The photos paired above are posted as they appear at the Telegraph today. Today is a day for a study in contrasts between Israel and the various Palestinian factions: the treatment of prisoners, the value of human life, and the contrast in fundamental values: Shalit was a solider in the wrong place at the wrong time, abducted and held hostage by jihadist, terrorist thugs. The Palestinian prisoners were in prison for a reason -- many reasons, including murder.
Above all, today illustrates the intensity of the double standard to which Israel is held among its neighbors; for so many, however far backward Israel bends will never be "good enough" so long as it so rudely insists on continuing to exist.
"Israeli military: Schalit suffering malnutrition," by Daniella Cheslow for the Associated Press, October 18:
TEL NOF AIR BASE, Israel (AP) — An Israeli military official says the freed Israeli soldier, Sgt. Gilad Schalit, is showing signs of malnutrition and lack of exposure to the sun after five years in Hamas captivity.
Schalit was examined by military doctors after being freed earlier Tuesday by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity under military protocol.
Schalit has appeared weak, pale and extremely thin in an Egyptian TV interview and video clips released by the Israeli military. [...]
Gilad Schalit, in a brief interview with Egyptian TV before being transferred to Israel, said he was "very excited" to taste freedom and had missed his family and friends. He said he feared he would remain in captivity "many more years" and worried since being told of the deal last week that last-minute hitches might cause it to collapse.
"Of course I missed my family. I missed friends, meeting people to talk to people, and not to sit all day, to do the same things," he said.
But Schalit's physical appearance raised questions about the condition of his captivity in the hands of the Hamas militant group. The 25-year-old appeared pale and gaunt, shifted in his seat, struggled to breathe and seemed to mumble as he answered the questions.
Later, video released by the military showed him being helped into an army jeep after crossing the border into Israel, and walking gingerly down a set of steps from a military caravan after changing his clothes into a fresh army uniform. Still, military officials said a physical exam had found him to be in good shape.
Later, he was flown on a helicopter to an air base in central Israel for a reunion with his family hosted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu told an audience that he understood the pain of Israeli families who lost relatives in Palestinian violence, but that Israel's ethos of doing everything possible to bring its soldiers home safely forced him to act.
He also issued a staunch warning to the freed militants. "We will continue to fight terror and every released terrorist who returns to terror will be held accountable," he said.
Those concerns were underscored with comments by one of the freed prisoners, Hamas militant leader Yehia Sinwar, who called on the movement to kidnap more soldiers....
por guy. but don't hold your press. the crminal hamas has learned a great lesson. take one hostage and have 1000 murders go free. I am sure they are already embarking on getting a new hostage.
M
This isn't the first time Israel has released one thousand prisoners in return for one or two captured Israeli soldiers. They learned this lesson long ago. If memory serves, the PA did the same thing.
Bibi can keep saying things like "every released terrorist who returns to terror will be held accountable" but it's harder and harder to believe, with every release of hundreds of terrorists in exchange for one hostage. How many more people will die at the hands of those released in this 'exchange'?
To the State of Israel
RE: Pleading for the millionth time (or so) to really do public relations
The world can see the differences in the health of the exchanged prisoners. One criminally-innocent individual versus >1,000 convicted criminals.
We know that Israel respects life, that it follows the right path. "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live." Deut. 30:19
Your life, your existence, your practices, are implanted in the Western world. We are a part of you, and you of us.
Please, please, please, tell the world, over and over. The decent of the world will begin to come to your side, even if reluctantly. As to your avowed enemies, serious Muslims in particular and the left generally, our Lord has left them to their hatred. There is no hope.
But not all Muslims accept uncritically what their imams say. Extend your PR campaign to them.
Please do this.
A "study in contrasts" indeed! Like the contrast between civilization and barbarity. Disgusting!
Well, *thank God this man is free*. I wasn't sure we would ever see this day—I thought there was a good chance that Gilad Shalit was already dead.
I'm *so happy I was wrong*.
