“The United States Trades 1,000 Terrorists And Enemies Of War For One American Soldier.” What if this was the headline of The New York Times? What would your reaction be? Thrilled? Appalled? Well, this is the headline many Israeli citizens awoke to on Oct. 18, when Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier kidnapped and detained by Palestinians for five years, was traded in for 1,027 Palestinian criminals.

On a positive note, this message inspires virtue, hope and loyalty. It inspires a principle that conventional politics has often forgotten: the worth of one soldier. What if that man was your brother? Or your friend? Wouldn’t you feel better about sending your loved ones to war if you knew your government would do everything in its power to bring them home?

“The Israeli ethic regarding soldiers is like that of the Marines’ honour code: You don’t leave comrades behind, even if it means risking your life to get them,” commented Barbara Kay, of Montreal, on the National Post.

Israel loyal to country’s soldiers

This decision sends a potent message to Israelis — you can fight for your country in good faith that your country is fighting for you. Israel has exemplified the loyalty of a nation to its individual soldiers at all costs, and Christians ought to reflect on the honor behind it. Doesn’t Christ say leave the ninety-nine and go after the one? Does this apply here? Does this reflect Biblical grace? But, on another scale, Christians also ought to ask if the decision was wise. At what point does virtue and honor cross over into the naïve?

Though we may ask, is one soldier worth the freedom of a thousand criminals? A better question may be, is one soldier worth the lives of the potential number of new victims? Among the many Palestinians released was Ahlam Tamimi — a woman who bombed and killed 16 innocent civilians at a restaurant in 2001. According to Lorne Gunter from the National Post, Tamimi tells reporters that she is not sorry and will not hesitate to do it again. She is just one of countless offenders released to Palestine, including the killer of an Israeli cabinet minister. But, the release of these criminals not only risks new terror attacks, it also risks more attempts to detain Israeli soldiers. At the return of these prisoners, residents of Gaza sang in the streets, “We want a new Gilad! We want a new Gilad!” It is no mystery that a different message rings clear to Palestinians — capture one of our men, and you’ve got us right where you want us.

Decision by Israel showed poor political judgment

Despite any attempt to say that Israel has ensured security for their troops, one cannot overlook the new danger it has brought them in the long run. “As we say goodbye to Shalit, we hope to welcome a new guest, to capture a new soldier, to hurt the enemy in a way that will humiliate and distress him, to pull his soldiers from their tanks and even shoot down their planes, to destroy their vehicles and to lead them, handcuffed, to our jails,” said Mustafa Yousef, a former Hamas representative. So … noble? Naïve? A little of both? You decide.

Though the decision made by Israeli leaders had a noble intent, in the long run, this was a poor political judgment. The Israeli government has an obligation to uphold the highest security for the greatest number of soldiers and civilians. There are other ways Shalit could have been rescued, like a raid perhaps? As Christians, we can ask ourselves what is it about this trade that strikes us as virtuous, even Christ-like. But the words of Dr. Mustafa suggest that it also had an outcome which makes it naïve.