Editorial: Prisoners

Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison. It was the seeming culmination of a painful process during which, somewhere along the way, Rubashkin transformed from an accused lawbreaker into a victim.

Also this week, somewhere along the way, it happened that Gilad Shalit has been a prisoner of Hamas terrorists for four years. His kidnapping took place on June 25, 2006.

It’s been a difficult week.

For some, the Rubashkin transformation happened early. He was framed, it was suggested after the federal raid on his Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa. He did nothing wrong. Events proved otherwise, of course, but neither did he do everything of which he was originally accused. Some of those dramatic charges were never filed and he ultimately was acquitted at trial of violating Iowa’s child labor laws.

In the end, however, even Rubashkin’s greatest critics are viewing him through the prism of victimhood. It would be nearly impossible not to. White collar crimes for which others have served minimal time behind bars have somehow yielded him a virtual life sentence — 27 years. He is currently 50 and the father of young children.

The judge and the prosecutor have both broken their silence in the face of vilifying, withering criticism directed at them — the judge in her sentencing memorandum, the prosecutor in a letter released to the media. Each has stood by the facts of the case and how they played their role. The prosecutor called Rubashkin a ‘common criminal who committed an uncommon crime.’ The judge, who imposed sentence, truly had the last laugh. It is a brutal sentence, but it has nothing to do with anti-Semitism.

It’s not hard to imagine that the aspersions cast on the prosecution from the begining made law enforcement less likely to be lenient, but even if some segments of the community went too far in protesting Rubashkin’s innocence — a fair argument to make — it doesn’t excuse the excessive sentence. His legal team promises an appeal. We hope and pray for their success.

We also hope and pray for the immediate release of Gilad Shalit, who will turn 24 next month. It would be wonderful if he could celebrate the day with his family at their home on the Lebanese border.

Interviewing his father for our page one story this week was an uncommon experience, to borrow a word from the Iowa prosecutor.

Noam Shalit, an engineer by profession, has been described to us as quiet and shy. But in the past four years he has overcome his own nature and put himself in the forefront of efforts to win his son’s release through public speaking and quiet, behind-the-scenes diplomacy, including meetings with world leaders around the globe.

It is hard to imagine not seeing one’s child for four years. It is even harder to imagine the horrors of the unknown that must run through the minds of Noam and Aviva Shalit.

Not only is their middle son the prisoner of truly malignant, evil people, but as we noted in our story, Noam has previously suffered the loss of a close relative — his twin brother, Yoel — who was a prisoner of war when he was murdered by Egyptian forces several weeks after the Yom Kippur war in 1973.

It is hard not to despair for Gilad’s fate, but a lesson for all of us can be taken from the stalwart faith and hope shown by the Shalits.

Speaking for every person of good will, may their dearest wish, Gilad’s return, be fulfilled at once.