But it is clear he has been mistreated. He is visibly starved, while the released Jihad terrorists look perfectly well-fed and healthy.
And would that this were the end of it—but of course, it is not. How soon before one of those 1100 released terrorists commits his next act of savagery? How soon before they kill again?
From the article:
Those concerns were underscored with comments by one of the freed prisoners, Hamas militant leader Yehia Sinwar, who called on the movement to kidnap more soldiers....
................................
Now that Yehia Sinwar and his fellow Jihadists know how much anguish they can cause with these kidnappings—and how many mass-murderers they can get released in exchange—they will try again.
And it has already started. Those recent killings over the border from Sinai are suspected to have been an attempt to kidnap Israeli soldiers.
So—welcome home, Gilad Shalit! I say this absolutely without reservation.
Yet I cannot help but fear for the next Gilad Shalit... and the others to follow...
True. As Pamela Geller put it:
"A war between a savage and a civilized man".
Ruslan Tokhchukov, EnragedSince1999.
By the way, here's a picture of Gilad Shalit looking hale and hearty before his kidnapping:
http://2media.nowpublic.net/images//89/9e/899e3ca11ea9f970652c1e2daf3e77f9.jpg
What a marked difference. I hope Israeli doctors and his family can nurse him back to full health.
I don't think this is the end of the story. It seems more logical that Israel got Gilad out before they go forward and take care of some real business in the coming weeks. Everyone of those freed Muslim murderers has a target on his back, especially since we know that they plan to go right back into business as usual.
Offense Israel. Offense.
I agree. People constantly underestimate Israel's capabilities.
I wonder how many of the former prisoners had dental work done during their incarceration? Or routine injections, surgical procedures, etc? ; - D
Look for some 'targeted' airstrikes sometime soon . . .
I think ( hope ) that you are right, Isabella.
I guess one civilized human really is worth a thousand thugs.
A civilised nation is almost helpless in a struggle against savages, as is too clear in this struggle between Israel and Islam. We can look at any other example if this one is too hot for some to handle. They are all the same. Civilised nations do not act like savages, and thus savages win by default. Even mild self-defence of ones own people under direct threat, even when ones own people are murdered, elicits little response from civilised nations. So who needs a civilised nation's protection? Against Islam, it ain't worth much.
Of course, a civilised nation will go to endless lengths to attack its own people who defend themselves, usurping the power of the state. Homicide bombers and stealth jihadis don't upset the Order at all; they might even vote for the dhimmi ruling class, give them money and awards and backdoor prostitutes to keep thing happy. But the average man of the Modern world will soon be criminalised for defending himself.
There's a trade-off: Does one pay with ones life to be a compliant citizen while the ruling elite fiddle? Or does one step beyond the bounds of licit behaviour and make money by acting in self-defence? I don't have any answers to that. No one here is trying to kill me or to destroy the nation I live in. But in terms of making money it is something to think about: to take by whatever means one might from those who would kill and destroy by any means at hand. No good point in outraging the elite if one doesn't make enough money to make it worth the while. And to acquire by 'crime' for its own sake is too stupid to consider. But to defend oneself and get rich at it, that might appeal to some who want to do some great thing.
Next time the savages grab a civilised person, one might think of making them pay for it, even if the civilised government would rather make the nation and its people pay instead.
Spot on, Isabella.
Have no doubt - the Musloids are being watched, and I agree - gettting Shalit out was necessary before Israel gets tough with their enemies.
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Gird your loins.
It's gonna' get real hot, and real soon.
I'm really glad to see Gilad is doing ok, at least he's alive-I was expecting that Hamas might exchange a corpse (no offense) as they've done to other people they've kidnapped.
What Israel should've done is release these terrorists with an explosive ring around their neck, where if they tried to take it off, stepped anywhere near Israel, they'd get decapitated, or if they were caught engaging in terrorism again, it could be detonated remotely.
This is a terrible precedent that Israel has set because it rewards the kidnappers, like the lunacy of paying the bribes the Somali pirates demand.
