- MEXICO CITY (AP) — U.S. law enforcement officials expressed outrage over the release from prison of Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero and vowed to continue efforts to bring to justice the man who ordered the killing of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent.
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Caro Quintero was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the 1985 kidnapping and killing of DEA agent Enrique Camarena but a Mexican federal court ordered his release this week saying he had been improperly tried in a federal court for state crimes.
I can understand how they feel.
- The Association of Former Federal Narcotics Agents in the United States said it was “outraged” by Caro Quintero’s early release and blamed corruption within Mexico’s justice system.
- “The release of this violent butcher is but another example of how good faith efforts by the U.S. to work with the Mexican government can be frustrated by those powerful dark forces that work in the shadows of the Mexican ‘justice’ system,” the organization said in a statement.
So imagine how they would react if 104 “violent butcher(s)” were released from prison as a result of improper influence on the justice system, particularly if that influence came from a foreign power! This describes the prisoner release that Israel’s leaders have been coerced into accepting as the price for beginning talks with the PLO.
There isn’t justice in nature. Sometimes evil people do terrible things and escape punishment, even thrive. This brute fact has prompted countless pages of philosophical and theological discourse. But one thing that is not in doubt is that it is one of the functions of civilization to try to bring some order out of this moral chaos by imposing justice.
Hence one of the seven Noachide laws — one of the moral principles that Judaism recognizes as a requirement for any civilized nation, Jewish or not — is to establish courts of law. Subverting justice, then, is one of the worst crimes a person can commit.
PM Netanyahu fell into a trap set for him by Barack Obama, perhaps payback for the humiliation Obama suffered in May 2011, when Bibi dared to publicly instruct the ‘leader of the free world’ about “Middle East reality.”
Now Obama has handed him a “Sophie’s choice,” a moral dilemma in which both forks are horrible. Should he release the prisoners, cause immense pain to the families of their victims, damage Israel’s honor and deterrence, and subvert the legal system that condemned them (and by the way, destroy his own reputation and political career)? Or should he tell Obama to go to hell and expose Israel to whatever consequences were threatened?
Bibi has made his choice. History will judge him.
Bibi has made his choice. History will judge him.
Yamit #3 – What many small states do you refer to with your statement:
In what way has the U.S. made what those many small nations say and do a focal point of their foreign policy?
What U.S. pressures on those many small weak nations were on par with continuous U.S. pressures on Israel by successive U.S. administrations that has made what Israel says and does a focal point of their foreign Mid East policy?
Your following statement of facile thought, so negative in its import as regards Israel’s leaders today and over the past 50 years, brings to mind the uncomplimentary expression, “everyone wants to be a critic”.
Really Yamit, you need to let some light in to brighten your far too dim view of your own nation Israel.
You could do with some new thoughts that would balance your negativity and pessimism with positivity and pride that Israeli leaders, unlike no other leaders of small nations, in spite of sometimes stumbling or bending under the enormous weight of those pressures, have still managed to lead Israel from success to success and strength to strength in so many ways and on so many levels.
@ yamit82:
Hi Yamit, I fully agree with you. I’ve been saying constantly that countries like Mexico, so much more dependant of the US than Israel, have no problem in saying no to the US. Yet Israel, stronger than ever before, has a leadership that can’t have a bowel movement without asking Obama’s permission. Truly pathetic and not understandable.
Please explain why Israel is so susceptible to pressure from the outside.
On a separate note, I saw Ehud Barak this morning on CNN’s Fareed Sakaria, repeating the mantra: “it’s in Israel’s interest to reach an agreement with the Palestinians and let them have their state in Yehuda and Shomron with half of Jerusalem as their capital with possible land swaps”. If this is the way half the Jews of Israel speak, it’s no surprise that Obama, Kerry and the EU are all up Bibi”s ass “pressuring” him to do “what’s good and right for Israel”.
@ David Chase:
BULL,,,t! In politics, ‘tactics’ only show weakness. And weakness is despicable which serves no purpose other than humiliation, and loss of respect. If the Israeli present leadership expects even a shred of consideration of seriousness they better reconsider buckling under the whims of Obama and Ashton, Kerry and other evil wishers for Israel.
There is still time to retrieve the order to release those murderers!
The following is a comment I wrote in response to an article posted, if I remember correctly, on the Unity Coalition for Israel site. I know it won’t be to popular in general but I was trying to look at the possible upside of what Netanyahu chose to do and possible why. I wrote “One should keep in mind that knowing Obama’s hostile behavior towards Israel lthat the current, apparently absurd, decision to go along with his request for Israel to release prisoners just to get the Palestinians to the table may possibly be a useful “tactic”,. if you will, for not only keeping things quiet in the territories for the immediate future while, ostensibly, moving forward on the “peace” process front. From a realistic point of view, it probably buys time for him to deal with the pending Iranian issue while paradoxically, in essence, taking away Obama’s leverage that if things don’t move along on the Israeli-Palestinian front he would withhold support or even prevent Israel from conducting the attack itself. Ironically, and also perhaps with a bit of poetic justice, Netanyahu can now say to Obama “If you don’t cooperate in whatever in necessary on Iran we will withdraw from the negotiations or make demands ourselve which we know would scuttle the talks.” Since this “peace” process issue is so important to Obama, with his ego it is considerable that it could play out that way. I think Netanyahu was probably looking at the overall, immediate, long term strategy and gave in on the difficult prisoner release for other considerations so an immediate heavy price, but perhaps overall, worthwhile to pay.
