Those being released in this destructive deal are no mere abstraction. They include the two heads of the cell that was behind the March 21st, 2002 suicide bombing.
I had an article ready and then Israel published the list of the 735 terrorists it is releasing this week for live and dead hostages. I never thought to look up people from our attack, but then the lightbulb went off and figured I should take a look. Just as the state of Illinois was required by law to publish annual state employees' salaries and did so by putting the information in the Outer Hicksville Gazette, so Israel made it very difficult to get information on the terrorists. They published the list 25 murderers per page, and one had to go through the list in alphabetical order. So between squats and bench presses, I had to go to the middle and end of the alphabet to find that the two terrorists who organized the attack in which my son and I were wounded are getting out of jail. They killed three people in that attack alone, including a woman pregnant with twins.
How is one supposed to feel when people whose actions upended your life walk free well before their time (Israel does not use the death penalty, though it’s on the books, and a “life” sentence is 35 years)? Israel is run by cowards and supported by the incoming administration to go through with this deal. So Hamas can now boast that it killed 1,200, took 250 hostage and is getting 2,000 out of jail. The buildings will be replaced, the dead will be replaced, and in the end, Israel will once again be the big loser. And why is that?
Over the weekend, two Houthi missiles were shot at central Israel. They were shot down and the debris landed in open areas. Israel has all of the means of putting the Houthis out of business. From a nuclear bomb to more conventional destruction of their ports, water sources and electricity, Israel could send the Yemenite terrorists back to the stone age (which is about 5 minutes from where they are now). Israel isn’t into putting the Houthis away for good; rather, it’s into “mowing the lawn”--always letting it grow back. Israel could have put Gaza away with a furious air campaign and no further food or water coming in. Israel was terrified of being accused of causing a mass famine by not feeding the terrorists who killed 1,200 of its people. I believe that the Gazans would have turned on Hamas before letting themselves die of hunger. Israel is feeding the same people who have killed nearly 400 soldiers since the ground campaign started.
The ultimate problem we have is that our leaders no longer live the same lives we do. Long gone are the days of Lincoln riding his horse through the streets of Washington—and people take pot shots at him during the Civil War. We are far removed from Nixon crossing the street to have a cup of coffee or Jane Byrne choosing to live for a while in crime-ridden Cabrini Green in Chicago. Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu and his cabal of ministers have agreed to release these people because they believe that they are safe from danger. During the second intifada, there were 1,100 Israelis killed and another 12,000 wounded. Of that, only one minister was killed, when he was ambushed at a hotel. The adopted daughter of a former minister was killed in a car bombing. Thus, they are unleashing terrorists on the people and know that they and their families will not be in any danger. Something similar is true in the US where those in and out of government who push for an open border never had illiterate Mexican kids in their children’s classes. Those who scream about the environment keep flying private and do not give up their energy-chugging homes. Our leaders live in a parallel universe in which they pass laws and take actions that make the people’s lives worse, while they are completely oblivious to the impact of their actions.
Sometimes, things do catch up. Like the LA fires where people who supported the Green nonsense and DEI hierarchy lost their houses due, in part, to voting their beliefs. But people like Joe Biden can make the price of gas or meat go through the roof and never feel the effect of their decisions. In Israel, politicians will wring their hands if God forbid there are future attacks, but they are the ones who let the murderers out. Israel could have flattened Gaza or starved it into submission. But Israeli leaders are always looking over their shoulders at the US, the Hague, and other international finger-waggers. So they condemn their own citizens so as to please those in Washington and Brussels. Don’t they know that over half of the Schalit terrorists released returned to active terrorism? Of course they do, but they don’t care. The green nonsense and reduced farming in the West are pursued so as to please the World Economic Forum, even though electricity and food for the locals—the voters--become more expensive.
There is no way to make our leaders live our lives. Other than highly secured and televised visits to restaurants or ball games, they have no contact with the people they lead—and often endanger. Maybe term limits would help bring greater turnover but ultimately our elected leaders live in a rarefied world where they are not subject to the outcome of their actions. In Israel, it means released terrorists and a failed strategy to conquer Gaza and crush Hamas are the people’s problem and not theirs. Bibi is promising that if Hamas does not agree to Israel’s terms, then the war will begin after the first 42 day period. My two cents are that after six weeks of no fighting, the world will not let Israel fight again. Additionally, soldiers will be happy to be back in their private lives again. The war will end with Gaza unconquered, Hamas still in charge, most of the remaining hostages still in Gaza and the place rebuilding like nothing had happened. Just as Stalin did not care how many soldiers he lost on the way to Berlin, Hamas couldn't care less about the supposed 40,000 dead Gazans. It’s the price for victory. We mourn over death; they celebrate it.
The West is led by leaders who do not share the lives and challenges of their citizens. Most are millionaires and are oblivious to the financial and safety implications of their actions. Soros DA’s let out killers, not fearing that one might show up on their doorstep. Donald Trump is different from other politicians, but he also put his approval on this hostage deal. I could agree to the terrorist release if they would promise only to attack Knesset members, the same ones who let them out. Unfortunately, no one will ask them to agree to such terms.
My son, the same one injured by these monsters, said it best: “They’re getting back 20 live hostages. What’s the likelihood that the thousands being released will kill more than 20 people?” Great question, but one that does not interest Bibi and his band of out-of-touch brothers.