So what's the point?

It's a lot simpler than you're making it out to be. The IDF is the central point of Israeli life, soldiers are sacred, and bringing them home trumps nearly anything else.

To Americans, for whom civilian casualties are a much bigger deal than military casualties, this deal makes no sense whatsoever. Israelis make a very different calculation.

I can understand that, but at the same time I'm waiting to read the Israeli commentary that agrees with this and I'm having trouble finding it.

Did Israel release Kuntar as a way of getting the horror of his crime once more into the media spotlight (success), in showing what kind of foe they're up against, and the values of the societies that have made themselves their enemies?

Given Israel's position in the world there are very few who would take notice if that fact were stressed in the MSM.

By virtue of being released, Kuntar no longer has the legal protections that come with being in jail. And given that he's declared his intention to go back to fighting, he's indisputably a legitimate target. That's obviously not the reason why he was released, but it's still worth remembering.

Did Israel release Kuntar as a way of getting the horror of his crime once more into the media spotlight (success), in showing what kind of foe they're up against, and the values of the societies that have made themselves their enemies?

I don't think most diplomats or government officials think that way. They genuinely believe that it's a civilized and benevolent thing to release monsters into the general population.

Maybe they see things that way because they have bodyguards?

Most members of the UN think letting monsters run wild and kill people is a sign of a willingness to seek peace. The best way to stop this sort of thing would be to make these officials responsible for the damage they cause. Punish them with lawsuits or jail time.

Mary,
For all the criticisms I have of Olmert, I don't think he thought it was a civilized and benevolent thing to release Kuntar. The decision may have been wrong, but there was a lot of popular pressure to get Goldwasser and Regev back, dead or alive, and as a general matter I can definitely see the morale-boosting aspect of a society basically saying to its soldiers: "given the risks you're willing to undertake, we pledge to do everything possible to get you back if you're captured or killed." So yes: it can encourage Israel's enemies to take more hostages, and yes, the particular terrorist released in this case was particularly vile, and last but not least: maybe a law should be passed that says "live prisoners only in exchange for live prisoners." But it's not as though the current policy has nothing at all to be said for it. And certainly it's not something Olmert should go to jail for: even if it was a bad decision, it was one fully consistent with Israeli law.

a - I was thinking about the general UN type attitude towards the release of terrorists. There's also the liberal attitude about 'forgiveness' and the release of criminals.

I realize that today's events were horrible, and people are mourning, so I won't pursue any argument about Olmert and policies concerning the release of terrorists. I'm very sorry to hear about the deaths of Goldwasser and Regev.

I can understand that, but at the same time I'm waiting to read the Israeli commentary that agrees with this and I'm having trouble finding it.

No question that it's a bitter pill even for the people who think it's necessary. My point was that it's less inexplicable than it seems from the American point of view, where people would never agree to trade even some harmless nobody in Guantanamo Bay for a pair of dead soldiers. Remember a few months ago when the body of a captured US soldier was recovered? It barely even made the news (which Israelis would find extremely bizarre).

Someone (I think it was an anonymous government official) made what I thought was a somewhat reasonable point, though; that Kuntar's availability as a bargaining chip was a headache for Israel, and that having bitten the bullet and released him, the next time Hezbollah grabs an Israeli it'll be an easier matter of swapping some low-level Hezbollahs for him. That said, if a car bomb happens to knock off Kuntar next month or next year, I won't shed any tears over it.

Anyway, today's festivities certainly shed some light on "a tiny minority of extremists" piety. Is anyone in the Arab/Muslim world embarrassed by this?!? CAIR certainly isn't rushing out to remind Nasrallah that Islam forbids harming civilians.

I think closure was necessary for the families and it was vital to get back the two soldiers, dead or alive.

Also, Kuntar has been an excuse for Hezbollah rocket attacks and raids for years. Now that file is closed and there is no more excuse - although Suleiman is now threatening to reclaim Shebaa Farms by force if necessary (even though the UN says it's Syrian territory).

Regardless, the fact that mainstream media light has been shed on the nature of this terrorist is to the good, as is the fact that Israel has no death penalty and Kuntar even received an education while in prison.

I think this does point up a difference in values, for those who clearly don't understand - and they are legion. The bias against Israel is so profound and people, especially the young, are so ignorant that they can actually refer to Israel as "nazi" or "apartheid", while at the same time remaining blissfully ignorant of the fact that Israel's foes celebrate the murder of children.

At some point people are going to have to face the contrasts here head on and decide whose values they're comfortable with. In the meantime I'm appalled that Lebanon as a whole appeared to celebrate the release of this criminal, who bashed in the head of a four year old girl.

People around the world should be thinking about this.

Finally, I am sick that Regev and Goldwasser are indeed dead. Didn't we all, somewhere in our hearts, hope they would return alive and well? And why were these families tortured all this time, about the fate of their loved ones? It's inhuman. They did nothing wrong, they were simply on duty on their own side of the border, and they were snatched, and 8 other soldiers were killed, for what? So a person who murdered innocent people could be released? Tell me - can anybody forget that young wife, pleading for news of her husband? Where were the Red Cross, the UN - anybody?

If that's the true face of the "resistance", this torture, this celebration of death, this indifference to suffering - let everybody see and admire it for what it is.

Shlomo Avineri has a thoughtful piece in Haaretz, "Lessons of the Swap":

http://haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArtStEngPE.jhtml?itemNo=1002789&contrassID=2&subContrassID=4&title='Lessons%20of%20the%20swap%20'&dyn_server=172.20.5.5