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Netanyahu Calls Shalit Parents – Gilad Coming Home

Yeshiva World News

Kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit just spent his 5th Rosh Hashana in captivity.

2:35 PM: Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has phoned Noam and Aviva Shalit, the parents of captive IDF soldier Gilad, explaining “since taking office I have waited to make this call. A deal has been reached to bring Gilad home. I have a majority in the cabinet. Gilad is coming home!”

It must be stated however that despite the optimism, the deal still requires cabinet approval, which appears imminent, but it has yet to occur. The cabinet is convening to approve a major prisoner release deal for Shalit’s return. The deal will compel Israel to release some 1,000 terrorists, including many that the government indicated would never see the light of day.

If the cabinet approves the deal, there is nothing in the way of moving ahead to bring Shalit home, a reality that will most likely take an additional number of weeks.

Hamas officials and Arab media sources, including el-Jazeera are confirming a German mediator has reached an agreement between Israel and Hamas. Al-Jazeera reports the deal will be carried out in two phases; moving Shalit to Egypt in exchange for 400-500 senior terrorists at that time, completing phase one of the deal.

Once this is completed, phase two will include the German negotiator moving Shalit to Germany, at which time the remainder of the terrorists will be released, totaling about 1000 prisoners in all.

Timeline of developments:

12:26 PM: Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu appears to be working to convene his high-level ministerial forum of eight cabinet ministers on Tuesday night to approve a deal that has been reached for the release of Gilad Shalit.

While there are no official messages being released, reliable sources are signaling the ministers may convene later tonight towards approving a deal that was hammered out between Israel and Hamas through the intervention of the German media.

12:50 PM: It is now being reported that the ministerial forum of eight met already during the night (Monday to Tuesday) and this evening, Oct. 11, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has summoned his cabinet ministers for an urgent session, which appears to be a move towards obtaining government approval for the deal that has been worked out with Hamas.

Kol Chai Radio reports that during the ministerial meeting during the night, the senior ministers reviewed the names of 450 Hamas terrorists, deciding the fate of each and every one of them.

Ze’ev Fleishman of the Free Shalit campaign reports that rumors have been circulating for the past week, and they continue davening that a deal is imminent, one that will bring Gilad Shalit home for Yomtov. At present, all information is based on reliable but yet unofficial sources.

12:57 PM: Official government sources are now confirming that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has called his cabinet ministers for an urgent session, tonight, Tuesday, October 11, 2011, to approve a prisoner exchange deal for the release of Gilad Shalit.

It appears the German negotiator has hammered out a deal, an agreement that has been approved by the ministerial forum of eight during the night. According to reports, the forum of 8 ministers reviewed the names of 450 terrorists whose names appear on the list slated for release. It is assumed the forum approved the list, explaining the effort to now gain cabinet approval.

The official source adds that officials in the Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday night have notified Noam and Aviva Shalit, the soldier’s parents, signaling that a deal may be approved in the coming hours.

Hamas leaders in recent years have indicated there would be no compromise, stating all of the names on the list would have to be included in a prisoner exchange, without exception.

Despite sincere prayers for the release of the soldier, who recently marked his fifth Rosh Hashanah in captivity, many Israelis, including victims of terror, oppose any deal that would result in the release of hundreds of heinous terrorists, a move that they insist would result in increased terrorism and more loss of life.

YWN-Israel will continue providing updates on a possible Shalit prisoner exchange deal as they become available.

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70 Comments

  • CHEFKE

    Gaining the life of this one jew and putting 450 killers on the street? I am sorry for Gilad but more harm will be done here than good.

  • IDF veteran, and son of IDF veteran

    To #1,
    When your son is that one Jew, please get back to us with your opinion.

  • Chayale

    Hope they don’t return a body in a coffin!
    Those murderers would not behave so savagely if they keep getting away with it!!
    I’m sick to my stomach just thinking about it!

  • UNITY

    As it’s written in the TORAH!
    “SAVING ONE LIFE IS LIKE SAVING THE ENTIRE WORLD!”

    WE ARE ALL BROTHERS AND SISTERS WOULDN’T YOU HELP YUR BROTHER/SISTER IN A TIME OF NEED?!

    WELL, NOW OUR BROTHER GILAD NEEDS OUR HELP, AND WE SHOULD BE ALL THERE TO HELP HIM ! ! !

  • Avi

    It makes no difference that it is another jew over here. You can’t go ahead and save one jew on the count of countless others. This is stupid and irresponsible.

  • MR

    i agree with KT; go tell that to Gilad, go tell that to his parents. It says that one who saves one jewish life is likened to one who has saved an entire world….may Hashem help Gilad return safely to his parents home alive, in good health and give him the strength to restart his life

  • raBb

    To number 4,
    Using you very own logic, when your son or daughter gets blown up by one of these 1000 terrorists, “please get back to us
    with your opinion.”

