Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Who would have thought the President of Iran would reference Paul the Octopus in a speech demonizing the west. Very few actually believe that Paul the Octopus is a supernatural force, but that didn’t stop Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from claiming in a speech in Tehran that Paul the Octopus spreads “western propaganda and superstition.”

This coming from the leader of a country whose clerics infamously blamed earthquakes on women being dressed “immodestly.” Both examples clearly mix correlation with causation, but to claim a cephalopod in Germany is a source of evil is insane, even for Ahmadinejad. Then again, in 2007, Iran arrested 14 squirrels on “charges of espionage.”

“Those who believe in this type of thing cannot be the leaders of the global nations that aspire, like Iran, to human perfection, basing themselves in the love of all sacred values,” quipped Ahmadinejad in an ironic remark.

The above quote is disturbing because when Iran “aspires” to human perfection, that means limiting human rights in general, especially women’s rights. According to him, “sacred values” are the subjugation of women, torture, killing infidels, and building a nuclear arsenal.

If Paul the Octopus is on Ahmadinejad’s “hitlist,” no one is safe.

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Just last week we started our “Faces of the IDF” series on a positive note, highlighting the first female Arab-Israeli paratrooper. Our goal is to show that Israel truly is a “citizen’s army,” represented by men and women of great diversity.

Yesterday, July 26th, 2010, Israel lost six of its finest in a helicopter crash in Romania. The flight was part of an 11 day Israeli-Romanian joint training exercise held in a mountainous region of central Romania, designed to simulate a search and rescue operation in hostile regions. Working with Eastern European countries for training exercises is nothing new for Israel. In 2006, Israel and Romania signed a military exercise and cooperation deal which they had extended last year. The CH-53 helicopter, carrying 4 IAF personnel, 2 aerial engineers, and a Romanian Air Force Servicemen, crashed leaving no survivors.

For a country with such a small population, in which most spend years of their lives in the army, this tragedy hits especially close to home.

We would like to take this opportunity to offer our most heartfelt condolences to the Israeli and Romanian families of the victims. As part of our “Faces of the IDF” series, we honor the memories of those fallen.

Lieutenant Colonel (res.) Avner Goldman just turned 48 last week and got to celebrate it with his wife, Orit. His wife said, “He was a smart man, a good person, the best husband I could have asked for. I told the kids, ‘At least he didn’t suffer. Until the very last moment, he had a smile on his face.’ We were privileged to have a wonderful husband and father, an amazing person.” Avner also leaves behind him four children, ages 22, 18, 16, and 13.

Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Shipenbauer was born in Uruguay and made aliyah to Israel with his family when he was 6 yeas old. As he kid he was an enthusiastic soccer player  and stayed a devoted fan, taking his children to matches every week. During the second Lebanon war he was promoted to head of his squadron. His friends describes him as a very honest, modest, and hard working individual that despite his tough exterior was a very sensitive soul. Having been in the squadron for the last 20 years, he had the chance to mentor almost every new pilot that was trained.  Daniel is survived by his wife, Yael, and three children – Amit, 16, Roee, 12, and Yonatan, 8.

Major Lior Shai was born and raised in Ramat Hasharon near Tel Aviv. According to his mother, he never seriously thought he would be a pilot, being just as interested as studying electrical engineering at Tel Aviv University as remaining with the Yasurim squadron. Still, he was ecstatic for the opportunity to fly. He leaves behind his wife, Tamar, and their four-month-old baby.

Major Yahel Keshet was born and raised in the moshav  Sharona in the lower Galilee, and was currently residing in the Hatzerim air base before the crash. He was the pride of the whole moshav. While he originally wanted to serve in the commandos as his father did, after passing the cadets course he quickly rose the ranks of the Israeli Air Force. He was only two weeks away from being promoted to deputy squadron commander. Yahel is survived by his wife, Hofit, and two children – Harel, 2, and Ofri, two-months old.He was a quiet man, devoted to his family, his wife Hofit and their children, Harel, 2, and Ofri, two-months old. He loved volunteering and helping the community, working to help underprivileged youth and new immigrants from Ethiopia. His hobbies were traveling and tracking, diving, snowboarding and playing guitar.

