The Shalit Deal and the Dati Leumi World

Myles Kantor
3 min readJan 13, 2025

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(This originally appeared on Machon Shilo in December 2011.)

In his perush on Tehillim 12:2, Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch, zt”l, refers to “the most indispensable instrument in all human relationships — namely the sacredness of the human word.” He further observes:

“Man must be able to put his trust in the opinions, words, and deeds of his fellows. He must know that his brother’s mind recoils from wrong and is dedicated to the welfare of others. He must be sure that his brother will not say or promise anything other than that which he feels to be true or possible of fulfillment to the best of his knowledge and that his deeds are in conformity with his words…”

The Shalit deal betrayed this sacred trust on a massive, lethal scale. The following words by bereaved families need to be internalized by Am Yisrael:

  • “We have been betrayed. To pardon terrorists mocks our love and our pain…And as a result of prisoner exchanges, the Israeli justice system can only be seen as a joke, a mockery, even a travesty of justice.” (Sherri Mandell, whose 13-year-old son Koby and friend Yosef Ish Ran were murdered by an Arab mob in 2001)
  • “It opened the old wounds again, and we have a terrible sense of abandonment.” (David Libman, whose brother Shlomo was murdered by terrorists in Yitzhar in 1998)
  • “The murderer [Ahlam Tamimi] has this evening been handed a life to live — the life of a hero, an inspiration. And the government that prosecuted this monstrous woman has agreed to the satanic transaction.” (Frimet Roth, whose daughter Malki was murdered in the 2001 Sbarro pizzeria massacre)
  • “This deal will lead to the loss of hundreds of lives, and will create more bereaved families and add to the pain and loss suffered by thousands of Israelis. The deal sends the message that it is possible to deal with Israel through kidnapping and murder of Israeli citizens.” (Hovev Nuriel, whose father Sasson was murdered by terrorists in 2005)

As I read Rav Bar-Hayim’s three-part examination of the deal, perhaps I was not alone in feeling disgust as well as admiration — disgust because the rav’s conscientious strength was such a contrast to reactions I found in the dati leumi world.

“Now that it’s done, it’s done,” a dati leumi commentator remarked after the government released the first group of terrorists.

Dati leumi rabbis spoke in similarly evasive terms. “It’s very difficult to articulate a confident, declarative opinion. There’s so much complexity,” stated one rabbi. Another presented his evasion as an act of humility: “I don’t have the audacity to enter the subject of the debate and to answer the question [of releasing terrorists], because I’m not sure that there is an answer.”

I was happy to recently find major exceptions to this trend. With robust clarity, Rav Dr. Aaron Rakeffet stated on October 24:

“Al pi halacha I want to tell you, there is no heter in the world for what the government did…Every one in this room, our lives are now more endangered…I am ashamed of some of the rabbis that came out with double talk. Talk truth!”

Likewise, in a halachic overview of prisoner exchanges, Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz cited Rav Herschel Schachter’s opposition to the Shalit deal. (Rav Rakeffet’s remarks are at 1:23:30 here. Rabbi Lebowitz’s citation of Rav Schachter is at 12:05 here.)

Asher Keren wrote in his 2005 book A Time for Change, “Growing up means dealing with reality and not running away from it through false spirituality.” May the mature moral leadership of Rav Bar-Hayim, Rav Rakeffet, and Rav Schachter increase in the religious world.

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Myles Kantor
Myles Kantor

Written by Myles Kantor

Occasional writer, fan of racquet and barbell sports, dabbler of languages

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