Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside UN headquarters in New York today to protest the arrival of Iran’s President Ahmadinejad. Speakers criticized Iran’s reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons and the regime’s failure to respect its citizens’ basic human rights. Among the speakers was Dalia Itzik, speaker of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, whose comments are featured in the above video.

This television show comes from Palestinian Authority TV programming for kids. Enough said.

Understanding Israel’s Painful Decision
by David Saranga
Special To The Jewish Week

‘We’re really talking about Udi; he is my husband … someone to whom I said ‘I’ll bring you the moon and do anything for you.’ ”

For many Israelis, this statement by Karnit Goldwasser, the wife of Ehud Goldwasser, captures the popular sentiment. The government’s recent approval of a prisoner exchange with Hezbollah, the Lebanese terrorist group, means the bodies of Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, who are presumed dead, will be returned to their homes, families and country. This moment comes at the conclusion of a closely-watched process that drained the emotional reserves of all Israeli citizens, not only the immediate families of the kidnapped soldiers. This painful chapter, with its two years of collective worry and anguish, will now begin to close despite the high price we will pay for Regev’s and Goldwasser’s release.

Throughout the negotiating process, one of the most pervasive arguments leveled in opposition to this deal held that Israeli acquiescence to Hezbollah’s demands would invite only more kidnappings with increasing ransoms. An agreement would effectively put other soldiers in danger of becoming “terrorists’ bargaining chips,” with the stakes growing ever higher. The flaw in this reasoning is that Hezbollah does not operate under so rational a calculus. Like other terrorist groups, Hezbollah’s main objective is to perpetrate acts of terror as spectacles that draw worldwide media attention. Unfortunately, these organizations will continue a policy of terrorism as long as their constituency supports it—regardless of Israel’s willingness to engage in prisoner exchanges.

Jerusalem’s decision reflects not only an assessment of the realities of the situation, but also the unique character of the State of Israel. Our commitment to our servicemen and women is a supreme value derived from the tenets of the Jewish faith and from the state’s dedication to morality. Jewish values hold a special place for those engaged in public service and, especially, in guarding and saving the lives of their compatriots. And in the event of death, our tradition teaches us the importance of honoring a body and ensuring its respectful burial among the people of Israel.

In addition, in Israel, unlike in many other countries, a special relationship exists between the public and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces and their families. The IDF is known as tzva ha’am — the citizens’ army, in which we and our loved ones have served in turn. My own service as an IDF officer made me, like many in Israeli society, acutely aware of the responsibility a government and a people have to their men and women in uniform. Our deep and personal connection to the IDF lends us a sense of solidarity and forces us to recognize the distinct possibility that the boys who are now missing could easily be our own biological relatives.

Nahum Barnea, the esteemed columnist for Yediot Achronot, recently noted in an article that Israeli society often behaves more like a tribe than a state, especially in regards to interpersonal relationships. It is an extremely small country, in terms of both land and population, and home to a close-knit society where everyone knows each other and where joy and tragedy resonate and quickly take on a national dimension. I became acquainted with this phenomenon firsthand as the deputy spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry. Every Israeli hiker who goes missing in South America or the Far East — or who is injured abroad — becomes the subject of news stories in Israel’s major media outlets, a phenomenon unheard of in the American press.

For two long years, we have waited for our sons to come home; we have lamented their disappearance and prayed for their return along with their families. Their homecoming will now provide some amount of closure to personal and national tragedy felt by the Israeli public as a whole.

It is fair to say that, under these circumstances, not many other countries, if any, would make the same decision as the Israeli government. Smadar Haran, contemplating the imminent release of Samir Kuntar, who killed her husband and 4-year-old daughter in 1979, echoed the feelings of many Israelis.

After visiting the graves of her beloved husband and daughters — her 2-year-old suffocated that night when, in hiding, Haran sought to prevent her from crying out — and asking their forgiveness for her words, she urged ministers to approve the prisoner exchange. “Like when a stone is hurled into the water, the waves spread from the center outward and touch every single citizen of this country. … I have weighed these matters for a long time and, though it may be difficult, I will not oppose today’s decision. Though my soul may break — and indeed, it is broken — my heart is at peace.”

David Saranga is the consul for media and public affairs at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.