Yesterday marked three years (according to the Jewish calendar, this Thursday will be the Gregorian date) since Gilad Schalit was abducted at Kerem Shalom. Three years of talks, of attempts at negotiating his release – but he is still absent. Schalit, however, is not the only Israeli soldier to be left behind.
- October 10, 1973 – Ze’ev Rotshik went missing, while in search of his unit during the Yom Kippur War.
- June 12, 1982 – the battle at Sultan Yaqub resulted in three MIAs – Zecharia Baumel, Yehuda Katz, and Tzvi Feldman.
- October 16, 1986 – an Israeli F-4 Phantom II suffered damage in Lebanese skies. Two crew members were able to eject to safety, but the navigator, Ron Arad, went missing.
- August 17, 1997 – Guy Hever mysteriously disappeard from his base in the Golan Heights, and has never been heard from since.
- May 24, 2005 – Majdi Halabi mysteriously disappeard, while on his way from home back to his base, and has never been heard from since.
- October 1, 2000 – Jospeh’s Tomb in Nablus was attacked, and Border Patrol Officer Madhat Yusuf was shot in the neck. No rescue mission was sent to save him, and he died due to loss of blood.
- October 7, 2000 – Benny Avraham, Omar Sawaid, and Avi Avitan were kidnapped in a cross-border raid by Hezbollah. In early 2004 their bodies were returned to Israel in a questionable prisoner exchange deal.
- June 25, 2006 – Gilad Schalit was taken hostage in an attack on an IDF post.
- July 12, 2006 – Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser were captured in a cross-border raid by Hezbollah, leading to the Second Lebanon War. Their bodies were eventually returned in an even more questionable prisoner exchange deal.
Israel has a declared policy of leaving no man behind, of caring for its soldiers. However, there are too many missing soldiers whose fate is still unknown. And the last few times it has tried to bring any kidnapped soldiers home through negotiations, it has paid too dear of a price, and learned, all too late, that it was sold a bill of goods.
The last real attempt at rescuing a captive IDF soldier was in 1994. On October 9 of that year Nachshon Waxman was kidnapped from an intersection by Yehud, and an operation was undertaken for his release. The rescue mission was unsuccessful, leaving both Waxman and the mission commander dead.
Ever since there has been a fear of launching, admittedly dangerous, rescue missions for the release of Israeli captives. Soldiers risk their lives for their country. That is a given – it is the very nature of a soldier. It does not mean that avoiding risk is an acceptable excuse for the abandonment of Israelis behind enemy lines. Nor does it mean that the release of murderers in exchange for dead bodies is an acceptable attempt at bringing the soldiers home. It only strengthens the enemy’s resolve.
While no Prime Minister would dare admit this in public, this fear seems to be grounded in politics, than stemming from a concern for soldiers’ lives. A failed mission would cost the government a significant amount of political capital, but that does not mean that they should not try. These pathetic excuses must be brushed aside, and the government must begin fulfilling its duty – safeguarding the people of Israel.
Even unsuccessful rescue attempts are better than the current situation, in which the kidnapping of a soldier can bring a whole country to its knees. In any case, Israel has executed successful operations in the past, leading to the safe return home of captives. Although the abducted were not soldiers, arguably the most famous of these was in Entebbe, Uganda. Another well-known operation was the rescure Sabena Flight 572, in which two future Prime Ministers participated – Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu.
Today, Netanyahu is the Prime Minister, and Barak is the Minister of Defense. Why have the years gone by with nary an attempt at rescuing the MIAs. Where is today’s Entebbe? Where is today’s Sabena?
If Israel were to have the exactly opposite policy, then it would be better protecting its soldiers.
The Arabs know they can grab a guy, kill him secretly and then drag out “negotiations” for years in order to get 100′s of theirs released in return for the body.
If the Israeli government were to turn around and say “No negotiations, no deals” they would have no benefit from the kidnappings.
Rescue missions are for frayers!
Nobody,
G-d forbid people truly believe that. The day that the army stops believing that the gov’t and country have their back is the day it all falls apart.
That’s what people believe already, and they’ve believed it for a long time.
I would say to any of my friends entering the army now that I’d prefer they die than be captured, and that if I were in the army, I would personally shoot my own fellow soldiers rather than allow them to be captured by the enemy.
It is clear from the last 15+ years that Israel’s soldiers will not be rescued if they are captured. There will be a public debate and outcry and a political push, however, Israel will do nothing. The political figures have not done nearly enough for Shalit. What are they afraid of other than their reputations? Have the enemy’s methods become more sophisticated? Perhaps. But this should just push Israel to figure out new ways to help itself and its soldiers.
Garnel – I agree. Seems to have worked for the U.S. in Iraq.
Jack – I think people realize they are giving, and sacrificing (potentially their lives) for something they believe in. Of course, there is the relationship between comradery and troop motivation, as well. The people have the soldiers’ backs – yes, but people are pretty cynical about the government, they know the odds of getting out alive are not high. With regards to negotiations, there is a petition many soldiers (reservists?) have signed calling not to release terrorists for their release if they are ever captured.
Nobody – precisely. That culture is too pervasive, it is a serious problem and I’m planning on writing about it soon. Regarding shooting fellow soldiers in such an event – there was a rumor during Cast Lead that such a directive was, in fact, issued.
M – it should, but it doesn’t seem to have done much in the way of releasing anyone.
There’s also a rumor that soldiers have had these orders for some time already. I also heard that they were in effect at the time of Shalit’s kidnapping, and that when he was led away on his own two feet by Hamas, other IDF soldiers had him in their sights but hesitated at the last moment instead of shooting him.
[...] Israeli: Leave No Man Behind? On other Israeli soldiers left [...]
No price is too high for the return of a fellow Jew. I believe that we should give them back as many prisoners as they want in exchange for someone like Shalit… but I would personally infect each one of them with a lethal virus before releasing them back to their terrorist-loving brethren. The price for giving the world the plague of terrorism is to die at the hands of a terrorist plague.
And of course the easiest way to force them to come to the table to negotiate the swap is by killing one Hamasnik a day until the leaders agree. Give them a month, then up it to two a day. (We can let them off without any killings on Shabbath, to teach them respect for OUR calendar.) After a second month, go to three a day. And so on. At the end of a year we’d have eliminated over 2,000 of the bastards, and if they still didn’t want to release Gilad by then, I imagine that public support for Hamas would start to wane… especially when the Arabs see a dozen idiots in black masks being shot down like pigeons every day.
I’m an arab, and even I’d rather die than be kidnapped by any of them.
Since they’ve let Gilad free, he said in his interview that Hamas treated him “OK”. I wonder if he was just saying so out of fear because at the time of the interview, he was still being held. But if they did treat him “OK,” then Insh’Allah (pardon me – it just comes natural) your other soldiers are still [alive] and being treated at least “OK” and you will see them again soon someday.
Its not my first time to visit this web page, i am visiting this website
dailly and take good information from here all the time.