>>12733
About Tennenbaum - I agree with you completely.

They tried to rescue Shalit twice. Once, right after he was kidnaped, Israel closed Gaza and blockaded it, and sent troops in. Just then Hizballa attacked us in the north and captured two soldiers. That started the second Lebanese war (2006).
The second attempt was in Offeret Yetsuka (Cast Lead Opporation), in 2008. That's when my brother went in with the tank regiment Shalit was in, and lost a friend to sniper fire.

About death panelty - Israel never had it legislated, and I prefer that to stay like that.

Tannenbaum is a criminal and should be locked away.

Did they try to rescue attempt Gilad Shalit?
Even though Wachsman died, I still prefer that then the prison exchange.
And they also released the terrorist cunt Tamimi that helped a suicide bomber. She still believes she did nothing wrong..no remorse.

Slightly off-topic: Bring back the death penalty (also in the Netherlands)!

>>12719
Considering people still remember Karnit Goldwasser, who was the wife of one of the dead soldiers I mentioned earlier, I think Shalit is going to be harrased for most of his life.
I pity him for becoming a celebrity without wishing it.

My country has a problem with forgeting past grievences (we are jews, after all). Try to talk about the Tennenbaum deal with Hizballa and you can get a shitstorm coming in no time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elhanan_Tannenbaum

Talk about the Vaxman case and the frustration will rise.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapping_of_Nachshon_Wachsman

>>12714 I do not think Gilad was given much of a say in the matter. I simply pose the question in terms of principal: clearly you want to go home, but you also do not want to see tried and convicted enemies of state released, and certainly not 1000 of them. In hindsight, I wonder if Gilad will be remembered as "that guy", and if he will be angry about the terms of his release.. but I also assume he is very happy to be home.

We had a guy in America named Steve Bartman who interfered with a baseball and cost the Chicago Cubs the championship..

>>12714
Thanks Grim, I hope I return safely too :)

I hope you return safely, FtCYP!

>>12702 I thought it was a general saying..

>>12707 Freedom or death seems a simple choice..but you think the kid had a choice?

>>12701 Like? weapons or money?

>>12707
"Seems to me if you are holding POW's, you should do something with them - try them, execute them or use them as bargaining chips. "

The Palestinians held by us were not realy prisoners of war. They were trialed for murdering civilians and found guilty and sentenced to 1 or more life sentences (The harshest sentence in the Israeli justice system, we don't do executions, unless they're Nazis). They are given free reign in the prison and can work towards a degree (some even got two in Israeli prison). I don't think you can compare the way we treat them with the way Shalit was treated (He wasn't even trialed, as far as I know).

"Can you see, in the near future, some accord or move toward peace and civility between the Israelis and Palestinians?"

Politicians on both side use inflamations of war to divert attention from their own shortcomings. Welcome to my frustration.

"If you were a POW, held by Palestinians, would you be happy to be exchanged for 1000+ POW's?"
I don't think I'd care. I'd just want to go home. You can't rely put the weight of the entire future of a country on the shoulders of a young man. Shalit was captured when he was 19/20.
Do you remember what you were doing at that age?

>>12702 Good luck to you on your travels!

"We don't negotiate with terrorists", I believe is from Air Force One, the movie.

Seems to me if you are holding POW's, you should do something with them - try them, execute them or use them as bargaining chips.

Can you see, in the near future, some accord or move toward peace and civility between the Israelis and Palestinians?

If you were a POW, held by Palestinians, would you be happy to be exchanged for 1000+ POW's?

>>12697
"What about the next time they capture an Israeli soldier?"
Probably the same will happen. That's what they say they want to happen. The Israeli PM doesn't say anything to the contrary, so I guess this will be repeated until every palestinian terorist is free.

This Sunday I'm going south for reserve duty. Don't really know where, but if you don't hear from me, you'd know.

"And what about 'We don't negotiate with terrorists'? "
Isn't that an American saying?
Israel negotiated with Hizballa for the return of two dead soldiers, and gave hundreds of Palistinian terrorists in return.

And that's just the reacent deal we've had.

>>12701
I don't think you quite understand the enemosity between the Israeli Jews and the Palestinians. Netanyahu will never join forces with them for any purpose. That's oposite to his DNA. More than that, the Palestinians have no leverage over us, that's why they kidnaped Shalit in the first place, and why they try to change international oppinion of Israel to be considered a terrorist state.

I bet there was more in their arrangement than just one guy. Something we will probably never know.

The problem I'm seeing right now is: What about the next time they capture an Israeli soldier?
1 for 1000, 2 for 2000, etc?
And what about 'We don't negotiate with terrorists'?

>>12692
What's funny isthat they asked for 1420 for him originally. We told them for 5 years that we agree on everyone but 400 from the list they gave us. They apparently changed their minds after the start of the Sirrian revolution. (Sirria houses Hamas' poitical leaders, while Gaza houses their military leaders)

Yes, it sounds extremely racist to say that one of us equals 1400 of them, but we didn't ask for that number, they did. If there is any racism in this "transaction", it's their own leadership's racism against themselves.

There is, however, racism against Arabs in Israel. Not as bad as the US in the 1960s, we are not a segregated society, but there is a prejudice towards arabs in the workforce, and they are usually the ones doing the menial work.

I should point out that Arabs are not required by law to join the military, as Jews, Beduwin and Druz are, so they normally have a head start over the servicing citizens in recieving a formal degree. Most medical doctors I know are Arabs, and a large number of faculty students every year are Arabs (relative to their part in society - which is 20%).

No sunlight does that. But +1000 Palestinians for 1 Israeli??

>>12690
He was mal-nurished for the past 5 year, so I guess he looks better than he should...
What freaked me out the most was how clear his skin looks. His skin is almost seethrough

This was just on the news! Congrats!
He looks thin!