Why don't people ever learn that there is only one way to deal with terrorists and that is to eradicate them. Make terrorism so painful that it'd discourage anyone from engaging in it.
There is no commonality between savages and civilized people, show them leniency and they will show you no mercy. They will smash your 4 year old daughter's head with rocks (like Sami Kunter did), lob thousands of bombs on your cities, pelt you with stones while you're in your car and so on.
they should have hit the bus convey with rockets from miles away once they crossed the border and gilad was safe....
they got him out. i think there is going to be an aftermath leading to another war with palestine and lenanon, possibly syria too, but id prefer the gov there continues enforcing the anti riot laws with such zeal.
Reminds me of the concentration camp survivors.
I'm sure he suffered very badly, was probably in isolation with barely enough food and water to keep him alive. Of course, they may have, and knowing how Muslim males are sexually depraved, probably did rape him. And he could have AIDS.
Gaunt tho' Gilad may be, Daniel Pearl must've been perched on his shoulder keepin' the man safe
A touching comment, London Jim.
You heard it Greycap.
Hey CGW! Hi Paul, Hi David,
It just doesn't make any sense to me that Israel would do a 1 to 1027 trade with murderers who've killed their own people without a plan up their sleeve. And right on schedule, the Muslims are strutting and getting cocky and a little too sure of themselves. I feel the big hammer in the air, about to come down and do some nailin'.
BTW guys, over on Atlas Shrugs Pamela's speech in Houston, tX tonight has been cancelled at the Hyatt Place Houston/Sugarland hotel due to pressure from CAIR. We've been lighting up their phones and poor Brandon, the assistant manager over there (worm boy, I call him,) told me that "you people have been contacting us all day and I'm trying to conduct business". Whatever. I'm trying to prevent America from being overrun by more dhimmis like you, Brandon.
Please check it out and if you can, give a shout out over to the Hyatt and tell them how you feel. I'm positive Brandon wants to know. ; ) http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2011/10/hyatt-place-houston-cancels-pamela-geller-event-caves-to-sharia-demands.html#comments
Gilad looks like those half-starved inmates of Hitler's concentration camps who were freed by the allies, wheras the Pali criminals released from Israeli prisons look like coming home from a holiday. That's the difference.
Use your mouse to scroll over this guy's head and gain an insight into the Arab mind.
http://www.selfcontrolfreak.com/slaan.html
He looks six months from death. No wonder Israel felt like it needed to close this terrible deal now.
That's a lot of fun. Best I've done is six slaps at one go. He whacks like a camel tail.
Also a contrast, Gilad expresses a desire for peace whereas the Palestinians pledge more abductions...
Seeing him reminded me also of the survivors of the Nazi camps -- especially the hollow look in his eyes and yet the eternal joy of his spirit. I'm sure we will hear the horror stories of what he endured in the weeks to come.
A grim reminder to all of us that we can not afford to lose this war.
I hope the Mossad kills one by one, all those 1,000 criminals released...
Seconding that thought.
They are no longer prisoners; they are active enemy combatants, as full of murderous Jew-hatred as any SS or Gestapo thug.
Shalit comes home.
Mossad goes to work.
Israel acts.
Lebanon, Syria fall.
Iran tries something stupid.
They fall, too.
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Rinse and repeat until Islam is banned, like Nazism.
Yep, London.
And the interestting thing is that...
Daniel's still on that shoulder.
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duerme con los angeles de la guardis, Jim.
"Still, military officials said a physical exam had found him to be in good shape."
Sure, his heart is beating and he's breathing. It looks to me like the terrorists being released are in great shape....
And they say Israel is the one violating human rights. Please...
Yes London Jim, and I would say he had all of the Jews persecuted by Muslims since Khaybar with him.
I'm very happy for this day.
My greatest hope, David.
Like most people I am glad that Shalit is home. I still feel however that the deal was stupid and dangerous.
By exchanging over 1000 terrorists for 1 life this guarantees that more soldiers will be kidnapped, never mind all of the new terror attacks that will take place with the freed terrorists.
