Weekly Commentary: Not too late to make the handling of the Shalit case the
rule instead of just another in a series of exceptions

Dr. Aaron Lerner Date: 13 August 2009

Today we got a reminder that there's no guaranty that Gilad Shalit will be
the last kidnapped Israeli that the Jewish State is going to have to cope
with.

Thankfully it appears that the roadblocks today were unnecessary as the IDF
reports this evening that they have accounted for all the soldiers in
transit.

But the point remains.

There are many in Israel arguing that "next time" we will apply different
standards and handle the situation more intelligently but this time we
should take a pass on rational thinking and let emotions get the best of us.

But the same logic - or lack thereof - that applies to Shalit because he has
a name, a face and a family, will apply the next time as well.

We are now in the incredibly reckless situation that we have apparently
accepted being clueless if Shalit is alive and are prepared to cut a deal
that won't be contingent on his being alive.

Which means that terrorists don't have to make keeping hostages alive a top
priority.

You may want to argue that there will always be hostage taking regardless of
how tough Israel is in its negotiations with Hamas. But how future
terrorists treat or don't treat the hostages they take will most certainly
be influenced by how this plays out.

Granted, there is a fall back position that says that if Hamas delivers
Shalit in a casket to the Egyptians that we will promptly dispatch the
leadership of Hamas to Paradise - regardless of who is in the building with
them when the news comes in. And while such a response might secretly be
welcomed by Fatah it's quite a stretch to think that President Obama will go
for it. And if a phone call came from the White House urging restraint, one
wonders just how far Netanyahu and Barak would go on what our critics would
term "senseless bloodletting that only contributes to the cycle of
violence."

The next hostage taking situation for setting policy isn't the kidnapping
that has yet to take place.

It's the one going on now.

Prime Minister Netanyahu enjoys the tremendous advantage of having a six man
inner cabinet that meets regularly to discuss policy in great depth.

It's still not too late for the sextet to make the handling of the Shalit
case the rule instead of just another in a series of exceptions.

Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)
(Mail POB 982 Kfar Sava)
Tel 972-9-7604719/Fax 972-3-7255730
INTERNET ADDRESS: imra@netvision.net.il
Website: http://www.imra.org.il