July 27, 2007

Hello from Jerusalem.

I participated today in a very successful campaign retreat for UJA Federation of
Greater Toronto, hosted at the country house of Larry and Judy Tenenbaum.
The entire campaign team of UJA Federation, under the leadership of campaign
chairs Morris Perlis and Lesley Binstock Offman, gathered to learn and prepare
for another Toronto record-breaking campaign.

After my briefing at the retreat, many people asked me about the hostages and
what I think is happening in this regard. I believe that the following update will
give the readers a much better understanding of the efforts behind the scenes to
bring the boys home.

Last Shabbat, Yossi Melman of the newspaper "Haaretz" published a detailed
review of our government's efforts for the boys' release. I found the update to be
relatively encouraging. Melman writes that since September 2006, Ofer Dekel -
former deputy head of the Shin Bet security service, now mediator on behalf of
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert - has been meeting with a special United Nations
envoy who is mediating between Israel and Hezbollah. Dekel sets out for these
meetings alone, without aides.

Dekel's attempts to find out what has happened to Regev and Goldwasser have
encountered a wall of silence. Hezbollah is not prepared to volunteer information
without getting something in return. In addition, Iran, who did not meddle in previous
negotiations, is now actively exerting pressure on Hezbollah. It is not clear whether Iran
has a definite interest in accelerating a prisoner exchange deal with Israel.

The chances of obtaining Shalit's release are better. Israel rejected outright the first
demands - to release 1,500 terrorists, in accordance with a list Hamas had prepared.
With the help of the Egyptian mediators, a few months ago an agreement was reached in
which 450 Palestinian prisoners would be released. Hamas demands the release of 450
"heavy" terrorists, including those who carried out the 2001 terror attack at the Tel Aviv
Dolphinarium and at Sbarro in Jerusalem, and the Pesach bombing the following year at
the Park Hotel in Netanya. In response, Israel agreed to release 40 terrorists "with blood
on their hands." But since the violent Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, negotiations
have come to a complete halt.

It is clear that conflicting interests in the Palestinian camp are holding up the talks. There
are three main actors involved from the Palestinian side: Khaled Mashal, a senior
chairman of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh of the Hamas political wing in the Gaza Strip, and
Ahmed Jabri of the military wing of Hamas.

Haniyeh and Mashal have a clear interest in moving a deal forward. They want improve
their poor image and give the Palestinian people an achievement that will go a little way
toward healing the wounds left by the violent takeover of Gaza. A deal could help them
achieve these aims. But the military wing is not taking their desires into account. Because
they have no responsibility for running everyday life, the military people are less bothered
by the distress that Haniyeh and Mashal are experiencing. What interests them is the
release of as many of their imprisoned colleagues as possible, and humiliating Israel.

In the attempt to revive the negotiations, Dekel recently visited the Hadarim and Be'er
Sheva Prisons. It was an emotional move. The prisoners who follow what happened
outside the prison walls recognized him immediately, even though he did not introduce
himself.

Over the weekend, Olmert released 250 prisoners as a gesture of goodwill to Palestinian
Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Melman writes that this is expected to stir up
excitement among the Palestinians, return the issue to the Palestinian agenda and
encourage the families of the rest of the 11,00 Palestinian prisoners to apply pressure on
the military wing and the Hamas leadership to make more of an effort to carry out a deal.

In the meantime, a final agreement remains elusive and wrought with challenges. But
it's clear that there is still cause for hope. In his formal briefings, as well as in his
meetings with the prisoners' families, Dekel expresses the conviction that even though
the negotiations will go on for a long time, they will ultimately prove successful.

We haven't forgotten Gilad, Ehud and Eldad, and they remain in our hearts and our
prayers. We continue to hope and pray that by next summer, they will again be able to
enjoy the warmth of summer and the comforts of home.

Shabbat Shalom Omevorach!

Yossi

MIA Countdown (as of July 26th):
Gilad Shalit: 1 year, 31 days
Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev: 1 year, 14 days