  • What would the Rebbe say?

    I think the Rebbe would say that there is no option to release terrorists, and endanger the lives of thousands of yiddin, for the sake of one.
    as well this will demonstrate to the Arabs that they can do it again.

  • Milhouse

    #4 it doesn’t matter whose son it is, this is WRONG and forbidden. It’s an explicit halacha that one may not pay for captives more than the captors would get anyway at the slave market. Furthermore the Rebbe was very clear about this, bitterly condemning all such deals; that alone should be the end of the matter as far as any of us is concerned.

  • Milhouse

    #6, it’s not foolish, it’s the plain and obvious truth. It takes a twisted mind to save one person by putting thousands more in danger.

  • Mimi

    Eli Ezagui: where is your ahavas Yisroel? the whole point of judaism is the value of life and compation for other beings…how you dare to say such a thing!

  • Dovid

    People feel better freeing a Jew for 1000 murderers (or intending to be a murderer), since the immediate result is a free Jew from a most horrible prison.

    In the long term, however, who’s to know how many incidents may occur r“l from these 1000 freed murderers? Who’s to stop the terrorist from kidnapping again r”l and freeing more and more terrorists? We may be freeing 1 Jew (and indeed it’s the greatest thing to free a captive) however we may be endangering 1000s.

    Is there a solution?
    YES!
    Ignore the world. Eradicate the terrorists. Let them be scared to even look at a Jew. If they knew that for every kidnapping, killing, even injuring of a Jew, we would storm their cities and retaliate they wouldn’t even think about it. Will Israel have the guts? History has shown they don’t…..

    Bottom line, MOSHIACH NOW!!

  • chr

    So you just gave them incentive to do it again… how many will they want for next gilad shalit hyl”s

  • to IDF veteran

    I respect your service but radically disagree with you. You don’t put 1000 terrorists back on the streets to secure release of one captive. That is suicidal and disregards the safety of 5,000,000 to ensure the safety of one. Does that make sense to you?

  • To #6

    No, Eli Ezagui is brave for speaking up here.

    Everyone is afraid to state the cold, hard fact that many more Jews can potentially be murdered because of this exchange.

    Not only that, but this will be an incentive for Hamas to kidnap more of our fellow Jews for these types of “exchanges”.

    To #4, When one of the victims of these released terrorists is CHAS V’SHOLOM your son, please get back to us with YOUR opinion.

  • eli ezagui

    one soldier (prisoner of war) is NOT worth the results of releasing 1,000 murderous arabs. this swap is foolish. the result of this will ONLY satisfy the parent who does not care about the coming murderous results. don’t talk to me about CASUALTIES of WAR. been there done that. if you have been there done that then you realize the consequences of 1,000 arab martyrs being let lose.

  • Tough situation

    To #1 and 2, please see #4 & 6.
    Better to stay silent than judge this situation from the safety of an ivory tower.

  • 2#4

    obviously it would be hard if it were your own son, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is the wrong thing to do. what about the feeling of the thousands of family members of people who were killed by these terrorist? and what about the terrorism they will commit when they are released… may g-d protect us.

  • joe

    to #4.. and you tell that to the next 10 peoples families one of those terrorists kill in their sleep…

  • Proud Jew

    The new ad of the Israeli Tourism Ministry will be “please visit our country which is without any terrorists in our jails because we released them all onto the streets, and if you’re blown up in a suicide attack we will afford you emergency medical care interest free for 2 years. Also as a one time promotion if your legs get blown off during your visit, buy one prosthetic leg and get one free!”

    I’m not trying to make light of Shalit’s dire plight. It’s just that I’m being very blunt to highlight how suicidal Mr. Netanyahu is. He is placing Israel’s security at risk to have a great photo op with Shalit upon his release. That’s a disgrace. We need Moshe Feiglin!

  • Stop and think!

    This is not a time for argument of whether this is the right thing to do!! Ppl have been having this argument for 5 years.. We should all be happy that one our brothers is coming HOME!!

  • moishkyt

    to number 4:
    according to your very own logic, “please get back to us with your opinion” when your son or daughter is killed by one of these 1000 terrorists

  • lose lose situation

    as hard as this is to say it should not be an easy decision. But in the process of returning one person to his parents we are freeing murderers who will take many more away from their parents

  • Aussie

    Problem is that they will kidnap again and know that it’s a guaranteed value of 1000 get out of jail free card.
    One Jew is worth more than 1000 Arabs.
    Jewish blood is tayere.

  • Yeah Right

    How many Jews had to die to arrest these murderers? How many tens of millions spent? How much damage while troops were diverted chasing them?

