Better to die

Rather than freeing kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's embrace of the Shalit family proves once again that the rallying cry "It is good to die for our country" is not just a slogan, but the concrete policy of all Israel's governments.

This approach holds that it is good for the state to have people die for it. There is a reason that the commander of the 51st Battalion was filmed a month ago instructing his soldiers not to be taken alive. It was better to die than be abducted or taken as prisoner of war. This is the policy that is being implemented on all levels.

Before anything else, the fact that there are no bodies of soldiers that have not been returned - even in exchange for a large number of terrorists or key prisoners - speaks for itself. On the other hand, two living soldiers - Ron Arad and Gilad Shalit, whose captors are known and whose release has been the subject of negotiations - have not come home. With regard to Shalit, it is still possible to say "yet" while expressing dismay and shock, and simultaneously hoping, praying and crossing our fingers that he could still return.

Those who die a national death in Israel, either in the army or in a terror attack, earn respect and glory. They become heroes, the objects of praise, the recipients of a festive state funeral attended by dignitaries and statesmen who spare no words of appreciation. Their families receive recognition as bereaved kin who sacrificed the most precious thing they have. On memorial days, the nation's leaders speak warmly and grandly of those who "gave their lives," as if it were a matter of choice, and say that "in their death they commanded us to live." There are parks named in their honor, memorials, stories of heroism. Bereaved families receive significant compensation from the state, justifiably so, of course.

Those who survive are worth far less to the state, and are classified on a sliding scale. If they were wounded, and if one can see their missing limbs, the wheelchair, their disfigurements, their scars, then they are recognized as disabled Israel Defense Forces veterans and are eligible for compensation and rehabilitation, but not for stories of heroism. No one mentions them on Independence Day, and certainly nobody fetes them.

If they suffered "only" psychological injuries and shell shock, they're not recognized at all and barely receive anything. The state shows no interest in post-traumatic stress, recurring nightmares, inability to function in social and family settings, or difficulty in holding a job. It was only in 1973 that the state recognized those who suffered from shell shock, and to this day they are waging a struggle for their right to receive funding for vital psychological treatment and to remove the serious obstacles to recognition of their injuries.

If they are returned prisoners of war, they first and foremost encounter a lack of faith. They are humiliated by interrogations upon their return, as the interrogators demand they tell what they divulged to the enemy. And then, nothing. It was only three years ago that the state recognized returned POWs as deserving compensation, which comes in the form of a one-time payment. Israel does not subsidize treatment for those returning from captivity, and there is no official recognition that their captivity indeed qualifies as a trauma. The POWs also cost the "high," "dear" price of releasing prisoners, and it's not even clear whether that price should be paid.

The State of Israel loves its dead and knows how to care for them very well. After all, they remain forever young, fair-haired and courageous. So presentable. The wounded, on the other hand, both physically and psychologically, are so very unsexy: weak, needy, a far cry from the strong, victorious Israelis. It's unpleasant to say it, but it seems to be easier for our leaders and "the system" to deal with the dead than with the living. That's because they don't understand that a country that makes life unbearable for its citizens will not survive. If Israel seeks to endure, it must want people to live for it. Bringing Gilad Shalit home would be an excellent place to start.