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July 16, 2008

On eve of prisoner swap, Israel recalls 2006 Lebanon war

For many Israelis, the timing of this week’s scheduled prisoner swap with Hezbollah serves as a bitter reminder of the failings of the Second Lebanon War. Two years since the 34-day conflagration — sparked by Hezbollah taking two Israeli soldiers captive in a cross-border attack — the war’s ostensible goals appear to be unrealized.

Closure, but no joy, in swap deal

Last September, when I interviewed Karnit Goldwasser, the wife of the kidnapped Israeli soldier Ehud Goldwasser, I was swept away by her optimism that her husband would come back alive. Just as moving was her determination to press her government and the world to arrange for his safe return. Her campaign and that of the family of Eldad Regev came to a tragic end today; as part of prisoner exchange at the Lebanon border, the bodies of Regev and Goldwasser were returned to Israel. When I read the news I immediately felt terrible for Karnit. In a story that raises big moral and geopolitical issues, she was the personal, anguished face. Her struggle became our struggle, and now her pain is our pain. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of these men. — Rob Eshman

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More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.