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PRISONER EXCHANGE BLACK SEPTEMBER Adapted Biography: Rabbi Sherer ArtScroll History Series S eptember 1970 is remembered by most of the world as Black September, the month that Jordan s King Hussein finally confronted the PLO, which has established itself as a semi- independent government within Jordan. The Jewish world, however, remembers Sunday September 6 th for the hijacking of TWA flight 741 from Tel Aviv to New York via Frankfurt. On board that flight were Rabbi Yizchak Hutner, Rosh Yeshivas Chaim Berlin with his wife, daughter and son in law. The TWA flight was one of four hijackings carried out that day over the skies of Europe by George Habash s Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Hijackers also took over Swissair, Pan Am and El al airliners. Word that Rabbi Hutner s plane had been hijacked spread rapidly through the Torah world. Even before the destination of the plane was known, the State department had already cabled its legations in whatever cities the plane might land: among the passengers. Is Rabbi Isaac Hutner highly respected, elderly and ailing. Insure to the extent possible that he is accorded appropriate treatment. From the beginning the hijackers showed particular interest in Jewish and Israeli passengers.. It was crucial to the safe return of all the identifiably Jewish passengers on board the TWA plane, that the British, Swiss and German governments not negotiate separate deals for their nationals and planes by agreeing to release Palestinian terrorists in their jails. Were such a deal to be struck, the pressure on Israel to release hundreds of terrorists in Israeli jails in return for the release of the remaining Jewish and American hostages would increase dramatically. A movement arose amongst American Jews to enter separate negotiations with the terrorists in order to ransom Rabbi Hutner at all costs, as it is permitted for Jews to redeem a great Torah leader at all costs. At the time, Rabbi Yaakov Kaminetsky opposed these efforts and argued that the mitzvah of ransoming captives only applies in peacetime, but surely not during hostilities, when the delivery of ransom money to the enemy would strengthen their position. Rav Yaakov accordingly ruled in 1970 that it was forbidden to ransom the great Rav Yitzchak Hutner, who was being held captive by Arab terrorists who had hijacked the airplane on which he was a passenger. 1
DO YOU THINK IT IS RIGHT TO TRY AND SPECIFICALLY RANSOM A PARTICULAR PERSON SUCH AS RABBI HUTNER? WHAT IF THE PERSON HELD CAPTIVE WAS THE PRESIDENT? WHAT ABOUT A SOLDIER? ISRAEL'S UNEQUAL EXCHANGE THE LINE BETWEEN MORAL VALUES AND MORAL HAZARD CAN BE THIN. Israel has a long history of unequal prisoner exchanges. Since 1982, it has released thousands of Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners in exchange for a handful of Israeli soldiers and civilians, some of them living, others already dead. Last week, it agreed to release more than a 1,000 Palestinians, many of them serving life sentences for murder, in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who has been held hostage in Gaza since June 2006. The Jewish state's repeated willingness to pay an exorbitant price for its citizens is a testament to its national and religious values, which stress the obligation to redeem captives. There's an instructive contrast in that, for anyone who cares to notice it, with the ethics of Hamas, which refused to grant the Red Cross permission to so much as visit Sgt. Shalit. There's a contrast, too, with the ethics of those Palestinians now cheering the release of "brothers" imprisoned for committing such acts as a 1989 bus bombing that killed 10 Israelis and the 2001 bombing of a Jerusalem pizzeria. But virtues often have their defects, and the line between moral values and moral hazard can be a thin one. The negotiations to return Sgt. Shalit dragged on as long as they did largely because Hamas had reason to believe it could drive the hardest possible bargain. The same logic explains why Israelis will continue to be tempting targets for hostage taking. 2
