Did you impply that Israel should not have made the 1 to 1000 exchange?

Submitted by Prashant (United States), Oct 19, 2011 at 02:35

Dear Dr Pipes:

Either I did not understand what you said or I strongly disagree with you. You seem to imply that Israel should not have made the exchange in which they freed over 1000 Arabs for one Israeli soldier. I am not even a Jew and I disagree with you. I remember the day when Mr Schalit was dastardly kidnapped by the enemy.

Yes, some of the released Arabs may be convicted criminals. And, yes, most of them will go back to their violent ways. But, I would have hated it more if Mr Schalit were killed by his captors (as Daniel Pearl was killed). Or if he had been forced to convert to Islam to save his life. There is no dearth of Islamists on the planet who will kill in the name of Islam. Adding 1027 more to the lot will hardly do any new harm. But saving one Israeli life for 1027 jailed Islamist will set an example for them that life is precious and it should be preserved. And that life should not be destroyed wantonly in Mumbai, in Tel Aviv, in Madrid, or even in Kabul or Islamabad. Perhaps one of these 1027 released people will hang his head in shame and realize how easily Islamists kill around and how earnestly the rest of us try to save. And, that will be a good bargain even if the remaining 1026 go back to their violent ways.

I must not have understood you correctly for I cannot believe that you implied that it was a bad exchange.

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