Staff Sergeant Oren Cohen served in the very same squadron as his father before him. His friends describe him as a brilliant man, he knows his job very well and he picked on new things faster than anyone else” said his friend Oren Dunai. He  said Cohen was a supporting and fun loving friend – “there was not a single thing in the world you couldn’t have talked to him about – rock music or quantum mechanics – Oren knew it all, and he was always fun to be around”

Lieutenant Nir Lakrif “was an example of excellence for many. He completed his studies at Air Force technical school with honors, enlisted, and completed his training as a mechanic, a position he chose together with a select group of people who are the pride of the Air Force and the State of Israel. This was also the position he filled during this exercise,” said his uncle. He would have been celebrating his 25th birthday on August 3rd. August was also suppose to mark his first year anniversary of his marriage to Maggie, who is four months pregnant. He will never get to meet his child.

Captain Stefan-Claudiu Dragnea was a member of Romania’s Air Force. He was 31 years old. His wife is five months pregnant.

Both Israel and Romania have suffered a terrible tragedy. Once again, our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the victims.

To read more about the victims, click here.

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As part of a new feature here at Israel Politik, we are proud to launch “Faces of the IDF,” where every week we will showcase a different Israeli soldier and their unique story.

As a “citizen army,” Israel’s defense forces are a reflection of the country’s multiethnic population -  and more than that, comprises a complete cross-section of Israeli society. Male and female, rich and poor, gay and straight, black and white and everything in between. In short, everyone who makes Israeli society what it is today serves together as they live together in everyday life.

While this is nothing out of the ordinary for Israelis, the following story really is making waves. And that is the story of Corporal Eleanor Joseph, the first female Arab paratrooper.

Corporal Joseph, an Israeli-Arab born in Haifa, always saw herself in the IDF.  Recalling an incident in which Katyusha rockets were launched by Hezbollah, which caused casualties in her Arab neighborhood, Eleanor realized “if someone tells me that the service in the IDF is just killing Arabs, I remind them that Arabs are killing Arabs.”

And so, Eleanor signed up to become a member of Israel’s elite Karakal Unit – a dedicated combat unit comprised of men and women serving together – in order to protect Israel’s 7 million Jewish, Christian, and Muslim citizens

The road to completing paratrooper training is long and difficult; it requires great endurance, stamina, and integrity.  Many who start do not finish.  But Corporal Joseph was determined to succeed because “ultimately, [Israel] will always be my home too,” she says and adds that despite the conflict and difficulties, hope still exists:  “I still believe there will be peace, and belief creates reality.”

To read more of her inspiring journey, click here (in Hebrew)

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Last week at the Brookings Saban Center for Middle East Policy, Andrew Shapiro, the United States’ Assistant Secretary for Political Military Affairs spoke on the Israeli-American security cooperation. According to Shapiro, “[America's] security relationship with Israel is broader, deeper and more intense than ever before.”

Mr. Shapiro outlined the four pillars in which the United States ensures Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge (QME). “Israel’s QME is its ability to counter and defeat credible military threats from any individual state, coalition of states, or non-state actor, while sustaining minimal damages or casualties. The Obama Administration has demonstrated its commitment to Israel’s QME by not only sustaining and building upon practices established by prior administrations, but also undertaking new initiatives to make our security relationship more intimate than ever before,” said Shapiro.

The first pillar is security assistance. In keeping in line with decades of assistance, the Obama administration requested more money for Israel in the Fiscal Year 2010, $2.775 billion USD, than any previous administration in history. While every country that receives funds through what is called the Foreign Military Financing program is required to spend all of its funds back in the United States, Israel is the sole exception.