It seems to me sometimes that Israelis forget that they live in the middle east. You cannot survive in a rough neighborhood by looking like a weakling.
The ancient Israelites knew how to deal with the enemies in the region. The phrase An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth was invented by us.
I am coming to the conclusion that the modern govt of Israel needs to study more closely what was done back then and learn from it, as there does not seem to be much difference between the primitive tribes of 2000 years ago and the primitive tribes that are there now except for the Jewish response to them.
King David said " Pursue the enemy and destroy them".
Perhaps to be a real Jewish state this philosophy needs to be revived.
Letter in jpost.com:
Sir, – According to its accusers, Israel is a ruthless victimizer of innocents who respond violently out of desperation. Actually, though, terrorists take advantage of the fact that Israel is restrained by moral scruples.
Would they keep launching rockets from the Gaza Strip if Israel responded by devastating entire neighborhoods, as it easily could? Would youngsters be throwing rocks if they knew the response would be like that seen in Syria? Would hostages be taken if Israel went after the bad guys in Gaza with abandon? Of course not, and they know it.
Israel’s foes may lack scruples, but they are not fools. Sometimes, though, I wonder about Israel.
"their enemies" = "its enemies"
Hello, Mr. MacUalraig!
You have an ancient and grand surname.
You also write in a grand style.
Welcome, Sir!
These pictures and video of him should be a wake-up call to the world. Hello, remember the Nazis? His condition says it all. But this time they arent just after the Jews...
Jamadagnii wrote:
Also a contrast, Gilad expresses a desire for peace whereas the Palestinians pledge more abductions...
..................................
Telling point, Jamadagnii.
The IDF has no problem of killing and recapture those released terrorists.
You wrote, and with due respect I respond:
"You cannot survive in a rough neighborhood by looking like a weakling."
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Oh yes, you CAN!
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I'm six-foot-four, two-hundred pounds, and I refuse to act as other than pacifistic, until I am forced to do otherwise.
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Ghandi is our model.
He brought down an empire.
We can, too, looking like complete beta-males.
Well, I'll throw in my two cents.
Revenge is different from justice. Justice is not served by random killing of released prisoners, even if they were terrorists. There is no payback for what happened to Galid Shalit.
But, justice does not require that a country allow itself to be destroyed. Israel should consider the death penalty for deliberate murder, especially terrorists. Justice would be served, it would be according to law, and Israel wouldn't have thousands of terrorists and murderers waiting around, attracting kidnappings like Shalit. Is Israel willing to protect itself and serve real justice through execution of committed murderers, after a fair judicial process?
Incidentally, the death penalty would also apply to non-Muslim mass murderers, like Baruch Goldstein.
I usually agree with what you write, David, but I must here register my difference with you over Gandhi. He is for me the single most overrated person of the twentieth century. The empire he "brought down" was ready to have India go independent anyway, as Canada, Australia and New Zealand already had and other nations would in the future, only the timing was an issue. Gandhi foolishly rushed things and stirred up a revolution he could not control. As Paul Johnson, author of Modern Times and many other great works, has written, Gandhi was indeed the Sorcerer's Apprentice a la Mickey Mouse.
He was so foolish that he thought the reason why Hindus and Muslims detested each other was due to the British presence. Hell, it was this presence that had kept these two groups from ripping each other apart, especially Muslims going after Hindus. Gandhi was equally foolish when he advised Winston Churchill as late as 1941 to make peace with Hitler.
The man was also a total crank. He thought women were superior to men because he believed women could not experience sexual pleasure. Evil, he believed, sprang from dirt and eating the wrong foods. His ideas for an independent India, agriculturally speaking, would have led to mass starvation. And his posturing as a simple man was so fraudulent. As one close to Gandhi observed: "It costs a great deal of money to keep Gandhi living in poverty." What Gandhi really proves is the decency of the British Empire. Ho Chi Minh sarcastically said of Gandhi that he was damn lucky that it was the British who ruled India and not the Russians or Chinese or even the French or Belgians because they would have just shot him.
