A joyous day in Israel — Gilad Shalit is home!
Gilad Shalit salutes Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after landing in IDF airbase in the center of Israel (Photo: Israel Defense Forces)
It’s a celebratory day in the Holy Land! The Fellowship‘s Yael Eckstein writes from Israel:
For over five years I have been praying for Israeli captive soldier Gilad Shalit to be freed from Hamas terrorists in Gaza and returned to Israel, and today, thank God, I have received the answer to my prayers. Finally, after an agonizing wait, the people of Israel can rejoice in the homecoming of a young man that we have all grown to look at as a brother and son.
No person in Israel will ever forget the day that Gilad Shalit was kidnapped. We all sat glued to our television screens in shock and mourning as we feared we would never see this young soldier again. For the first few weeks after his abduction we prayed that the Israeli military would be able to identify his whereabouts in Gaza and conduct a daring and successful rescue, but after months, then years of waiting for Gilad’s homecoming, our hope began to dwindle.
Over one year ago, all of Israel watched Gilad’s parents set up a tent in Jerusalem next to the Prime Minister’s house, and pledge that they would not return to their home until Gilad was released. With each passing day, we felt the pain of Shalit’s parents, and shared the fear that they might end up living in that tent for the rest of their lives. Reaching a deal with Hamas to return our captive soldier seemed like a far-fetched dream.
The fact that we knew Gilad Shalit was alive left us with conflicting feelings. On one hand, we were happy at the prospect that one day he might return to his loving family’s waiting arms in the Holy Land; on the other, we knew he was suffering greatly. During his five years of captivity, I don’t think there was one person in Israel that didn’t pray…
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Tuesday, October 18th, 2011 at 7:28 AM | David Kuner
Sometimes a picture’s worth a thousand words
Gilad Shalit talking to his parents after his release from captivity (Photo: Israel Defense Forces)
Tuesday, October 18th, 2011 at 6:18 AM | David Kuner
Gilad Shalit is every Israeli’s son
A very good and thoughtful piece by Yossi Klein Halevi on a complex question — was the cost of freeing Gilad Shalit worth it?
A few months ago, as part of its psychological war against the Israeli public, Hamas released an animated film depicting Gilad as an elderly gray-haired man, still a prisoner in Gaza. No image tormented us more.
Still, there are few celebrations here today. Even those who supported the campaign to free Gilad must be sobered by the erosion of Israeli deterrence. And those who opposed the campaign are grieving for Gilad’s lost years. All of us share the same unspoken fear: In what condition will he be returned to us? What have these years done to him?
Hamas leaders are boasting of victory. If so, it is a victory of shame. Hamas is celebrating the release of symbols of “resistance,” not of human beings. Hamas’ victory is an expression of the Arab crisis. The Arab world’s challenge is to shift from a culture that sanctifies honor to a culture that sanctifies dignity. Honor is about pride; dignity is about human value. Hamas may have upheld its honor; but Israel affirmed the dignity of a solitary human life.
Rabbi Eckstein also shares his thoughts on the subject in his message this week. Wherever you stand on this issue, I think we can agree that all friends of Israel can rejoice and be grateful that Gilad is being returned to his loving family and country, after so many years of cruel imprisonment and deprivation.
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Friday, October 14th, 2011 at 12:31 PM | David Kuner
A “historic deal” to free Shalit?
(Photo: Reuters)
Just up on the Jerusalem Post:
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is convening a special cabinet meeting Tuesday evening to approve an Egyptian mediated deal for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit, government sources confirmed.
The meeting is scheduled to begin a 8 pm.
In Gaza, a source involved in Egyptian-mediated talks between Israel and the Islamist group told Reuters agreement had been reached for a swap to take place possibly as soon as in the coming days.
Government sources said that in recent days there have been a number of high level meetings in the Prime Minister’s Office dealing with Schalit. The Egyptian press has also reported in recent days visits by Israeli officials to Cairo.
Shalit has been imprisoned for more than five years; let’s all fervently hope and pray that this effort will result in his freedom.
Comments (2) »Tuesday, October 11th, 2011 at 1:14 PM | David Kuner
Meshal: Resist until “Israel is destroyed”
What is it about “Palestinians must resort to resistance no matter how costly it is, until Palestine is free and Israel is destroyed” that people don’t understand?: 
Hamas leader Khaled Meshal told an international conference in Iran on Saturday that “resistance” was the only option left for the Palestinians.
Meshal was addressing the “5th International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada” in Iran’s capital Tehran.
“Palestinians must resort to resistance no matter how costly it is, until Palestine is free and Israel is destroyed,” Meshal said.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who also spoke at the conference on Saturday, assailed a two state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, saying the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations is doomed to fail.
We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: When someone repeatedly says they’re out to destroy you, you should take them at their word. Israel does. They can’t afford not to.
Comments (10) »Monday, October 3rd, 2011 at 7:59 AM | David Kuner
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