The second pillar Mr. Shapiro described is joint training and military exercises. In fact, last fall’s JUPITER COBRA 2010 missile defense exercise involved over 1,000 American troops, making it the largest U.S.-Israeli exercise in history.

The third way the United States helps preserves Israel’s edge over its enemies is the government-to-government Foreign Military Sales program and Direct Commercial Sales, including releasing advanced products restricted to only the closest of allies and partners.

The fourth pillar is cooperation in research and development. All of these things are far from a one way street. For example, American military serving in Iraq and Afghanistan use Israeli-originated equipment and gear every day.

The U.S. State Department’s Andrew Shapiro makes it clear in the video below that the Obama Administration’s commitment to Israel is “more than just a continuation and strengthening of existing policies.”

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Photo: Wikimedia Commons

In the history of the State of Israel, never have there been preconditions for face-to-face peace talks. While it was not obligated to do so, the Israeli government last November ordered a 10-month freeze in new building projects in the West Bank.

This sign of good faith, the outward stretch of our hands in friendship with the Palestinians, has been rejected for seven months. Now the Palestinians are calling for the freeze to be extended.

The goal of the freeze was to encourage Palestinians to come to peace talks, but rather than embracing this moment, many are foolishly waiting for it to end so another freeze can be used as a “precondition for peace talks.”

Before we can even think about extending the gesture, Israel and the Palestinians must sit down immediately in direct talks. In the past seven months there is no telling what achievements could have been attained for the Israeli and Palestinian peoples.

While President Abbas and his Palestinian Authority have squandered this opportunity thus far, a few months still remain in the settlement freeze. This is why we need to seize the moment and act now to reach a series of political agreements that will entail the final peace.

While I believe that direct talks must begin as soon as possible, the situation on the ground keeps improving. In the West Bank, more jobs are being created, hundreds of roadblocks and barriers to trade have been removed, and the quality of life for Palestinians is soaring along with their economy.

This is all thanks to the cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian leadership and security forces. By combining Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s plan of building a Palestinian state from the ground up with a political settlement, Israel will have not only a peaceful neighbor but an economic partner next door.

Meanwhile, in the Gaza Strip, Hamas has made it clear that it does not desire peace and does not wish to be a partner in the peace process. Gaza City and Ramallah are, quite literally, a tale of two cities. Ramallah prospers under the control of moderates and peace seekers, while Gaza City is controlled by a militant terrorist organization that is more concerned with blowing up bridges rather than building them.

As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on his recent visit, he is ready for “President Abbas to grasp my hand, get into a room, shake it, sit down and negotiate a final settlement of peace between Israel and the Palestinians.”

Never before in the history of the peace process has there been such an opportunity as we are presented with today. Mahmoud Abbas can be, and will be, a partner in peace.

To get the train rolling, we need to have direct negotiations. Indirect talks will not produce results and take us back nearly 20 years to Madrid.

Blood has been spilled for decades on both sides to bring us to where we are today: on the cusp of peace, an end to this period of conflict and the beginning of an era of partnership with the Palestinian people and hopefully the entire Arab world.

Direct talks will get the train moving, and for the first time, both sides agree on its destination.

Joel Lion is the Consul for Media Affairs and Spokesperson at the Consulate General of Israel in New York.

First appeared on July 14, 2010 in JTA.

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Israel is a Western democracy and a normal country. Nonetheless, Israel has faced abnormal circumstances since its inception. In fact, Israel is the only Western democracy whose existence has been questioned by force, and whose legitimacy is still being questioned independently of its actions.

The recent flotilla crisis in the Mediterranean provided yet another occasion for Israel’s detractors to renew their frenzied campaign. It was so even before the facts of that tragic incident had come to light. Eyes were blind to the reasons why Israel had to respond to the Gaza flotilla’s clear provocation.

