Outrage! And I still remember Gilad Shalit

Today, Youssef Magied al-Molqui was released from an Italian prison after serving 24 years of a 30 year sentence. He was released for “good behavior.” Forget the fact that he escaped once and was then recaptured and sent back to Italy to continue serving his prison term. I guess “good behavior” translates differently in Italian than English.

Who is Youssef Magied al-Molqui? He was the leader of four Palestinian hijackers who, in October 1985, took control of the Italian cruise liner Achilli Lauro. The hijackers, these days we call them “pirates” apparently, shot and killed a disabled American tourist, 69-year-old Leon Klinghoffer, and threw his body overboard with his wheelchair. Why? They said because he “created troubles” as one of the terrorists later commented. A 69-year-old elderly man in a wheelchair caused four heavily armed terrorists “troubles?!?” So much so they decided to execute him in his wheelchair, then dump the body overboard? You must be asking yourself, “am I missing something here?” Oh, did I fail to mention Mr. Klinghoffer was Jewish? Read more about the Achilli Lauro story here.

So Al-Molqui is released and ordered expelled from Italy. I’m sure he’ll enjoy a hero’s welcome in any Arab country because, he did after all, kill a Jew. So heroic, executing a wheelchair bound 69-year-old. So for hijacking a cruise ship, executing a disabled man and escaping prison this man ends up with the penalty of 24 years in prison and expulsion from a country that has never been his home?
This brings me to Gilad Shalit. It is coming up on almost 3 years now that he has been held captive, without basic human rights afforded by the Geneva Convention, and denied all access to the Red Cross or any other human rights organization or medical attention which even the captors say he needs. And why, what is his crime? He’s a Jew, kidnapped from his army position by Hamas terrorists. You can read more about Gilad here in a blog post I made back in November of 2008.

My point? I’m tired. I’m tired of the double standard. I’m tired of Hamas and other such groups being given such carte blanche leeway by the EU and others. Mostly, I’m tired of the fact that Gilad Shalit is still being held captive, for no other reason than because he’s a Jew. Wake up, someone, anyone! It’s time for the U.S. to put its foot down and say, no more aid, no more food, no more weapons for any state that harbors terrorists. Instead, feed the starving here in the States, save our taxpayer dollars and let the world know we don’t just hand out carrots to anyone hoping they come around to being our friends in peace. It’s time to pay the piper world or the music gets turned off.

Where to start? Nothing more in aid for the Palestinians until they release Gilad Shalit, alive. How much less could we ask?

Peace and remembrance on this day and all days… -J.R.

Open letter to my representatives

Please go to http://www.congress.org, input your zip code, and you will automatically be able to write an e-mail to all of your political representatives in government. It’s that easy.

Open letter to:
President George W. Bush (R),
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX),
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX),
Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX 30th),

As a registered voter, I call on you to support the State of Israel not in blind devotion, but based on the following truths. As a national leader you have the unique ability to support freedom and democracy and reaffirm each country's right to freedom from terror and pursuit of happiness and peace.

Whereas, Hamas is an Islamic extremist terrorist organization, as designated by both the United States and the European Union, which calls for the eradication of the State of Israel;

Whereas, Hamas rockets from Gaza have purposefully targeted vulnerable southern Israeli cities, specifically landing on or near private homes, schools, colleges, hospitals, daycares and recreation centers;

Whereas, no sovereign government in the world would stand by and allow its citizens to be under steady and heavy attack;

Whereas, Hamas continues to hold hostage Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped on June 25, 2006, in southern Israel and refuses even basic humanitarian conditions or international Red Cross involvement;

Whereas, Israel is taking maximum precautions to avoid harming civilians in Gaza;

Therefore, let it be known that the State of Israel, the strongest standing democracy in the Middle East and long-time friend to The United States of America, has every right to defend their citizens from outside attack.

Let it also be known that The United States of America supports Israel unequivocally in its pursuit of measured and targeted military response and pursuit of peace within its borders and the region.

“Goodwill” gestures? Tell that to Gilad Schalit

Question: when was the last time an Arab country did anything to demonstrate “goodwill” towards Israel?

Just ponder that question a while.

This week it was announced that Israel plans to release 250 Palestinian prisoners in a “goodwill” gesture toward Fatah leader and PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas prior to next month’s Muslim celebration of the Eid al-Adha feast.

Israel last freed Palestinian prisoners on Aug. 25, 2008, during a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Rice was visiting to help push peace talks along between the two sides. At the time, the release of the 198 prisoners was billed as a way to bolster Abbas, whom the U.S. and Israel see as the best chance for a peaceful solution from the Palestinian side.

Prior to that, Israel freed five Hezbollah militants and 200 bodies of terrorists on July 16th, 2008 as part of a deal in which they received the bodies of two soldiers, Sgt. First Class Ehud Goldwasser and Staff Sgt. Eldad Regev, captured and killed by Hezbollah in 2006. One of the five militants released was Samir Kantar, who had been serving multiple life terms in Israel for a grisly 1979 attack in which, among other atrocities, he executed 28-year-old Danny Haran in front of his 4-year-old daughter just before smashing her skull in with the butt of his gun.

Through all this, Staff Sargent Gilad Schalit has remained a prisoner within the Gaza Strip. Since June 25th, 2006 Gilad has been used by the Palestinians as a negotiating piece. They’ve gone as far as agreeing to a prisoner swap in October of 2006 as mediated by Egypt, but then reneged without explanation. It is speculated that Iran applied pressure to prevent the release of Shalit.

"Since Gilad was captured, more than two years ago, Israel has released approximately one thousand Palestinian prisoners, in several goodwill gestures. But these gestures have not pushed Gilad's release even by a millimeter, and have even increased the appetite of Hamas and its demands," Noam Schalit, Gilad’s father, said.

During his entire captivity, Gilad has been refused even basic rights provided by the Geneva Convention and other such treaties. He’s even been denied access to the Red Cross or any other human rights organization.
To see a full timeline of Gilad’s kidnapping and imprisonment go to: http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/c.hsJPK0PIJpH/b.672631/apps/s/content.asp?ct=4007269

So I ask you again, when was the last “goodwill” gesture from the Arab world towards Israel? I can’t come up with one and I question Israel’s constant appeal to these types of gestures as a naïve way forward in peace talks. It’s clear Israelis place a higher value on the dead bodies of their fallen comrades than Arabs do of their living ones. So why does Israel keep trying to offer something of clearly little value to them for something we hold dearly?

The time is up and we must get serious about securing Gilad Shalit’s release. In addition, we can no longer afford, nor tollorate these one-sided trades or “goodwill” gestures. It’s time the other side bellies up to the table and gets serious about the peace process. Releasing Gilad would be a step in the right direction.