Sooner or later, Israel will learn the name of its next Gilad Shalit. Sooner or later, too, it will learn that the better course is to give its enemies reasons to think twice before taking hostages in the first place. Poll: 79% of Israelis support Shalit deal The vast majority of Israel's citizens are in favor of the deal securing the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1,027 terrorists, a public opinion poll commissioned by Yedioth Ahronoth shows. Asked whether they were in favor of Shalit's release in exchange for 1,027 terrorists, 79% of the respondents said yes and only 14% said no. The survey was conducted on October 16 by the Dahaf Institute, headed by Mina Tzemach, among 500 people constituting a representative sample of Israel's adult population. The maximum sampling error is 4.4%. Among male respondents, 74% support the deal and 19% oppose it, while 86% of the women support it and only 5% are against it. Sixty-five percent of the respondents believe a similar deal could have been finalized in the past, while 20% said a deal with similar conditions could not have been reached earlier. As for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conduct, 49% said he gave into public pressure while 43% believe he acted like a leader. Asked about the deal's price, 53% said the Israeli government dropped some of its principles and 20% said Hamas conceded its principles more than Israel. Twenty percent said both sides gave up on some of their principles to a similar extent. Respondents were then asked whether they fear for the security of Israel's citizens following the prisoner release. Fifty percent admitted that they were afraid, while 48% said they trusted Israel's security forces. Finally, respondents were asked to describe their feelings towards the implementation of the Shalit deal. Forty-four percent said they were happy, 17% said they were excited, 15% said they felt proud, 14% were concerned, 5% felt humiliated and 3% were angry. WHAT IS YOUR VIEW ON ISRAEL S PRISONER EXCHANGE? 3
CLASSIC SOURCES Mishna Gittin 45A Captives should not be redeemed for more than their value. To prevent abuses. Captives should not be helped to escape to prevent abuses. Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel says the reason is to prevent ill-treatment of the remaining captives. תלמוד בבלי מסכת גיטין דף מה עמוד א אין פודיןאת השבויין יתר על כדי דמיהן,מפני תיקון העו לם ;ואין מבריחיןאת השבויין,מפני תיקון העולם ;רשב"ג אומר :מפני תקנת השבויין. HOW DO YOU THINK WE DECIDE THE WORTH OF A CAPTIVE? WHAT OTHER RESASONS CAN YOU THINK OF NOT TO REDEEM FOR MORE THAN THEIR WORTH Talmud Gittin 45 A They asked what is the meaning of this reason for the benefit of society? Does it mean that this prohibition was enacted for the sake of avoiding a burden on the community (the community would become impoverished by having to ransom captives). Or perhaps it means that the prohibition was enacted so that (idolaters) will not be encouraged to capture more people and bring them to ransom. תלמוד בבלי מסכת גיטין דף מה עמוד א איבעיא להו :האי מפני תיקון העולם- משום דוחקא דצבורא הוא,או דילמא משום דלא לגרבו ולייתו טפי?ת"ש :דלוי בר דרגא פרקא לברתי ה בתליסר אלפי דינרי זהב DO YOU THINK IMPOVERISHING THE COMMUNITY IS A STRONG ENOUGH REASON NOT TO REDEEM CAPTIVES? WHY? Tosafos, Talmud Gittin 58A When there is a threat to life we redeem a captive for more than they are worth. תוספות מסכת גיטין דף נח עמוד א כי איכא סכנת נפשות פודין שבויין יותר על כדי דמיהן 4
מ, ה, ח. Code of Jewish Law, Yore Deah 252/4 A person is allowed to redeem himself for whatever he wants to pay. Also a Torah scholar or a community leader can be redeemed with a larger sum שולחן ערוך יורה דעה סימן רנב ד אין פודין השבויים) ד (יותר) ה (מכדי דמיהם פני תיקון העולם ו [שלא יהיו האויבים מוסרים עצמם עליהם לשבותם.ז [אבל אדם יכול לפדות א ת עצמו בכל מה שירצה [וכן לת"ח,אואפילו אינ ו ת"ח אלא שהוא תלמיד חריף ואפשר שיהיה אדם גדול,פודים אותו בדמים מרובים WHY DO YOU THINK A PERSON CAN REDEEM HIMSELF NO MATTER THE PRICE? Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg One of the most famous Jewish hostages in history was the leader of world Jewry at the end of the 13 th century, Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg (the MAHARAM). Rabbi Meir was a universally acknowledged leading authority on the Talmud and Jewish Law. Many communities in France and Germany turned to him for instruction and guidance in all religious matters. The MAHARAM lived at a time of great political upheaval that resulted from the election of Rudolf I of Hapsburg to be the German Emperor. Once in power, Rudolf taxed the Jewish community and reduced them to the status of servi camerai (serfs of the treasury), a euphemism for enslavement. Rabbi Meir was arrested and thrown into prison and held ransom. The king knew that the Jews would give away their last mark to redeem their beloved Rabbi, and indeed the sum of 20,000 marks was raised for Rabbi Meir's freedom. Rabbi Meir, however, forbade his friends and followers to pay any ransom for him. In his selflessness he knew that once ransom were paid for him, every noted Rabbi in Germany would be arrested and held for ransom by the greedy and cruel German rulers of those days. Thus Rabbi Meir preferred to remain in prison, and even die there, in order to save many others from a similar fate. For seven years Rabbi Meir remained a prisoner in that fortress until he died there. During this time his disciples were permitted to meet with him, and he was even able to compose several of his works within the prison walls. When he died in the year 1293, his body was not surrendered until 14 years later, when a heavy ransom was paid by a generous Jew, Alexander Suskind Wimpfen of Frankfort. In return Alexander Suskind requested only that after his own death his body should be laid to rest by the side of the saintly Rabbi Meir. His wish was carried out when he died a year later, and in the ancient Jewish cemetery of Worms two tombstones stood erected side by side, one for the great and saintly Rabbi Meir ben Baruch, and the other for Alexander Suskind Wimpfen of Frankfort. WHICH SOURCE FROM ABOVE DO YOU THINK RABBI MEIR WAS MOST CONCERNED WITH WHEN MAKING HIS DECISION NOT TO BE RANSOMED? DO YOU THINK RABBI MEIR S STORY SHOULD BE USED AS A REFERENCE FOR DECISIONS ON REDEEMING CAPTIVES TODAY? 5
INCONCLUSIVE CONCLUSIONS The complexity and sensitivity of this issue has left Halachik authorities at an impasse. During the negotiations many Rabbis had conflicting views citing conflicting Talmudic sources to support their opinion. David Bogner Israel, blogged the following: Like many, I can honestly say that I understand and agree with both positions. But it was my synagogue's rabbi who was finally able to help me gain the proper perspective for viewing this deal. He said that he too was torn about whether this deal was an acceptable one, much less a good one. But then he realized that it was impossible to decide by looking at it from the viewpoint of either the bereaved families of terror victims or the bereaved family of a kidnap victim. He said that we are reminded many times by our sages that all of Israel is responsible for one another. He posits that this means that we are obligated to view ourselves as one large family rather than a nation of families, and must make decisions based on that viewpoint. He didn't tell us whether he favored or disapproved of the deal. But he said it was made clear to him what the right course of action would be once he looked at the situation, not from one family or the other... but rather when he looked at it as if he were a parent of a single family who had had one child killed in a terror attack, and a second child kidnapped and awaiting ransom. That, he told us, is the only way the nation of Israel can begin to contemplate such a terrible choice. Whatever our viewpoint on the exchange is- we are all part of one nation. Whatever our perspective- we can focus our energies on praying for the safety of our brothers and sisters who are fighting for our safety in our homeland. 6
PRAYER FOR THE SOLDIERS He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob -- may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Forces, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our God, from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea. May the Almighty cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighters from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor. May He lead our enemies under our soldiers sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is the Lord your God, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you. 7