Because we believe Israel is subjected to unfair treatment, and are convinced that defending Israel means defending the values that made and sustain our Western civilization, we have decided to launch the Friends of Israel Initiative. Our goal is to bring reason and decency back to the discussion about Israel. We are an eclectic group, coming from different countries and holding different opinions on a range of issues. It goes without saying that we do not speak for the State of Israel and we do not defend every course of action that it decides upon. We are united, however, by the following beliefs, principles and aims:

First, Israel is a normal, Western democracy and should be treated as such. Its parliamentary system, legal traditions, education and scientific research facilities, and cultural achievements are as fundamental to it as to any other Western society. Indeed, in some of these areas, Israel is a world leader.

Second, attempts to question Israel’s basic legitimacy as a Jewish state in the Middle East are unacceptable to people who support liberal democratic values. The State of Israel was founded in the wake of United Nations Resolution 181, passed in 1947. It also arose out of an unbroken Jewish connection to the land that stretches back thousands of years. Israel does not derive its legitimacy, as some claim, from sympathy over the Holocaust. Instead, it derives legitimacy from international law and from the same right to self-determination claimed by all nations.

Third, as a fully legitimate member of the international community, Israel’s basic right to self-defense should not be questioned. Nor should it be forgotten that Israel faces unique security threats—from terror groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, and from an Iran seeking nuclear weapons.

United Nations condemnations of Israel arising from last year’s Goldstone Report on the recent war in Gaza, for example, ignore the security challenges that Israel faces. All democracies should oppose such campaigns, which ultimately undermine the legitimacy not merely of Israel but of the U.N. itself.

Fourth, we must never forget that Israel is on our side in the battle against Islamism and terror. Israel stands on the front line of that fight as a bulwark of Judeo-Christian values. The belief that the democratic world can sacrifice Israel in order to placate Islamism is profoundly wrong and dangerous. Appeasement failed in the 1930s and it will fail today.

Fifth, attempts by people of good faith to facilitate peace between Israel and the Palestinians are always to be supported. But outsiders should beware of attempting to impose their own solutions. Israelis and Palestinians should know how to build a viable peace on their own. We can help them, but we cannot force them.

Sixth, we must be alive to the dangers that the campaign against Israel poses in reawakening anti-Semitism. Hostility to the Jews has been a stain on the Western world’s honor for centuries. It is a matter of basic self-respect that we actively confront and oppose new manifestations of an old and ugly problem.

The Friends of Israel Initiative has come together to encourage men and women of goodwill to reconsider their attitudes toward the Jewish state, and to relocate those attitudes inside the best of Western traditions rather than the worst. We urge them to recognize that it is in our own best interests that an increasingly jaded relationship between Israel and many of the world’s other liberal democracies is rescued and reinvigorated before it is too late for us all.

Mr. Aznar is a former prime minister of Spain. Mr. Trimble is a former first minister of Northern Ireland. Mr. Bolton is a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Mr. Toledo is a former president of Peru. Mr. Pera is a former president of the Italian Senate. Mr. Roberts is a British historian. Ms. Nirenstein is vice-president of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the Italian Chamber of Deputies. Mr. Weigel is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Mr. Agostinelli is managing director of the Rhône Group. Mr. Bustelo is a former minister of industry in Spain.

First appeared in the July 8th, 2010 edition of the Wall Street Journal.

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Eight tentacles. Eight predictions. The now infamous “Paul the Octopus” has emerged from the FIFA World Cup with 100% accuracy, predicting all of Germany’s games as well as the final. Like consecutive flips of a coin, with what starts off as a 50-50 chance gets smaller and smaller with each next prediction. The odds of going eight for eight? 0.39 percent. For his next look into the proverbial crystal ball, Paul the Octopus would be smart to predict a two-state solution: lasting peace between Israelis and their Palestinian neighbors.
There is a lot the Jewish people can learn from this psychic, nonkosher specimen. No one would have put money on this psychic octopus, even if the payoff is about 256:1. Then again, two thousand years ago, who would have bet on the Jewish people? Whether it is oil lasting 8 days or an unbelievable statistical anomaly of an octopus having a perfect world cup bracket, the world is full of surprises. Our prediction is that peace is coming and we hope that we have the same clairvoyance  as Paul the Octopus.