So, with respect, I say you can have Gandhi. The fact that he is still so lauded makes me think from time to time that history is indeed a pack of lies agreed upon. Generally, however, I'm not this cynical and believe that the truth, while often elusive, can be found most every time if one is diligent enough. But then someone mentions Gandhi in almost hagiographic terms and, damn, I find myself playing around in Cynic World again. In any case, I enjoy your posts and hope you and yours are doing well.
It appears Gilhad was released just in time. Another year and he may have died in captivity. I expect over the coming months we will hear how he was treated by Hamas but from his present condition we can guess it wasn't humanely.
What signal is Hamas giving the world in this very public release? They are sending their Jewish captive back to Israel and getting their "freedom" (to be slaves to Sharia) fighters out of Israel. It would be foolish to consider this an act toward "peace."
Resoundingly said Wellimgton. .Gandhi was also the subject of Hugh Fitzgerald's biting wit, though I don't have the link at hand, I'm sure you remember the piece as well.
WelliNgton. typo..apos.
Wow! Good post, and I'll have to agree with you.
As for his pacifistic stance, I would like to know more, if that is actually what he was made of.
I must admit I have read nothing by the author you mention, but I will. I've read everything Mao wrote when I was in Beijing.
Hope you and yours are well, too.
Thx for the "heads up", Wellington. :)
Thank you for the kind regards, Sir.
Again, the rinse & repeat cycle you suggested was perfect.
This war started by Mo should be stopped by us so our children don't have to fight it.
Well said, Wellington. Also, one of Gandhi's "accomplishments" was that he "inspired" the abandonment by India of Tibet. Naturally it was not called abandonment, but "non-alignment", I think.
Gandhi is the hero for the wimps of today, who revere the idea of "survival", ie running away or giving in, instead of standing up to evil.
We have just had "refugee week" here, where refugees are treated like heroes, and those who stayed behind to fight I suppose are considered to be foolish losers, at least by the trendy Left.
And you are so right about Gandhi missing the point about Muslim/Hindu enmity. The idea of British "divide and rule" is never questioned these days - but it sure should be. We hear the same nonsense about Sudan, that the Muslim/Christian problem was due to Britain's "divide and rule" policy.
Last night I went to hear Emmanuel Jal, the Sudanese "peace" rapper, talk. Unfortunately he has been "bought", as it were, by the international peace fraternity - Jimmy Carter, Desmond Tutu, etc, and given an award. Consequently he lets Muslims off the hook for the civil war in Sudan. Well, why not, when you can make so many admiring new friends and bask in the illusion that "songs" will end war.
Welcome, Sir.
Yes, but the simple notion of non-violence - regardless of the presence/effect of muslims, and regardless of the vagaries of colonialism and the misguided co-opting by lefties - still functions as, IMHO, an extremely powerful antidote to those who would use violence as a means to an end, whoever they may be, or however "history" has been written, with regard to Ghandi.
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Everything Mao wrote? Wow, that's keen! Now maybe you can read what his physician wrote...or maybe "Hungry Ghosts" by Jasper Becker...sobering stuff.
Have you read Jung Chang and her English historian husband Jon Halliday's book on Mao?
"Mao: The Unknown Story".
I haven't read the whole thing through, but I skim-read portions of it in a bookshop once, and what is fascinating is that there is a very great deal about Mao's personality type and modus operandi - at least as described by the authors of that book - that reminded me of Mohammed as he appears in the Islamic texts.
A review of the Chang/ Halliday book on Mao.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/jun/04/featuresreviews.guardianreview10
Gawd, the civility on this thread is a bit nauseating! ; - )
"everything Mao wrote"
oops! forgot the sarc tag in that post, but anyway, I'll sell you one of those ubiquitous red books for a good price...jajajajaja
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Just as an aside - as you may know, Mao was an adherent to a belief that screwing young girls increased longevity!
Neat, huh?/off
Why is it nauseating?
I take manners to be the mark of an educated, civilized man/woman.