Gilad Shalit -- the overlooked news story

Gilad Shalit

Big news today – this is the first anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death.
When it comes to news: news from Israel generally focuses on the attempts by a mixture of well-meaning people and terrorists to break the blockade on Gaza. The news refers to it as the Israeli blockade. It’s really the Israel-Egypt blockade.
Take note – Israel is not the only middle East nation concerned about Hamas’ spawned violence.

Here’s the really big news for today … bigger than Michael Jackson, bigger than the flotillas, bigger even than the World Cup -- – this is the fourth anniversary of Gilad Shalit’s captivity.

Unfortunately, the world has paid little attention to this tragic anniversary. Most, in fact – are actively ignoring it.

Four years ago, Hamas terrorists in Gaza conducted a raid on the Israeli side of the border. Two Israeli soldiers were killed - three others were wounded.

Shalit was wounded, and he was kidnapped.

He was a whopping 19 years old.

Israel has negotiated – fruitlessly – for his release. Other nations have even joined the effort.

Hamas refuses to release him. Well, maybe … if Israel releases thousands of Palestinian prisoners – many with hands stained with Jewish blood … maybe…
Meanwhile … and this is no shock … Hamas has ignored international law regarding prisoners. According to international law:
· 1. Hamas authorities are required to allow Shalit regular correspondence with his family: in four years, they’ve received had three letters and a voice recording. Not exactly regular correspondence. Obviously, Hamas has not allowed Shalit’s parents to visit him.
· 2. Prisoners of war should be allowed regular – unfettered -- visits by the International Red Cross. The International Red Cross has repeatedly asked to visit Shalit. Their requests fell on deaf Hamas ears. This young man in spent four years isolated from the all but Hamas.
· 3. The Geneva Convention gives Israel the right to know Shalit’s location. Hamas has refused to say where they are holding Gilad Shalit.

So many questions. Is he well? What is his mental condition by now? Will this young man ever be released?

Imagine the heartbreak of his family. His parents, Noam and Aviva Shalit, have spent four years campaigning for the release of their son. Hamas responds by denying them even the most basic communication.

A group known as the Human Rights Watch condemned Hamas by describing Shalit’s prolonged, isolated captivity as cruel and inhumane and amounting to torture.
Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, recently said: “The only man in the Gaza strip who needs humanitarian assistance is Gilad Shalit… a million and a half people are living in Gaza, and only one of them truly needs humanitarian assistance, only one of them imprisoned, does not merit to see daylight, his health situation is unknown, and his name is Gilad Shalit.”

The United Nations Human Rights Council remains silent on this issue.
Internationally, though, the movement to free Gilad Shalit is gaining momentum. How much good will that momentum do?

The answer lies in the hands of terrorists.

In New York, the “True Freedom Flotilla” symbolically carried humanitarian aid to Shalit. However, this flotilla had no intention of trying to break any blockades. They sailed from Pier 40 on New York’s west side to the UN on the east side. This was a major – and costly – demonstration of support.

Will the UN understand? We can only hope so.

Meanwhile, Shalit has been made an honorary citizen of France, of Rome, and several American cities.

At midnight Italian time, the lights of the ancient Roman coliseum were darkened … to show support for Shalit. The Italian foreign minister told Shalit’s father, Noam, that Rome fully supported efforts to free his son and that the captivity breached all international rules. Further, the Italian said that it “shows the terrorist nature of Hamas,” and that the EU cannot consider Hamas a political entity because of this.

President Sarkozy of France echoed similar thoughts in a letter to Noam Shalit. He said: “Like every French citizen, I am disgusted how it is possible to deprive a human being of his liberty and even – with the exception of a few all too rare opportunities – to deny him contact with his family and friends … and the right to visits from the Red Cross.

In Jerusalem, the lights of the Old City walls were turned off. The only light was a sign saying: “This is the number of days I have spent in captivity: 1,460.
On Sunday there will be a march in Jerusalem to the home of the prime minister. There will be similar demonstrations all over Israel.

But, the question I struggle with is … what CAN we DO?

It is all too easy to sweep this travesty into the shadows, but we cannot.
After Shabbat, I’ll send out emails with suggestions of how to show support.
We can write letters to his family, pray for him, write our elected leaders. We can remember that his Hamas captors in Gaza are terrorists who have found a myriad of ways to attack Israel.

Gilad Shalit, now 23, is “just one person.” In Judaism, there is no such thing as “just one person.” A person is the whole world!

Every time we pray the Amidah, there is a line in the second paragraph that refers to God who frees the captive, those who are bound – the Hebrew is “u’matir asurim.”
When we say that prayer, think of Gilad Shalit. The least – and the most -- we can do is: remember.