Last week, Israel’s Prime Minister, Benyamin Netanyahu reaffirmed not only his desire to engage in direct talks with Mahmoud Abbas, but to arrive at a mutually amicable solution. We don’t want talks for the sake of talks, we want results, and with Netanyahu’s leadership, a solution that brings peace while ensuring Israel’s security is going to happen. If so many people can believe in the power of an octopus randomly choosing a box of food, it is time to believe in leaders. Benyamin Netanyahu is a leader, and he is asking Mr. Abbas to lead with him. As the Prime Minister said, he is ready for “President Abbas to grasp my hand, get into a room, shake it, sit down and negotiate a final settlement of peace between Israel and the Palestinians.”

What Israelis and Palestinians need is faith. At this time, it is far too easy to be skeptical. Direct talks need to happen, and they will happen. Never before in the history of the peace process have there ever been preconditions for face to face talks. And never before in the history of the peace process has there been such an opportunity as we are presented with today.

In the past, talks have not produced the level of results that were needed for both peoples. While Yasser Arafat was ready to happily reject a generous proposition and plunge the region into chaos, Mahmoud Abbas is a moderate leader who above all else, respects Israel’s right to exist. For over a year, the peace process was stalled. In the past, whether in 1979 with Egypt or 1993 with Oslo, we have seen how momentum is the key to success. Direct talks will get the train moving, and for the first time, both sides agree on our destination.

And that is something no one should bet against.

Photo: The Muqata Blog

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Expectations surrounding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fourth White House meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, are running high. The previous conversations between the prime minister and President Barack Obama, though privately friendly and constructive, generated press speculations of tensions in the United States — Israel relationship. The chief source of friction, it was reported, centered on the peace process and the best way to restart talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Since that time, discussions between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, though conducted indirectly through the good offices of U.S. Special Envoy Senator George Mitchell, have begun, and major efforts undertaken to demonstrate the unbreakable security bonds between Israel and the United States. The Obama administration, for example, allocated $205 million to the Iron Dome program that is vital to protecting Israel from Hamas and Hezbollah rockets, as well as far-reaching support for other systems — Arrow III, Arrow II and David’s Sling — designed to intercept longer range missiles from Iran. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Security Advisor General Jim Jones delivered widely publicized speeches reiterating the administration’s dedication to Israel’s well-being. And President Obama, in a letter to Alan Solow, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, pledged, “our commitment to Israel’s security is unshakeable and that no wedge will be driven between us.”

Netanyahu’s visit will certainly emphasize the strength of the U.S.-Israel security relationship as well as both countries’ commitment to advancing toward direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The prime minister has repeatedly stated his readiness to enter into direct talks with the Palestinian Authority immediately and to swiftly reach agreements on all core issues that will form the foundation of a lasting peace.

To be sure, the president and prime minister’s agenda will comprise other important issues. Views will be exchanged on mutually crucial matters such as the impact of the newly instituted sanctions on Iran and the possibilities of detaching Syria from Tehran’s orbit. The two leaders will certainly review Israel’s recent adjustment of its policies toward Gaza, easing the restrictions on imports to the civilian population while maintaining the naval blockade necessary to deny massive arm shipments to Hamas. A tour d’horizon of Middle East politics — the internal stability of various regimes, the situation in Iraq, the fight on terror — should also be expected.

But, the strategic and political issues and the quest for peace will not be the exclusive focus of the Obama-Netanyahu discussions. Israel is today America’s twentieth largest customer in the world — bigger than Saudi Arabia, Argentina, and Russia — and a major partner in scientific research and development. The two leaders may explore ways to expand this cooperation, especially in the fields of sustainable agriculture and alternative energy.

The U.S.-Israel relationship is not, however, confined to a rapport between two individuals or even the governments they head. Rather, it is an alliance between two peoples with deep spiritual and democratic roots.