  • 456

    no, the rebbe made it clear that you dont negotiate with these dogs,because once they get their terrorists back they will do it all over again. The onle long lasting way is to teach the arabs a lesson

  • Out of Town Shliach.

    An incredibly stupid move on the part of Israel. I am happy for Gilad and his parents but worry for the people of Israel. Some of the worst and most dangerous terrorists are being released as part of this deal. This will set a terrible precedent. May Hashem have mercy on the people of Israel and the brave soldiers.

  • Sad but true

    But he makes a good point, sadly, because letting so many terrorist “Will” in fact harm way more then one jew. It’s horrible, that I agree. But what is supposed to be done?

  • Who needs them in jail?

    Is there any chashivas to these thousand (or whatever number)
    vermin that it’s better for a Yid to languish in captivity?

    Suppose, for example, that all they want is for Israel to
    release 1000 scorpions, from a lab container, to go back
    to their natural habitat. Which is better, let the Yid
    continue to suffer or let the akravim – yes, they’re dangerous – go free?

    Listen, they’ll never be executed, and they do not suffer in
    an Israeli jail. So, may as well get rid of them, save Shalit, and stop wasting Jewish tax money supporting these
    creeps.

  • Batya

    What do our chief Rabbonim of Eretz Yisroel say? I don’t believe it’s our place to be giving our opinions unless we are tzaddikim with ruach hakodesh!

  • Facebook!!

    “Before proceeding to offer the explanations, we must first respond to the banal but required question: “And if it was your son, would you agree to free terrorists?” The real answer is that in order to save the life of one of my children I would obviously agree to free terrorists. I would also agree to hand over Temple Mount, take a Palestinian refugee family into my home in Haifa, and possibly accept the death of some innocents. Yet this is not the collective vision.

    The prime minister is not Gilad Shalit’s father, but rather, “the father of all of us.” The time has come to stop addressing this affair in familial terms and remove my family and the Shalit family from the equation – which sets 1,000 prisoners free.

    We are now dealing with a terrible, fateful moment where government members must internalize the rule articulated by “Baal HaTanya,” Shneur Zalman of Liadi – the mind rules the heart.

    That is, on this sensitive and painful issue, the mind should overcome emotion, and we must therefore reject the Shalit deal. At the same time, we must also convene all our security experts in order to produce military solutions to bring Gilad Shalit back home, and the sooner the better.”

  • Big sigh of relief

    Our sages compared us to a ‘solitary sheep that finds itself surrounded by 70 wolves’. Our safety and security does not come from Israeli politicians, rather from the One Above. As sickening as the thought of releasing 1000 murderers back onto the streets is, the number pales in comparison with the scores of terrorists who plot against the destruction of Israel every moment of everyday.

    Nonetheless, I commend and applaud the Israeli government for undertaking this difficult decision, and demonstrating that we value life more than death, and that no one gets left behind.

    We should only hear more good news.

  • Milhouse

    #36, are you insane? The Israeli government has just deliberately sacrificed Jewish lives in order to ransom one. The only difference between him and them is that we know his name and we don’t know theirs. Their blood is just as red as his.

    In any case, this whole argument is illegitimate. The Rebbe has already spoken. We all know what he said: that such exchanges are completely forbidden. So what more is there to say? Does anybody here dare to contradict the Rebbe?

  • proper perspective

    Say that hamas says that they’ll release shalit if we are willing to release 100 lions from nearby zoos onto the streets of israel, would you support it “because we must do all in our power to save one jew”? Same here. You can’t have kindness to one family on expense of the rest of the country’s security INCLUDING THE SHALIT’S.

  • How about...?

    If they can give the killers something that will take time to take effect before letting them go…

  • Think sensibly

    You would never ever say such things to your brother/father/son or even cousin. You would do anything to get them back home safe and sound and this is exactly what gilad shalits parents and the state of Israel are doing! You have no right to mock them, make fun of what they are doing or judge whether it is the right or wrong thing to do! Imagine you were in the situation and think of what you would do. Where’s your respect and imagine that people were talking to you like this and tell you how stupid it is and judge you for your doings and decisions!! Have a think about it…

  • BHEC

    IF GILAD GETS OUT AND HE DOES NOT SAY HODU HASHEM KITOV, AND COMES TO TORAH AND MITZVOTS AND THANKS HASHEM FOR GETTING HIM OUT AND ACTUALLY LIVING LIKE A YID, THEN I THINK THIS IS A HUGE HUGE DOWNFALL. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

  • RK

    Rav Ovadya Yosef agreed to this deal.
    And all of you should have more trust and faith in G-d.
    If anyone gets hurt from these terrorits its because theyre MEANT for that to happen to them, its going to happen either way. So just feel some happiness and joy for this young boy and his family, and let G-d deal with the rest.

  • C-MON THIS IDEA HAS GOT 2 B DONE !

