Two Israeli citizens decided, of their own volition, to cross into the Gaza Strip. They were not sent there on some military mission, nor were they carrying out any official duties. They did so because of some inner drive, for personal reasons. That is sad and hard to grapple with. But on Thursday, some 10 months later, the news embargo was lifted and a media frenzy ensued, perhaps because at this point in the summer we are already in silly season and there is not much else to report. The media made it look as if the two were soldiers, combat fighters, or daring agents who worked for the Mossad or the Shin Bet security agency. They are none of the above, but it did not take long before people began throwing the familiar unfair accusations at the Israel Defense Forces for not stopping them. The worst accusation was that Israel's leaders had no interest in preventing Avera Mengistu from crossing into the Gaza Strip because he was an Ethiopian-Israeli, and now that he is there the government has not stepped up to the plate to secure his safe return. The "proof": Even Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman, who was foreign minister when Mengistu crossed the fence, was left in the dark. This is just nonsense. It is borderline incitement. Gilad Schalit was kidnapped while carrying out his official duties in uniform. He was held in captivity alone for more than five years. He had no plans to go to Gaza. His non-Ethiopian descent did not help him. In 2000, Israeli businessman Elhanan Tannenbaum was abducted while trying to carry out a serious felony. Like Schalit he was held hostage for a long time. The misconduct that led to his capture was outrageous, but what made everyone's blood boil was that the efforts to release him in a prisoner swap were partly motivated by a false report that his teeth had been forcefully removed. I have long held that Israel paid too much to secure Schalit's return, but the Tannenbaum deal in 2004 was worse. Tannenbaum owes his freedom to then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who was determined to bring him back, so much so that the State Attorney's Office decided not to prosecute him, despite the extensive damage his actions have inflicted on the state. Although Tannenbaum's abduction had its own circumstances, his actions do merit comparison to the current case of missing Israelis, whose families may have to explain why they failed to watch over them. The Talmud tells us that "all of Israel are responsible for one another." While this is undoubtedly true, and Prime Minister Netanyahu has promised to work hard to bring them home, we must not let the racially charged narrative take hold. Enough is enough. We must not accept the accusations that they are being treated as less important because of their ethnicity. Also, we must not let the pressure on the government build up the way it did just before the Schalit deal. This pressure resulted in the massive release of dangerous terrorists. We must avoid a repeat of the hysteria that plagued our city squares. Israel should do its best to bring this crisis to a reasonable end, but that's it. U.S. President Barack Obama recently announced a new policy when it comes to negotiating the release of U.S. captives. He noted that family members would no longer face prosecution if they offered ransom money to the terrorists, but stressed that the U.S. government will not be party to any such transaction. That is an interesting formula.