This kinship transcends occasional policy differences and partisan politics. Indeed, the bipartisan nature of American support for Israel was recently reaffirmed in Congressional letters upholding Israel’s right to self-defense and recognizing its commitment to peace. These statements received overwhelming support from both sides of the aisle and reflect unwavering backing for Israel among the American public.

The visit of an Israeli prime minister to Washington is always a source of popular interest. When Benjamin Netanyahu enters the White House on Tuesday, no doubt a great many cameras will follow him and commentators will parse his and President Obama’s every word. Observers can be assured, however, that the interaction, whether in public or behind the scenes, will be characterized by cooperation, candid communication and respect. Those are the cornerstones of any alliance and especially one as multi-faceted and historic as that between the United States and Israel.

Michael Oren is Israel’s ambassador to the United States.

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For decades the Middle East has been continuously in turmoil, with a de facto state of war for many countries exacerbated by internal politics. Today we have the most important conflict emerging which will shape every corner of the Middle East. On one side of this conflict are Islamic extremist groups who are pushing for the implementation of Shariah, or Islamic law. Their goal is the creation of a unified Islamic Kingdom (Caliphate) which most Muslims acknowledge has not existed since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. On the other side stands the moderate camp, which despite their positions as leaders in government, shield themselves from progressives and liberalizing forces in order to keep the status quo which has kept them in power for decades.

The internal political map and dynamics inside Lebanon, a small but important state in the Middle East, always reflected the regional forces and conflicts in a very clear and sharp way.

The Extremist camp led by Hezbollah, supported by Iran and Syria are at odds with the March 14th camp, which was successful in expelling Syria from Lebanon and recently brought the killers of former Prime Minister Rafik Al Hariri to justice in international court

In May of 2008 the Lebanese government, led by the March 14 Alliance sacked Wafeek Shukiera, a military officer who had been passing sensitive intelligence and national security secrets to Hezbollah. In doing so, the moderate Lebanese government was able to disable the underground telecommunications network linking Hezbollah with the Lebanese army. To say this was a wildly successful operation would be an understatement.

The effects of this move were enormouse. The government of the March 14th Alliance and their allies ended the occupation of West Beirut by Hezbollah without involving the Lebanese army in a bloody urban skirmish or subjecting its citizens to Hezbollah attacks..

Walleed Junblat, one of the leaders of the March 14th Alliance and Prime Minister Saad Al Hariri were applauded by the United States, Europe, and Lebanon’s moderate allies in the region. Yet, they felt deserted by their internal allies.

In contrast, Hezbollah and their counterparts received and are still receiving full support economically, logistically, and morally from their sponsors. Their power is only augmented by their sophisticated weapons brought by Iran and Syria, in clear violation of UN Resolution 1701.

Lebanon now feels abandoned and alone, a country where an international terrorist organization not only has the most influence, but is well equipped by Iran and Syria to plunge the country into another civil war. With only a pat on the back coming from the West for their work in countering Hezbollah, the Lebanese government is losing faith that the world will come to their side in case of an emergency. The consequences will be dire.

As a result, the question of Hezbollah’s weaponry is not an issue that is acceptable in Lebanese political discourse. Only two years ago, this was a central issue. Today, Lebanese do not even discuss the influence Syria and Lebanon have in their country – not out of disinterest, but fear. Further more, the leaders of the March 14th Alliance, Prime Minister Hariri and Junblat, both of whom had their fathers assassinated by the Syrian Regime, are forced to proverbially bow down to Syrian President Assad.

The fight for Lebanon is not over, but the moderates are losing as the extremists hold sway. As in many countries in the region, moderate forces need to be empowered with the full economic and political support of the Western world to stand a chance against the likes of Hezbollah. Because right now, the Lebanese government and its people are on the pitch, and they desperately need a goal.

Raslan Abu Rukun is Israel’s Deputy Consul General in Philadelphia and the first Arab-Israeli diplomat to hold the position.

