I was going to pass on commenting on the release of Gilad Shalit from captivity. Quite frankly, it's been covered well, covered to death, and commented almost as much. Click here to read a really good piece by Bradley Burston on the strange pride we all felt around here on seeing Shalit returned, regardless of the enormous price we paid and the risks we're all taking even after paying it. There are other pieces of course, there are even timelines with detailed explanations of what happened and where if you're really interested. To all this river of comment I'd like to add my two cents worth.
Duty
What duty does a soldier owe his country after five years in captivity? I asked myself this question fleetingly as we all waited for Gilad to make his way from the Gaza Strip to Egypt to Israel. My answer of course was "none." If anything, we owe him. Whatever duty he had to us he's paid in spades and then some. So I waited, together with millions of others, to see the pictures and the video of Gilad landing the Tel-Nof air force base where he was to meet his family. The pictures were slow in coming. Obviously someone had given strict instructions to keep the flashes and the intrusiveness of the camera lens to a minimum around Gilad. So the first pictures we saw were of a young man, pale and rail thin, dressed in his army uniform, carefully exiting a military transport. Let me emphasize something that you might have missed just now:
Dressed in his army uniform.
Wow.
As it turns out, the people handling his return had the presence of mind to bring along uniforms (in the different sizes) for Gilad to wear. The important part was that they also brought civilian clothing and that the assumption was that Gilad would change into civvies before going home. It was Gilad that asked for the uniform.
The second image that so stuck in my mind was Gilad coming down from the helicopter to find the Prime Minister, the Defense Minister, and the Head of the General Staff of the State of Israel waiting for him. And what does he do, this bespectacled slip of a man? After five years in captivity he stands ramrod straight and snaps a perfect salute to his commanding officers:
First Sergeant Gilad Shalit reporting for duty, sir.
It's not true that a picture is worth a thousand words, this one was worth only eight, but they're the right eight (and no, he didn't actually say the words, he didn't need to).
Keep this image in mind when you think next of devotion to duty, of courage, of presence of mind, of strength, of grace under pressure. I'm not a soldier so I don't get to salute 1st Sergeant Shalit, but I can take my hat off to him.
Thank God he's finally been released!
ReplyDelete...and thank you for this post, Ben. What do you feel the ramifications (if any) of the trade, though, might be--in terms of policy, precedent, and the likelihood that: a) those released in trade may attempt to harm Israelis, and b) setting this sort of precedent might encourage and embolden terrorists in future political kidnappings?
Mind you, I'm not suggesting the deal was a mistake. The short-term benefit of getting First Sergeant Shalit home is truly something wonderful. I'm only asking for your opinion when considering potential long-term effects this might have.