I recently read a blog on another news site which heralded the Israel Day Concert in Central Park. Concerts are fun. There’s music, balloons, kosher cotton candy. Everyone loves concerts, just like everyone loves a parade. Certainly, there are many praiseworthy aspects in events such as these which help connect Diaspora Jews to Israel. However, included in the overview of achievements of past Israel Day Concerts, the blog cited the passionate speech of Noam Shalit before a crowd of 10,000, and the concert’s subsequent influence in giving fuel to the deal to free Noam Shalit’s son, the kidnapped Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, for 1000 imprisoned terrorists.
Unfortunately, the Concert didn’t invite families whose lives had been shattered by the barbaric acts of those terrorists to speak out against the exchange. Far away from New York City, families, who had lost their loved ones in terrorist attacks, sat for weeks in protest outside the house of Israel’s Prime Minister, claiming that the release of these convicted terrorists would be like killing their loved ones again. They maintained that such an exchange would make a mockery of Israeli justice and pave the way to increased terror attacks. Many leading rabbis, among them Rabbi Dov Lior and Rabbi Shmuel Eliahu, were adamant against the exchange on halachic grounds, claiming it was a “dishonor to Israel,” and that it would encourage more kidnappings in the future. Cabinet Minister, Uzi Landau, said it would be “a great victory for terrorism,” and Minister Moshe Ayalon, today’s Defense Minister, vehemently opposed the exchanged. But these voices weren’t heard at the Israel Day Concert in Central Park.
Unfortunately, their warnings came true. Among the 1000 terrorists who were released, many returned to commit news acts of terror. Colonel Baruch Mizrachi was murdered by one of them as he drove home on Erev Pesach. In addition, the abduction and brutal murder of the three Israeli teenagers, Naftali Fraenkel, Gil-ad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach, which shocked the country and brought Israel to war, was masterminded by another terrorist released in the Galit exchange, Mahmoud Kawasme, who supplied his brother, Marwin Kawasme, one of the abductors and triggermen, $60,000 to purchase the handguns, rifles, and cars used to carry out the kidnapping and murder of the three Israeli youths – as reported by the Shin Bet and the Israeli media. While all Jewish hearts rejoiced with Gilad’s personal freedom, his exchange for 1000 terrorists had disastrous results for others, as so many people had warned.
I have an idea. Next year, why not hold the Israel Day Concert, not in Central Park, but in Sacker Park in Jerusalem, highlighted by the declaration of its 10,000 attendees from New York that they are all saying goodbye to America and making Aliyah. That would be the concert to end all concerts!