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In a small Jerusalem café, I sat with Noam Shalit and tried to discuss his son, Gilad. I say tried because each time Noam, a soft-spoken, bespectacled man, began a sentence, the owner of the café rushed over with complimentary plates of humus, salads and desserts. Passersby, glimpsing Noam through the window, burst inside to embrace him. “We are with you,” they cried. “We will get our Gilad home.”

That our is the key to understanding the devotion that Israelis feel for Gilad Shalit. The Israel Defense Forces is a citizens’ army in which most young men serve for a minimum of three years, followed by several decades of reserve duty. Young women serve for at least two. Our soldiers are literally our parents, our siblings, our children. Israel is also a small country with few if any degrees of separation between families. Even those who have never met the Shalits know someone who has. And all of us have loved ones—a brother, a son—who could suffer the same ordeal that Gilad began four years ago today.

Early on the morning of June 25, 2006, Hamas terrorists—using a tunnel secretly excavated during a cease-fire with Israel—infiltrated across the Gaza border and attacked an IDF base. Firing rocket grenades and automatic weapons, they killed two soldiers—Lt. Hanan Barak and Sgt. Pavel Slutzker, both 20—and kidnapped the 19-year-old corporal, Gilad Shalit. The IDF promptly launched a massive manhunt in Gaza, suffering an additional five fatalities, but failed to find the abductors. Hamas, meanwhile, demanded that Israel release more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, most of them convicted terrorists, in exchange for Gilad’s freedom.

Since then, Gilad’s parents, Noam and Aviva Shalit, have only received three letters from their son as well as a brief video showing an emaciated hostage with a haunted expression and lightless eyes. Hamas has refused to allow the Red Cross or other NGOs to visit Gilad, or to permit mail or aid packages to reach him. And to mock the Shalit family’s suffering, Hamas has staged re-enactments of the kidnapping, most recently in a Gaza summer camp, and plays in which actors portraying Gilad beg for their release. An animated Hamas film depicts an aged Noam Shalit grieving over his son’s coffin.

The plight of Gilad Shalit poses painful dilemmas. Should Israel negotiate with Hamas, a terror organization sworn to its destruction, and unleash hundreds of terrorists, many of whom will quickly return to murdering? Or can Israel leave Gilad to languish alone indefinitely, prolonging his family’s agony and undermining the faith in which other families send their children to battle?

There are no easy answers. Yet Israel has consistently sought to secure Gilad’s freedom through the good offices of intermediaries, all the while striving to reconcile the nation’s security needs with the time-honored Jewish principle of pidayon shivuyim, the redemption of prisoners.

The struggle to bring Gilad home has become a national passion for Israelis. His birthday and the anniversary of his abduction are both commemorated with dramatic public events. In one such rally, some 2,000 young people sailed a “freedom for Gilad” fleet of homemade rafts across the Sea of Galilee. Photographs of Gilad as a whimsical teenager loom from public walls and flutter on flags from car antennas. His name is emblazoned on bracelets popular among Israeli youth and the days of his captivity are displayed on a booth near the prime minister’s residence.

But the campaign to free Gilad Shalit is hardly limited to Israel. The mayors of Miami and New Orleans have made him an honorary citizen, as have the cities of Paris and Rome. President Nicolas Sarkozy has declared Gilad’s release “a top French priority,” and President Barack Obama has further condemned his “inhumane detention.”

Nevertheless, Gilad Shalit remains in solitary confinement—in spite of the protests and his parents’ unflagging appeals to the international community. Lost in the recent tumult surrounding Israel’s efforts to block Iranian and Syrian arms shipments to Hamas, which has fired 10,000 rockets at Israeli civilians to date, is the unending nightmare of the Shalit family. Their pain is shared by countless Israelis and well-wishers worldwide. We must not rest until our Gilad is once again safely at home.

Mr. Oren is Israel’s ambassador to the United States.

First published in The Wall Street Journal.

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