Sure, time flies, it’s a fact of life. One day we’re taking our first steps, then before you know it, you’ve moved to another country and been there long enough see many newer olim arrive and look to you for tips.
Ok, I’m certainly nowhere near vatik over here, but back in 2005, Israel still included Aza and the Second Lebanon War hadn’t been thought of… and Gilad Shalit was still home.
Two years have passed since we were attacked and more of our soldiers were taken into captivity. The oft drawn comparison between Gilad and Ron Arad sends a shiver down my spine. Why, when we went to to bring home Gilad, Ehud and Eladad, did we come home empty handed?
It’s easy to point the finger of blame at the government, especially when Olmert is in the driving seat. I get the feeling that calls for his resignation kicked off the day he was elected, but am I guilty of not doing remembering? Why haven’t I written to the goverment or been to more rallys?
When I heard of the Facebook campaign to have 30,000 plus users change their profile image to a picture of Gilad, and change their status to raise awareness, that scary shiver returned to me. Two years later and Gilad isn’t home. Has the political apathy in the country caused the public to give up hope? Perhaps we don’t trust Olmert to push this to the top of his priority list. While there was talk of a deal at the start of the week, that’s all died down and our boys are still lost in the unknown.
On Tuesday Night, there was a familiar site outside the president’s house. People waving flags and holding banners and making noise – but I’ll be honest, I was disappointed that the turn out wasn’t larger. I found myself looking through facebook and felt disappointed when people hadn’t joined this campaign.
I don’t have an answer, and I don’t know what more I can do… perhaps blogging from the waiting room of MacabiDent is my way of saying “Gilad, I haven’t forgotten that you’re out there. I haven’t forgetten you or any of our other captured soldiers, and I hope, pray and look forward to the day that the entire country can celebrate that you’re home, safe and well”.
We must remember our captive, and ensure he is kept at the top of the agenda.
However, it is important to be realistic – Shalit is Hamas’ trump card – or if you like, their “get out of jail free card”.
I don’t see how he will be coming home until we either go in and get him, or force Hamas somehow to play that “card”.
If you put yourself in Hamas’ position, and try to think like the scum they are with their destroy Israel agenda – you can see why they won’t be letting him go in a hurry, probably even if we offer them a few hundred prisoners.
One of their strategies is to demoralise us – to pick at our divisions and to mentally torture us, to sow doubt and discord. Its a smart strategy and one that in the current climate of mistrust between the Israeli government and Israeli people can hardly fail to have an impact.
We like to blame Olmert, but I’m not sure what more he can do on Shalit, short of unleashing the IDF on Hamas’ leadership and going for total war in Gaza, and that might just get him killed and there are also other strategic considerations about such an operation that might not be publicly known.
I don’t criticise these people, but we have seen members of the families making appeals to Hezbollah and Hamas – very foolish and just playing into their hands. There are still a lot of Israelis who really don’t comprehend just how evil some of our enemies are, and how unlike us they are in their ways of thinking.
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