Michael,

This is a very thoughtful essay, and you ask questions that are very difficult, if not impossible to answer. Perhaps, Norrie Hoyt is right:

"A Buddhist or a Christian would not have made this trade.

They would have realized that a dead body in itself, in the scheme of things in the universe, is of no consequence, while the release of a savage murderer is."

I don't know. But, then, we are neither Buddhists nor Christians. The issue, as you know, goes to Eretz Israel, which is where the bodies of the dead soldiers belonged. On the other hand, the fact that this savage murderer who bashed in the head of a nine-year-old girl, who murdered her father, and caused another child's death, is now free, does give one pause. The depth of this issue, the questions it raises are, from a Jewish perspective, endless.

And, here am I, a Persian Jew, exiled with three million other Middle Eastern Jews, some of whom have actually seen murder in the streets, of Jews.
Where was the rest of the world, while we, the oil-less were undergoing this torment.

Perhaps, next time a murderer of Jews is to be exchanged for Jewish murder victims, the murderer should be released to those nations who view the murderer's activities as, in some way, heroic. A number of countries come to mind.

Shalom,
Farnaz

Michael,

This is a very thoughtful essay, and you ask questions that are very difficult, if not impossible to answer. Perhaps, Norrie Hoyt is right:

"A Buddhist or a Christian would not have made this trade.

They would have realized that a dead body in itself, in the scheme of things in the universe, is of no consequence, while the release of a savage murderer is."

I don't know. But, then, we are neither Buddhists nor Christians. The issue, as you know, goes to Eretz Israel, which is where the bodies of the dead soldiers belonged. On the other hand, the fact that this savage murderer who bashed in the head of a nine-year-old girl, who murdered her father, and caused another child's death, is now free, does give one pause. The depth of this issue, the questions it raises are, from a Jewish perspective, endless.

And, here am I, a Persian Jew, exiled with three million other Middle Eastern Jews, some of whom have actually seen murder in the streets, of Jews.
Where was the rest of the world, while we, the oil-less were undergoing this torment.

Perhaps, next time a murderer of Jews is to be exchanged for Jewish murder victims, the murderer should be released to those nations who view the murderer's activities as, in some way, heroic. A number of countries come to mind.

Shalom,
Farnaz

A Buddhist or a Christian would not have made this trade.

They would have realized that a dead body in itself, in the scheme of things in the universe, is of no consequence, while the release of a savage murderer is.

what is the right thing to do?

right of return of the palestinians would be a healthy start...

I cannot understand this trade and I cannot understand the lack of response on this blog! The trade of two bodies is not for just any murderer. The trade will free Samir Kuntar. The LA Times reports:
"Samir Kuntar is Israel's longest-held Lebanese prisoner...

Israel has suffered many attacks over the years, but the one that killed the family of Smadar Haran and a police officer nearly 30 years ago was seared into the nation's collective memory, and the tragic results became a symbol."

And with good reason. Kuntar burst into the home of the Haran family. Witnesses said that after leading Danny Haran and his 4 year old daughter to the beach, Kuntar shot the father before smashing the child's head against a rock, kiling her as well. Haran's wife hid in a crawl space in the home and in desperation, frantically trying to keep her 2 year old girl from revealing their presence, the mother tragically smothered he own daughter.

As though all this is not horrible enough-- recovering the BODIES of two soldiers captured in their OWN COUNTRY BY invading terrorists, and releasing the most monsterous murderer that can be imagined, it is even worse!

Kuntar is a "celebrity" prisoner in Lebanon, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has set Kuntar's release as a goal.

In Lebanon civilians are killed when terrorist launch missiles from apartment buildings (of collaborators -no doubt). In Israel, babies are killed when they are pulled out of their homes.

Where is the outrage?

This is too heartbreaking to discuss, to read about or even to contemplate. The loss of a child is way too tragic to comprehend, the capture, probable torture and then ultimate death of a child is even worse, way worse. To add to this the extra pain of releasing the killer of someone else's child is beyond description. Even for the coldest bleakest day in winter.