Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich in an apparent response to comments by Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) host Razi Barkai, in which he compared the efforts of bereaved Israeli families trying to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones from terrorists for burial to efforts of Arab families seeking the return of the bodies of slain terrorists, Alsheich stated “Israelis celebrate life while Israel’s enemies do not value life”.

Speaking to an Eilat audience, a retreat for bereaved families organized by Yad L’Banim, the nation’s top cop appeared to be responding to Barkai’s controversial remarks, which almost led to his dismissal from Galei Tzahal. He explained that while Israel sanctifies life, the enemies sanctify death, and therefore the bereavement of Israeli families is different from that of “some of our neighbors”.

He spoke of a hashkafa that ascribes to “enabling one to move to a better place and getting rid of life’s challenges by simply pressing a button (a bomb) and pulling a knife” to that of Israel and a nation that embraces life and its challenges.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)