Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert embraces Ehud Goldwasser’s widow, Karnit, on July 16.
Photo by GPO
July 24, 2008
The return of the bodies of two Israeli soldiers in a lopsided exchange with Hizbullah prompted local Jewish leaders to express sympathy for the pain of the Israeli families, to acknowledge Israel’s difficult moral choices, and to push for the release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured by Hamas in the summer of 2006 just a few days before Hizbullah’s attack.
The bodies of Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser were returned to Israel July 16 in exchange for five Lebanese and the remains of some 200 Arab fighters
“We wish to express our sorrow to the Goldwasser and Regev families, a sorrow we share as a community and as the Jewish people,” said Gerald Cantor, president of the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey. “We will continue to call for the freedom of Gilad Shalit and for news of the whereabouts of all missing Israelis. Redemption of captives is a foundational Jewish value and reflects our respect for each human life.”
Federation executive vice president Stanley Stone addressed the federation staff about the loss as they gathered in a conference room on the Wilf Jewish Community Campus in Scotch Plains July 17. Two yahrzeit candles alongside pictures of the soldiers remained lit for the duration of the shiva period.
Israeli emissary Miri Hasson displayed posters in the JCC of Central NJ’s Camp Yachad, and at the YM-YWHA of Union County teen camp, Hasson organized a memorial program for campers and staff.
The soldiers’ plight galvanized Jewish organizations and state politicians over the past two years.
In December 2006, local and national lawmakers joined Jewish community leaders and more than 100 spectators at a news conference in Scotch Plains intended to focus attention on their plight.
NJ State Sen. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Dist. 21) introduced a resolution calling for the release of the soldiers. U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-Dist. 7) was also vocal on the issue.
Karnit Goldwasser, Ehud’s widow, was a guest of honor in May 2007 at the Main Event, the primary fund-raiser of the federation’s Women’s Campaign. Prior to that, she urged participants in a federation fund-raising mission in Israel to push for United States and United Nations officials to focus on the fate of her husband.
The news of the exchange prompted mixed feelings for Gabrielle Flaum, the New Jersey teenager who founded SOS: Save Our Soldiers, a youth advocacy group for the MIAs.
“There is definitely a possibility that Shalit will be released,” said Flaum, speaking to NJJN by phone from Camp Eisner in Great Barrington, Mass., where she is working as a counselor. “If we can have this negotiation, another one can possibly happen.”
She called the return of the soldiers’ bodies “a huge step against the terrorists. Something happened. We fought against injustice, and the bodies were returned. There is finally closure for these poor families. They know what happened to their loved ones, and that is really the most important part of what has happened.”
The Jewish Federation of Central NJ issued the following statement on the return of the remains of two Israeli soldiers in an exchange with Hizbullah:
THE JEWISH FEDERATION of Central New Jersey mourns the loss of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. May the Goldwasser and Regev families be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
The federation also seeks the immediate release of Israel’s Gilad Shalit, held in captivity in Gaza for more than two years, along with news of and the ultimate return of long-missing Israelis Ron Arad, Zachary Baumel, Yehuda Katz, Tzvi Feldman, Guy Hever, and Majdy Halabi.
“We wish to express our sorrow to the Goldwasser and Regev families, a sorrow we share as a community and as the Jewish people,” said federation president Gerald Cantor. “We will continue to call for the freedom of Gilad Shalit and for news of the whereabouts of all missing Israelis. Redemption of captives is a foundational Jewish value and reflects our respect for each human life.”
The federation is grateful for communal support and statewide initiatives on behalf of Israeli captives.
Last year, the NJ Senate and Assembly passed resolutions on behalf of the kidnapped Israelis. That legislative initiative, sponsored by NJ State Sen. Tom Kean Jr. and NJ State Assemblymen Jon Bramnick and Eric Munoz, came after the federation held a statewide event seeking to shed light on the plight of these captives, with the participation of U.S. congressmen, state and local elected officials, Jewish organizations from across New Jersey, students and youth groups, Israel’s deputy consul general, and rabbis. The federation admires the efforts of Karnit Goldwasser, winner of our “Woman of Valor” Award, to secure her husband’s freedom.
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