Letters to the Editor

On the Shalit release

The return of Gilad Shalit after 5 1/2 years of incarceration in a Hamas dungeon in Gaza is something we have been praying for since the day he was brutally kidnapped.
No one with a heart of flesh can deny being moved to tears of joy for Gilad Shalit and his family. But there is another perspective on this both qualitatively and quantitatively disproportionate prisoner exchange.
It can be asked to any opponent of this exchange, “what would you do if you were Gilad Shalit’s parents”? One has to be grateful not go through this ordeal.
But perhaps, there are some like Roi Klein who have the greatness of soul to put the nation’s interests above their personal interest. Or perhaps there are some who would lobby hard for their son’s release and hope (knowing in their heart of hearts) that the answer will, and should be, “NO.”
The PM of Israel contradicted his own writings when he agreed to this deal. He suddenly found religion and quoted the Gemara that one soul in Israel is the equivalent of the world and the mitzvah of pidyon shevuyim. Perhaps Ehud Olmert was a stronger leader when he refused to make such a deal because the price was too high? The Supreme Court refused to consider the appeal of the families of the victims of terror (“not our business”). But apparently approving the Gaza disengagement and the destruction of Jewish (not illegal) homes in Migron was their business to uphold?
In the end we do see the greatness of Am Yisrael. We celebrated the life of a kidnapped soldier. The people in Gaza celebrate the return of murderers. Perhaps the Gilad Shalit return was too loudly celebrated in Israel. Perhaps it should have been muted in light of all the counter concerns? In the end it was appropriate for Succot. It was a Kohelet day: a time to rejoice and a time to cry.

Rabbi Heshie Billet
Woodmere

“Occupy” rallies pervert Jewish values

It is true that Judaism encourages giving and care for the needy and holds charitable practices in the highest esteem, but primarily as it remains a social responsibility in the hands of the individual, as opposed to the government. As majority leader Eric Cantor told a Jewish audience recently at an Upper West Side synagogue, “a bureaucrat in Washington can’t make as effective a decision about charity, as you can.”
The most productive, Jewish and impactful path that authentic activists with charitable concerns can take, is in the private sector. Perhaps all this energy and exertion should be directed towards the establishment for example, of a grassroots support organization that grants financial aid to struggling artists or writers like Jeanette Friedman, or partners corporate giving programs within large pharmaceutical companies with those that are in the greatest need of medical aid. Additionally, initiatives of this innovative nature are effective, pro-active and cut out the waste and red tape associated with the federal charity of Washington that is being called for.
The Jewish solution is certainly not government imposed. It calls for activists to encourage “genuine willingness on the part of those who gain to ensure that the losers also benefit,” and to appeal to and inspire the spirit of charity as a personal obligation through effective and creative private sector programs.

Dovid Efune
Director,
Algemeiner Journal
Brooklyn