Feiglin: Deciding Others' Fate?
Moshe Feiglin
According to Ynet, MK Moshe Feiglin sent Ehud Barak a statement requesting that he not negotiate his release, if he were kidnapped:
“What our betrayed hero who is rotting in his cell understands, must be understood by any Israeli citizens as a free person. We must not buy one person’s freedom in exchange for risking the lives of many and encouraging additional abductions.”
He went on to claim that “this order is the product of a sound mind.” A statement that would be unnecessary unless one actually considered what they’d just said to at least sound insane. Kind of like when you say “with all due respect” and everyone knows that whatever comes next will be offensive.
Feiglin keeps digging himself deeper:
“Since then and to this day, Jonathan has been imprisoned under disgraceful conditions. Israel, which sent him and for which Jonathan sacrificed his life, has done and is doing all in its power to keep him in prison and see him die there.”
That would have been fine – had Feiglin not said just a sentence before, that Jonathan Pollard turned down release deal offers. You can’t possibly accuse a country of not trying to get a prisoner out of prison, when you’re turning down offers for your own release. Feiglin ripping a page right out of martyrism 101. Turn down offers for your release – and you can no longer complain that nobody is trying!
On Gilad Shalit, Feiglin says:
“The Israeli government has refrained from carrying out the simple and most required actions for Gilad Shalit’s release,” he accused. “Hamas, which at first avoided admitting that it was the kidnapper, understood quite quickly that Israel’s leaders would not endanger themselves with international arrest warrants and is no longer afraid to claim full responsibility for this act. Thousands of its detainees in Israel are getting the royal treatment and conditions no Israeli detainee can even dream of.”
This is true. Palestinian terrorists do get treated really well in Israeli prisons. But really, Feiglin? Are you about to argue that Shalit should not be released in return for Palestinian prisoners? What authority do you have? Who died and gave you the power to decide what Gilad Shalit’s life is worth?
“In this situation, the responsible Israeli citizen is faced with one of two choices: One – to come to terms with the described process and wait for the blow that will terminate this historic episode called ‘The State of Israel’. The other option is that, like in past wars, the simple soldiers will know how to save the state from its leaders’ failures, as today, we, the civilians and the simple soldiers order that no negotiations be held for us.”
Oh well, I guess he did go there. And when you take any argument and put the opposite arguement in the place of anti-Israeli thought – you’re hitting below the belt. Releasing prisoners for Gilad Shalit is not anti-Israeli, and is not ‘terminating the historic episode called ‘The State of Israel.’ Feiglin – stop it. You’re sounding more and more ridiculous every time you open your mouth.
And please – don’t make decisions as to what others’ lives are worth.