The Times
reported today that the British Government is blocking
a deal for Paul and Rachel Chandler's release.
The British couple were kidnapped by Somalian pirates
in the Indian Ocean. Paul and Rachel may be facing a
doomed fate as the British Government is blocking a
deal for their release.
A company that claimed to have had a deal for the
release of Paul and Rachel Chandler said it was
scuppered by the British Government's refusal to
negotiate with hostage-takers and said today that it
demanded to be allowed to arrange their release.
In the centre of the British Government’s refusal to
interfere in this saga we meet none other than David
Miliband the Foreign Secretary
The Guardian reported today that Miliband insisted
that “the government would not get involved in any
ransom payments to secure the Chandlers' release”.
Miliband said he could not stop private individuals
from pursuing a ransom deal, but it was not in
Britain's interests to make concessions to
hostage-takers.
On the face of it Miliband’s stand can be easily
understood. The foreign secretary could argue, for
instance, that negotiating with pirates or other
outlaws may expose more Brits to different security
risks. Yet, it is very perplexing to find out that as
much as Miliband is reluctant to interfere with the
release of the abducted British couple, he rushed to
voice his support in favour of the release of the IDF
guard Gilad Shalit. In spite of the fact that Shalit
is not a British subject and was taken prisoner in a
military action while serving as a guard in the
biggest concentration camp known to man namely Gaza,
Miliband was rather vocal in demanding his ‘immediate’
release.
One would expect the Foreign Secretary to care
primarily about British citizens rather than foreign
soldiers who maintain an illegal occupation and the
starvation of millions.
Here is the transcription of Miliband’s emotional plea
to Hamas. It is taken from a British official
governmental site.
“Today is the third anniversary of the kidnapping of
Gilad Shalit. Both British Ministers and the British
Ambassador in Israel have had repeated contact with
Gilad's family and emphasized our support for Gilad's
immediate release. Last September, the Ambassador
helped to deliver over 2,000 Jewish New Year cards for
Gilad to the ICRC as part of a campaign organized by
the UK Jewish community. I repeat the UK's call to
Hamas for his immediate, unconditional, and safe
release. We share the Shalit family's dismay at
Hamas's refusal to allow the ICRC access to Gilad”.
(British Foreign Secretary David Miliband)
It is perplexing to find out that Miliband showed far
more ‘restraint’ in his support of his troubled fellow
British citizens: Paul and Rachel Chandler. Bearing in
mind that Miliband is listed as an Israeli Hasbara
(propaganda) author on an official Israeli website,
one way to explain it all may have something to do
with the teaching of Rabbi Akiva.
According to the Jewish Magazine, Rabbi Akiva teaches
us that ‘Love your fellow Jew as you love yourself’ is
the great general commandment of the Torah. According
to the Magazine, Akiva is basing it on the verse, "and
you shall love your fellow Jew, for I am the Lord,
your G-d." The command to love your fellow Jew is one
of the basic mitzvas of the Torah*. So much so, that
Rabbi Akiva made this the pivotal point upon which all
of the Torah is based. And yet with all due respect to
the Torah, Rabbi Akiva and other Rabbis, Brits may
expect their foreign minister to care for the British
Chandlers at least as much as he cares for an IDF
soldier Gilad Shalit.
___
*This very Judeo-centric interpretation of Rabbi
Akiva’s insight as a tribal bond is rather common
within Jewish Rabbinical circles. However, it is
crucial to mention that the Hebrew translation of
Akiva’s insight is universal in its spirit. It could
be translated as ‘love your neighbour as yourself’. As
many scholars before have said, though Judaism could
also be interpreted as a universal insight, in
reality, the shift into a universal ethos was led
primarily by Christianity which aimed to transcend
itself beyond the tribal.
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