Yours truly posted there.
I will not repeat what I said except to add that between good and evil the line has always been clear.
“Learn to do good and cease to do evil.” The timeless words of the Hebrew prophets remain dear in our hearts.
Those wont to do evil – may all their schemes fail, let Heaven cancel their evil decrees and may they come to grief in this world!
Meir of Rothenburg (c. 1215 – 2 May 1293) was a German Rabbi and poet, a major author of the tosafot on Rashi’s commentary on the Talmud. He is also known as Meir ben Baruch, the Maharam of Rothenburg.
In 1286, King Rudolf I instituted a new persecution of the Jews, declaring them servi camerae (“serfs of the treasury”), which had the effect of negating their political freedoms. Along with many others, Meir left Germany with family and followers, but was captured in Lombardy and imprisoned in a fortress near Ensisheim in Alsace. Tradition has it that a large ransom of 23,000 marks silver was raised for him (by the Rosh), but Rabbi Meir refused it, for fear of encouraging the imprisonment of other rabbis. He died in prison after seven years. Fourteen years after his death a ransom was paid for his body by Alexander ben Salomon Wimpfen, who was subsequently laid to rest beside the Maharam.
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Meir of Rothenburg (c. 1215 – 2 May 1293) was a German Rabbi and poet, a major author of the tosafot on Rashi’s commentary on the Talmud. He is also known as Meir ben Baruch, the Maharam of Rothenburg.
In 1286, King Rudolf I instituted a new persecution of the Jews, declaring them servi camerae (“serfs of the treasury”), which had the effect of negating their political freedoms. Along with many others, Meir left Germany with family and followers, but was captured in Lombardy and imprisoned in a fortress near Ensisheim in Alsace. Tradition has it that a large ransom of 23,000 marks silver was raised for him (by the Rosh), but Rabbi Meir refused it, for fear of encouraging the imprisonment of other rabbis. He died in prison after seven years. Fourteen years after his death a ransom was paid for his body by Alexander ben Salomon Wimpfen, who was subsequently laid to rest beside the Maharam.
Asher ben Jehiel He is often referred to as Rabbenu Asher, “our Rabbi Asher” or by the Hebrew acronym for this title, the ROSH!! His primary teacher was the Tosafist Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg, then in Worms. In addition to his studies, ROSH worked in money lending, and according to his own statement, was independently wealthy. In 1286, Emperor Rudolf I had instituted a new persecution of the Jews, and Rabbi Meir left Germany, but was captured and imprisoned. The ROSH raised a ransom for his release, but Rabbi Meir refused it, for fear of encouraging the imprisonment of other rabbis. Thereafter the Rosh assumed Rabbi Meir’s position in Worms. He was, however, forced to emigrate (in all likelihood, a victim of blackmail by the government, aimed at acquiring his fortune).
“We must not be guided in our decisions by the admiration of great men, but by the strict adherence to the law or Halacha”
The only reason America is able to bully Israel is because we alone among all of the nations of the world allow them to bully and humiliate us.
There are many small weak nations that do not allow America to bully them and the sky has yet to fall on them. They were prepared to pay a price for their national honor and national interest. Apparently Israel at least her leaders are not prepared to pay certain prices but are willing to pay others like: The demoralization of the IDF. Making a mockery of the rule of law in Israel. Spitting in the faces of the families of our victims and most of all the victims themselves. Proving to the world that Jews have not changed through the centuries that they will grovel and compromise and in the end capitulate for money, out of fear and insecurity and lack of faith in themselves and their creator. This maybe be the Start Up Nation but we are also an ad hoc governed nation.
When Israel was poor living from hand to mouth and from largesse from the nations and well off Jews in the diaspora we never gave in to terrorism and went to extreme lengths to not give in. We did not even recognize the PLO or the Palis as a national entity and there was near unanimity in Israel. Seems the more successful we became, the wealthier we have become is directly correlated to the weaker spiritually as a nation we are today. The more one has the more he is likely to want to protect what he has accumulated.
I think if our Leaders had made a stand against such demands, had held to what is right and ethical most of the pressure and demands would have never been expected, demanded or applied against us. I think most Israelis would support such a leader and be willing to absorb any cost for them. We Israelis and Jews have not been served well by our leaders and not much of anything positive can be attributed to them. In the past 50 years,what is positive in Israel is not due to their stewardship of state but in-spite of them. That seems to be the greatest miracle of Israels existence. So far we have survived our incompetent and yes, corrupt leadership and even thrived.
Prisoners in the Middle East, and among Arabs in particular, should be viewed as little more than pawns whose liberty or continued incarceration is subject to intertribal negotiation. If you are that concerned about getting justice after one of them has killed one of yours, then kill them as soon as you can lay hands on them. Otherwise, you will find yourself in a situation in which you are compelled to release them.
So when will you learn to take hostages from among the families of your enemies? The Arabs will never learn to respect you unless and until you learn to act toward your enemies more or less the same way they do.
From reading some of your comments, many if not most of you are pumped up with stuff about how Jews ought to behave, but you understand little or nothing about the anthropological aspects of the way of life of your enemies among the Arabs.
In any case, I value the land as everything and abstracts such as Western-style justice as nothing. So act accordingly, or you will all find yourselves living even more precariously in a whittled-down State of Israel with enemies almost within shooting range of all your homes.
And if you cannot learn something about living in a situation of protracted conflict, and taking even more enemy land based on opportunities, then you are indeed fools.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
It is not too late for this choice to be exercised.
But not by bibi, of course.