for the golden middle path, that which is paved with the right measures of wisdom, prudence, and morality, left us in a Solomonic quandary, a quandary from which we could not move. Our government, and most significantly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, considered the competing values, concerns, and consequences, and made a courageous decision – a decision to end the quandary.
This decision is destined to be second guessed by citizens and pundits alike, especially once Gilad comes home, the murderers begin to walk free, and the stories of both their crimes and the lives of their victims are publicized in the media. It will be second guessed by those for whom the Hamas-led celebrations and rhetoric of future intent to harm us cannot be ignored. It will be second guessed by those who feel that we exhibited weakness, and in the Middle East one does not survive when one’s enemies believe one is weak.
I do not criticize or belittle in any way the above concerns and feelings. I do not feel that there is a single way to evaluate the security consequences of the Shalit deal. Who knows whether there are already enough murderers out there, or whether the addition of these new ones will make a difference? Can our security forces adequately keep track of them, or are we laying the foundation for future terrorist attacks? I do not know if the deal that was struck was located in the midst of the golden mean. At the same time I am happy and grateful to my government for trying to approximate it.
That said, for me, as the years passed, bringing Gilad home shifted from being an issue determined by the search for the right and perfect balance, or a question of the dictates of prudent policy, to a basic if not gut feeling that as a Jewish society, we had to move away from the middle path if we were to live up to our noblest standards. I felt that as a Jewish people we could not let a member of our family perish in front of our eyes, one day at a time. We could not build a caring Jewish people, for whom collective responsibility is a central virtue, and at the same time stand by and effectively ignore the immeasurable and ongoing pain of one family. I found myself unconvinced and unmoved by the discussion of the various halakhic parameters to pidyon sh’vuyim, (the obligation to free captives), and instead felt that the sum of our core Jewish values obligated us to bring Gilad home.
For some these words will reflect an inexcusable weakness, for others they are morally shortsighted. For me they are the embodiment and expression of the gift of Jewish sovereignty, a manifestation of our ability as a free and powerful people to decide to take risks for our ideals, to at times dare to go beyond the dictates of moderation, prudence, and the middle path and to place certain feelings and Jewish values at the center of our individual and national consciousness and policy.
I do not know what tomorrow will bring and whether our decisions today should become a model for the future. I do know that today is a good day for Israel and the Jewish people. A day in which we chose to elevate certain values over others, values which at times, at this time, need their own place in the sun, a place to define and energize our lives without the moderating temperance of their opposites.
A life of greatness and virtue will not always be found in the constant balancing of values but in the balance found in the totality of a life in which a broad array of values and concerns each find expression at different times and in different circumstances. Today we added another chapter in shaping the sum of this totality. Today is a good day. Today is Gilad’s day. Gilad – welcome home. May you and your family and indeed all of Israel find the love, happiness, and peace that we so profoundly yearn for.
and An Israeli day of victory
Miki Goldwasser Photo: Gil Nehushtan
On Tuesday we shall see decorated stages, flags and joyous masses in Gaza. We shall see many arms raised and many fingers making the victory sign. Gaza shall rejoice, and to my great regret Israel will be affected by these sights.
Dear citizens, think about it: The families of terrorists are happy like we are as we see
Gilad Shalit’s return. However, they did not win, and they know it. They were humiliated precisely because so many terrorists were released for only one soldier.Make no mistake about it. They realize and feel this humiliation. They realize that they are not worth much if they are willing to exchange 1,000 of their own for one Israeli soldier. Do you really think that Gaza residents are not jealous of us, Israelis, for being so united around one soldier? It’s impossible not to envy us. Look at the global reactions – everyone is stunned.
In Israel, the mood of the people tends to fluctuate from one extreme to another. This time around, listen to the voice of reason and do not be deceived by the images from Gaza. The joy there is artificial. With the exception of the celebrating families, I don’t think most other Gaza residents are happy to see the release of thugs and criminals who killed Palestinians and their children mercilessly.
The released prisoners are mostly hooligans who took the liberty to rob and kill even their own people. Do you recall the images of the Gaza wedding where the celebrating family was murdered by a Hamas gang only because it dared to rejoice? I’m certain that Gaza residents are starting to fear what’s to come.
Tough questions answered
Today is our victory day. The day where we decided that our values and our confidence in the righteousness of our way shall guide us. As long as there is no peace, and let us hope it arrives, our sons shall be serving the State with confidence. Mothers will again be able to entrust their children in the hands of worthy commanders.
Teenagers will no longer be asking the defense minister, chief of staff and even themselves: “What will happen if I’m kidnapped or taken captive? Will the State care for me?” The answer is yes. The State is committed and it will care for you.
The State of Israel can boast another achievement. The five-year struggle for bringing back the three abductees gave rise to a generation of youngsters who took a substantive part in the battle and learned the power of togetherness. To our regret, we have seen abductions in the past. However, never before did so many students participate so actively and vigorously in such campaigns. In my view, the success of the youngsters who fought for social justice is a result of all these young people who only a year or two earlier took part in the fight for releasing the abductees and realized that when one unites around just values, one wins.
Miki Goldwasser is the mother of IDF reserve soldier Ehud Goldwasser, abducted and killed by Hezbollah in 2006
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We have two opinion pieces on this prisoner exchange. We are all pleased that Gilad is alive and well. We are happy that he is now with his family and friends.
