About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

36 Cardozo L. Rev. 177 (2014-2015)
Exodus: Structuring Redemption of Captives

handle is hein.journals/cdozo36 and id is 197 raw text is: EXODUS: STRUCTURING REDEMPTION OF CAPTIVES Rivka Weillt The question of how to react to ransom demands in kidnap situations is ancient and persistent. It was asked as far back as Biblical times, and yet modern states have still not found answers. In terrorist kidnapping scenarios, the private victims, including the families, are often used as leverage to pressure the authorities, with the anticipation that the combination of public sympathy and private lobbying will result in excessive concessions. In the kidnap game, the victim's family is a single- game player and thus operates under a completely different set of considerations than the repeat player: the state. The question is how the repeat player is able to resist the one-off appearance of a particular kidnap victim and the pressure to concede to terrorist demands. The problem is compounded by an inflation effect in that each concession becomes the baseline for the next. Predictably, democracies do not deal well with this issue, and they may find themselves in a vicious cycle t Associate Professor (tenured), the Radzyner School of Law, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC); JSD Yale Law School. The ideas discussed in this Article were presented at the International Symposium on Law in Times of Crisis held at IDC in Winter 2008-2009; Law, Politics, and Society in Comparative Perspective International Conference held at Hebrew University in Winter 2008-2009; Second Annual International Symposium on Constitutional Agendas held at IDC in Spring 2012; the Annual International Conference of the Society of Political Psychology in Summer 2013; and a talk at the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence and the Centre for Global Constitutionalism at University of St. Andrews in Winter 2014. Early versions of this Article titled Law as a Bargaining Strategy for Dealing with Terrorist Kidnapping were presented at the Hebrew University Faculty of Law Seminar, the Tel-Aviv University Faculty of Law Economic Analysis of Law Workshop, and the Hebrew University Faculty of Law Public Law Workshop in Winter and Spring 2012-2013. I had many fruitful discussions with Sharon Rabin- Margalioth and Robert J. Aumann on the ideas discussed in this Article and I thank them profoundly. I have also greatly benefitted from Samuel Issacharoffs insightful comments. Special thanks are also due to Aharon Barak, Ilan Benshalom, Ziv Bohrer, Yoav Dotan, Malcolm Feeley, Talia Fisher, Miriam Gur-Arye, Sharon Hanes, Stephen Holmes, Alon Klement, Roz Myers, Ariel Porat, Daphne Richemond-Barak, Yoram Shachar, Joseph Weiler, Zvi Ziegler, and an anonymous reviewer from the Israeli Security Agency for their helpful comments. I thank Tom Eanbal and Joey Lightstone for their excellent research assistance. It should be noted that the author translated all Hebrew sources and citations unless noted otherwise. This Article is dedicated to the memory of my first cousin, Arik Frankenthal, who was kidnapped and murdered by the Hamas on July 7, 1994. Arik was only nineteen years old when he died. He was a peace activist and had great love for and belief in mankind.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most