    Hopefully the ”ministerial forum of eight” will be smart enough and inject these 1000 terrorists with a slow killing poison :-)

  • Chaim

    By keeping the terrorist in prison or putting them to death you are saving many lives, this deal save one but kills many many more.

    That said I vote for his release under any circumstances.

  • .....

    Sorry eli but your not using your head who would a doctor help first some one that is dying or someone (people) that isi n danger ? Your right that he is causing it but at this moment we need to take care of the prob.. We have now and then …. AAAAYYYYYY “chochom roeh es hanolad” but in regards to a jewish life it “SHOTEH roeh es hanolad” love you anyway

  • אף יהו

    It can’t be the wrong move!!! A Jew is being saved. As for these 1000 wanna be killers, they are just another 1000 in a population on a billion. In gaza they are all wanna be killers, however We can bomb them all in a couple minutes. Let’s see what will happen if one of them tries to pull something. The fact that Israel will save close to half a billion dollars in this swap helps the situation as well. Prisoners cost Israel close to 20,000 dollars a year per prisoner. In the states it can be up to 30,000. That’s about a million for one with a life sentence. Definitely something to keep in mind.

  • Batya, again

    Does anyone know where the Rebbe spoke or wrote about this issue? I’d really like to know the exact source and place. ThaNKS SO MUCH.

  • Netanyahu to resign

    Netanyahu will be forced to resign shortly as a result of the coming tragedies to be commited by these terrorists now being released.

  • anonymous

    I am surprised that on a Lubavitch website there wouldn’t be one positive outcome.
    Release him and let G-d worry about the rest, maybe Moshiach will come?!
    Why think of the negative?
    Maybe both can be okay, he will be released and they won’t have the chance to do harm.

  • AA

    To #59: don’t be “frum” at someone else’s expense. (The “someone else” here is the entire population of Israel, all of whom are being placed at risk by the release of these terrorists.)

  • GYemal

    why dont we stop waisting time,discussing rather this is ok or not, and start saying tehillim for shilt and for all israel?

  • mENDEL

    It SAYS THAT A PERSON WHO SAVES SOMEONES LIFE IS LIKE SAVING THE WHOLE WORLD!! SO WHATS ALL THESE ARGUMENTS??

    YOU KNOW HOW BIG AND IMPORTANT THE MITZVAH OF PIDYON SHVUYIM IS!?!

  • Milhouse

    #49, I have no right to judge whether it’s the right or wrong thing to do? The REBBE judged it, and he certainly had the right.

    #51, what do we care what R Ovadia Yosef says, on this or any other subject? As Baba Sali said about him, “mah lo lizvuv ketzutz kenafayim neged hanesher bashamayim?”

    #56, The Rebbe was very clear about this, over and over, in many many sichos. Just look up the dates of previous such deals, and look at the sichos following them. Particularly look at the sichos about the Jibril deal, which was the root of all Israel’s problems today. If only they’d listened to the Rebbe, literally THOUSANDS of Jews who are dead today would be alive.

    #59, why are you surprised that on a Lubavitcher web site there are those who dare to speak up for the Rebbe’s opinion? On the contrary, I’m astonished that on a Lubavitcher web site there are so many who dare to question and contradict the Rebbe.

  • ONE JEW IS EQUAL TO 1000 GOYIM

    ONE JEW IS EQUAL TO 1000 GOYIM -The Israeli government learned lessons and they know what they doing , the Trorstim not going to live a very long time after Release,And I believe that the ISRAELI MOSSAD will follow them and kill them all .It’s time b“h for Gilad Shalit to go back home to Israel, he sacrificed his life for all of us. RON ARAD never returned home did it change anything? NO we all just let a yid to die in captivity , This does not going to stop Arabs from Attacks like all this years , GILAD SHALIT A YID SAVING ONE LIFE IS LIKE SAVING THE ENTIRE WORLD.This is a very hard decision of the Government of Israel, the Israelis demand for his release and Netanyahu have a full support form the entire country! The Israeli people feel that h” answered to they prayers And the spirit very holly And everyone together like a one big jewish family They all gathered together PRAYER AFTER PRAYER ! for one Soldier – A YID A BROTHER – GILAD SHALIT. THANK YOU HASHEM” FOR ANSWERING TO OUR PRAYERS.

  • Simple solution

    Expose the terrorist to a Slow acting poison like radiation or the HIV virus which will kill them all after the exchange is made.

  • to #59

    if we relay that moshiach comes the arabs will themself see who is right an they will release gl themself

  • HD

    A German! mediator helped to broker this deal. The whole world mocks us for this stupid decision and Israel’s short term memory. What can Israeli’s possibly gain from this negotiation? Tragic, the lack of vision our world leaders have at this time in history.