By Bruce S. Ticker
January 22, 2007
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Gilad Shalit's great-grandfather (his father's paternal grandfather) was murdered by the Nazis and his paternal grandmother survived the war in Vichy France, as The New York Times reports. His uncle, Yoel Shalit, died defending Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur war. For more than six months, Shalit has been held captive by Arab terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Two fellow soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, remain hostages of Hezbollah in Lebanon, if they are still alive. All three were seized by terrorists in brazen acts of war. Shalit was kidnapped in a raid in Israel on June 25. Goldwasser and Regev were snared last July 12.
Four weeks of warfare ensued. Shalit is believed to be alive, but there is nothing clear about the other two.
It is hard to believe that more than six months have passed. I read of Regev and Goldwasser's capture while checking the news on July 12 before leaving for a train trip to Boston. The next afternoon, news of rocket shellings upon a number of Israeli towns was broadcast on a television set at an Israeli bookstore in Brookline. It turned out that one Israeli civilian was killed in Nahariya and 11 were wounded in Safed.
It is incredible that the continued imprisonment of our soldiers is barely on the radar screen. Jewish newspapers are stuffed with letters about Mel Gibson and Jimmy Carter, but concern expressed for the plight of the three soldiers has been limited. It is not like this is a matter of debate. A life-and-death crisis for three young Jews has been largely overlooked by the general public.
The captivity of our three MIAs symbolizes Israel's relationship with Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority. Their capture set off this two-front war, and the soldiers remain prisoners of Israel's enemies. The Lebanese government and the PA are fully responsible for controlling these terrorists, and therefore Israel has every right to re-engage in warfare to secure their release.
It is fundamentally humane for citizens to speak out in support of the three soldiers. We cannot be under the delusion that a public outcry will produce their release, but it is crucial that Americans, especially American Jews, tell the world to care about these soldiers.
Thankfully, a nationwide campaign is underway to lobby for their release. Among other actions, several major Jewish organizations are seeking a million signatures on a petition to be presented to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanding their release. The petition can be accessed at Freethesoldiers.org Web site, which is operated by United Jewish Communities, the umbrella organization for Jewish Federations throughout the United States.
Several members of Congress and the New Jersey legislature of both political parties urged the release of the three soldiers during a Dec. 20 news conference in Scotch Plains, N.J., along with Jewish leaders. State Senator Tom Kean, a Livingston Republican, said he will press for a resolution to this effect. Good idea: Such a measure need not be limited to the New Jersey legislature.
Speakers quoted in the Jewish News said it all:
"For the world community not to do something, gives the terrorists the feeling they got what they wanted out of their actions," said Lori Price Abrams, director of the MetroWest Jewish Community Relations Committee. "There would be nothing to stop them from doing it again."
Adi Segal, a High School senior in Teaneck said, "I felt I had to do something about it. We are showing the world American Jews stand by Israel in solidarity."
And U.S. Rep. Michael A. Ferguson stated, "We cannot and will not forget these people and the people who are working to find these men and bring them home safely."
If we as Americans, especially American Jews, do not show we care, why should anyone else? No release, no peace.
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