Arabic Culture Studies, Lesson #1: Hostage-taking

and how to get the most out of it without shame:

Cairo is demanding that Israel free 81 Egyptian prisoners in exchange for the freedom of an American-Israeli student accused of “spying.”

The demand was presented during the visit of U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who traveled to Cairo partly with the intention of bringing Ilan Grapel back with him to the U.S. with him following talks.

[…]

Ilan Grapel, 27, is a dual national who served as a paratrooper in the IDF prior to entering Atlanta, Georgia-based Emory Law School. He reportedly had gone to Egypt to study Arabic culture, having had a lifelong interest in the subject.