World PRISONER SWAP AFTERMATH Hezbollah's 'Inhumanity' I sraeli soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were killed in an ille- gal cross-border kidnapping — a Hezbollah terrorist attack — which precipi- tated the outbreak of war between Israel and Hezbollah in July 2006. The Red Cross and the anguished soldiers' families were illegally denied information about them for the past two years. Their bodies were returned to Israel on July 16 in a negotiated exchange. Simultaneously, Todd Mendel Lebanese prisoners — whose conditions were regularly moni- tored by the Red Cross as Israel allows with all prisoners — were released, including Sarni Kuntar, a terrorist who in 1979 bru- tally smashed a 4-yaer-old Israeli girl's skull against a rock, killing her after forcing her to first witness the murder of her father. The Jewish community continues to be 'Red Carpet' For Killer shocked by the inhumanity of Hezbollah and bewildered by the celebrations in Lebanon being held upon the release of murderers. We mourn with the Regev and Goldwasser families and with all of Israel. Israel mourns as it trades humanely treat- ed prisoners for dead soldiers and sketchy information about hostages. The important point that is incomprehensible to Hezbollah and much of the Arab world is the noble gesture and sacrifice made by the State of Israel to honor its own dead citizens. The value placed by Israel on the life and even the bodies of its dead citizens is unfor- tunately a weakness in Israel's rough neigh- borhood, where Israel's enemies celebrate the release of a prisoner that every civilized country on the planet would consider a murderer. Todd Mendel, president Jewish Community Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit Bloomfield Township O n July 16, Lebanon rolled out the red carpet and declared a national holiday because Samir Kuntar was released from an Israeli prison after 29 years. That Kuntar is hero of Hezbollah tells us much about the terrorist group and its supporters. In 1979, Kuntar and three other members of the Palestine Liberation Front came from Lebanon by dinghy to the Israeli port city of Nahariya, where he killed a policeman. He then Donald Cohen entered the apartment of Danny and Smadar Haran and their daugh- ters, Einat, 4, and Yael, 2. After encountering resistance, he fled to the beach with Danny and Einat and shot Danny in the head in front of his daughter before crushing Einat's skull with the butt of his rifle against a rock. Meanwhile Smadar, who had been hiding in a crawlspace above her bedroom with a Jet Into Summer At The SAAB SUMMER SALES EVENT! 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Sentenced to five life terms plus 47 years in prison, Kuntar has lived in an Israeli prison with access to the Red Cross and Israeli courts, has received letters from his family and gotten married to an Israeli woman who receives special government support because her husband is a prisoner. He even completed a bachelor's degree in social studies and the humanities from an Israeli college. At the same time, in violation of all international agreements and morality, Hezbollah has never allowed a Red Cross visit to an Israeli prisoner — soldier or civilian — and consistently refuses to pro- vide information about their condition. The hopes of the Regev and Goldwasser families that their family members were alive were dashed when their loved ones were returned in caskets in the deal for Kuntar's release. Hezbollah has still not provided detailed information on Israeli soldiers taken decades ago. So when you see the celebrations in Lebanon and elsewhere, realize what is being celebrated and by whom. Though I value life above death, in this case, I'd rather be among the mourners than among those who celebrate someone like Kuntar and what he stands for. Answering Israel's Critics The Charge Syrian President Bashar Assad warned earlier this month that Israel, the U.S. and the entire world would pay a heavy price if Iran is attacked. "The problem is that when one side begins such an operation in the Middle East, it won't be possible to control the consequences which will likely influence the region for many years to come he said. The Answer Assad's remarks are typical one-sided propaganda — only Israel is at fault. There is no mention of the Iranian regime's anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial or quest for nuclear weaponry. - Allan Gale, Jewish Community Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit 0 Jewish Renaissance Media, July 24, 2008 A26 July 24 • 2008