who were willing to ransom him. But he would not let them do so, for he said:‘One does not ransom captives for more than their value.’”
The ransom which the Palestinians have demanded is the release of hundreds of their prisoners whom the Israel Defense Force has captured. The Israel cabinet has decided not to release those Palestinian prisoners with‘blood on their hands,’ who have killed innocent civilians by blowing up busses or other acts of terror. Those who have murdered will very likely murder again if released. Eminent authorities are divided on this issue of the amount of ransom that may be paid. Jewish captive faces imminent death. Nahmanides rejected the opinion that when the Jewish captive faces imminent death“one redeems them for whatever sum can redeem them.” Meir ben Gedaliah(1558— 1616) of Lublin agreed with this position (Responsa Maharam Lublin, Responsa# 15). In the halakhic debate as to the reasonable price to be paid for the redemption of a captive, in the 16" century David ben Zimra wrote that the criterion should be the actual situation in the world. He ruled that it was not proper to redeem Jewish captives“for more than captives of other nations.”
According to the halakhah, we must do our utmost to fulfill the
meritorious commandment of ransoming Jewish captives. Nevertheless, there is a limit. We must not endanger others by releasing these terrorists. We must attempt to determine whether submitting to extortion will encourage the terrorists to continue and capture other victims. The cruel choice between the two approaches- ransoming captives at any price or protecting the community has led to a third alternative. Specially trained armed forces made attempts to free hostages. In 1994 a young soldier, Nachshon Wachsman, was held prisoner. The attempt of the special unit to free him failed. His captors shot him. His mother stated that she would wish that her son’s murderers go free in order to save Gilad Shalit . We all remember the tragic event of the Olympic Games in Munich . The attempt to save the Israeli sportsmen ended in their death. Supreme Court Justice Emeritus , Mishal Heshin, wrote that our unwritten code of military ethics, makes it imperative not to leave a wounded soldier in the field. This is almost universally accepted, even though it may result in the death of the medic who is treating him. In the situation of the captive, when all of the alternatives are dangerous and unacceptable, what can we do? How do we find the inner strength to continue the struggle?