Is it permissible to release terrorists in exchange for hostages? Unfortunately, the State of Israel once again finds itself faced with this dilemma.
And what is the opinion of the halakhah? What did the great men of Israel say in past years?
On the 25th of Iyar 5769, Noam Shalit visited the home of The Reverend Elyashiv, zt"l. The Rabbi inquired about what had been done until then and said: "The mitzvah of redeeming captives is a great mitzvah." The Rabbi instructed the yeshiva students to dedicate the Shavuot study sessions to the honor of Gilad Shalit.
When the government discussed the deal to release Shalit, the Minister of Defense refrained from expressing his opinion on the matter. It is important to note that in the book "Kev Vanki" published by the Gaon Rabbi Yitzhak Zilberstein The son-in-law of the chief of staff, after his death, provided a brief response on the matter, in which it was written that, as a general rule, one should support the release of terrorists in exchange for prisoners.
Noam Shalit also entered the house of Rabbi Yosef zt"l, who strengthened and encouraged. When the deal reached the government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the GRA's house to update him on all the details. The GRA then ordered Shas ministers to support the deal.
The Chief Justice, The Grand Master Amar, On the evening of the signing of the deal, he met with Noam Shalit and congratulated him on the deal.
At a conference on property law held in Kislev 5700 in Jerusalem, he said Rabbi Nachum Sheinin, a judge at the Great Court in Jerusalem, that the rule "one does not redeem captives for more than their blood money, for the sake of the repair of the world" - does not apply to a special case such as the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit.
""Since it is clear that at any moment the Israeli captive is under immediate life protection," explains the rabbi, "this halachic rule prevails over him." The rabbi cited the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch, which states that "every moment that is delayed in redeeming the captives where it is possible to do so sooner is as if one is shedding blood.".
Regarding the claim that releasing terrorists as part of a deal could lead to major life-saving in the future, the rabbi claims that this is a "certain life-saving" versus a "doubtful life-saving" in the future. "Gilad Shalit was sent into danger by order of the army without the possibility of refusal, so this is not a question of the humane redemption of a captured person, but rather the duty and personal responsibility of the state and its leader to rescue him and redeem him - at any cost," he said.
In a ruling he published Rabbi Yosef, A member of the Council of Torah Sages, after Shalit's kidnapping, and published in a family newspaper, the rabbi stated: "Every day that Gilad Shalit is in the hands of those murderers, his life hangs in the balance, therefore it is imperative that he be released as soon as possible, and the dangerous terrorists should not be allowed to be released.".
The Lubavitcher Rebbe: Who will stop them from doing this again?
Rabbi of Safed Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu He strongly opposed the prisoner exchange process - and said at the time: "This is a crazy deal. It is written that they go to war even over straw and straw deals because it leads to more serious things, so here, when the lives of so many Jews are at stake - it is clear that surrender is not allowed." Also Rabbi Shlomo Aviner "He published an article in which he wrote that terrorists should not be released, even those without blood on their hands.".
Another strong objection, at least in the context of the soldier Amram Avraham affair, belongs to the Rebbe From Lubavitch, Ztzu"l. It was 1979, and the mood in Israel was heated over the question of the return of soldier Amram Avraham, who had been captured by terrorists in Lebanon a year earlier, in exchange for 76 terrorists - including those convicted of murder. The Rebbe severely attacked the deal, mainly because of the high price (one for 70 or more) and warned of the consequences of releasing murderous terrorists. The Rebbe also mentioned that among those released were terrorists "with blood on their hands.".
""...But since it is impossible to deceive the world all the time and in all matters, among the seventy or so - almost half were those who were in prison not for so-and-so matters - who even when it was for so-and-so matters, for years held fast to the method of not giving in to the threats of terrorists, and there were nearly half (thirty or so) of those who actually dealt with matters of sabotage, to the point of actually sabotage resulting in the loss of Jewish lives....
"This is an act that cannot be regretted! The seventy or so are at liberty and in a place where, mercifully, they would not have been spared, there seems to be no reason why they would not try again, if they had not been.".
This was the first time that the State of Israel released terrorists in exchange for a prisoner.
The Captive: Fear Will Rise
In 1970, on his way to Israel, a plane carrying the Gaon was hijacked in Jordan. Rabbi Yitzhak Hutner zt"l, The husband of fear, Yitzhak, with his wife, daughter and son-in-law, was shot down by terrorists from the Black September organization. The plane landed at Dawson Field in Zarqa, Jordan.
His students then collected huge sums of money to ransom him, explaining that the halacha, "No one shall ransom a captive for more than his worth," was not stated in relation to a learned scholar.
This concept is partly Rabbi Kaminetzky, late And he wrote at the time: "If this calculation is not correct at all, then it is a matter of law. The ransoming of prisoners is only in time of peace, but in time of war it is impossible to say that we are obliged to stop fighting in order to ransom the prisoners with money, for by doing so we are aiding the enemy in the middle of the war, because by giving the enemy large sums of money, they will not be able to further strengthen their position in the war.".
Operation Inteva, the Gra, and the telephone from Rabin
On the eve of the Entebbe Operation, then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin called Rabbi Yosef zt"l And asked him for a halachic answer to the two alternatives that were on the agenda at the time: one, releasing terrorists in a prisoner exchange deal, and the other, risking the security forces in an operation to free the hostages.
The Gra wrote two responsa on the subject, which were later published in Responsa Yabia Umar, Part 10, and were recited by him at the annual Torah Shebaal Feh conference held at the Rabbi Kook Institute.
Regarding the release of the terrorists - the GRA discussed the halacha that states that no prisoner is more valuable than his worth, and the danger that may result from the release of murderers who could return and carry out attacks. After a long discussion, the GRA ruled that it is permissible to release terrorists in exchange for prisoners, if there is no other option to rescue the hostages. The GRA went to the media and expressed public support for the negotiations that the government conducted with the hostages, in order to reach a deal.
Also in the second question, the GRA allowed the security forces to enter the danger zone in order to try and safely rescue the hostages.
When the operation ended and the planes from Entebbe were on their way to Israel, Prime Minister Rabin called the General Staff and announced that the operation had been relatively successful.
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