Monday, April 4, 2016
Dear Family & Friends,
The 2 stories go together: Duma 1 & Duma 2 (as one of the women at the bris said to me.) Duma 1 is that Meir Ettinger was arrested without charges &, therefore without evidence, for the fire-bombing of the house in Duma & has been in jail, away from his wife – pregnant with their first child & in solitary confinement for almost 8 months. More details below.
Duma 2 is the Soldier from the Kafir Brigade who saw the supposedly subdued Terrorist beginning to move & other people calling out: “He’s moving – He may have a Bomb Belt – Don’t let him attack us!” These words were audible on the second video tape (NOT made by B’tselem) which has been circulated…but, NOT described or mentioned in the Jerusalem Post or other news stories I’ve seen in English or heard about in the Hebrew media.
So, because of the Soldier being cruelly handled by the Prosecutor, the Courts & the Media, & Meir Ettinger’s story hitting the airwaves & print media again, people are really getting more alert to ‘current events’ & really mad. Duma 1 = Meir & Duma 2 = the Soldier.
I went to the bris as invited. I met some of my friends & some new friends-to-be.
I was so overwhelmed & impressed with the strength of today’s Jewish women! I got there at 2 & watched as these lovely young teens & 20s set up the room for the meal in maybe 15 minutes – with such grace & ease.
The young women, the married young women, the young babies & girls, & those of a greater age – like me – seemed to be floating in a spiritual aura or cloud of joy, anger & sadness. We are really a very special people. We should & do treasure each other in joy, anger & sadness. In the women’s section we enjoyed strong, inspiring, stirring, uplifting conversation as we waited for the bris to begin.
I have more to say about the event – especially how poorly the Jerusalem Post [April 5] covered it. I won’t cut-&-paste it for your edification & his embarrassment but, just critique the dreadful vocabulary of the reporter – tomorrow.
BTW, MEIR means The Enlightener! How do I know? After the vote in the UN, Nov. 10, 1975, that Zionism Is Racism, I got mad. I created a Jewish Speakers’ Bureau to fight Arab Propaganda called M.E.I.R., Mid East Information Resource. The printer who designed my business cards added that “MEIR means the Enlightener”.
No one should have to endure solitary confinement in jail for one day! But, we know Meir Ettinger is a writer & so many especially good, brilliant writers have endured a life altering trial in jail. Let’s pray that this horrible experience brings benefits of strength to this young man & his beautiful, inspiring family.
Have a soft night, a creative day. All the very best, Gail/Geula/Safta/Safta Raba x 2/Mom
1.Dry Bones by Ya’acov Kirschen “A Simple Truth”
2.Let Meir Ettinger attend his son’s brit mila!!
3.Judge refuses to let Meir Ettinger attend son’s brit
1.Dry Bones by Ya’acov Kirschen “A Simple Truth”
2.Let Meir Ettinger attend his son’s brit mila!!
The Ettinger family has invited the public to come to the brit and show support to the family today, Monday, at 2:00 pm at the “Kehal Hassidim” Hall, HaShla Street 11, Jerusalem.
For more details seer Arutz 7 article below.
Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar www.womeningreen.org
Let Meir Ettinger attend his son’s brit mila!!
3.Judge refuses to let Meir Ettinger attend son’s brit http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/210228#.VwHIsptf1Hg
Be’er Sheva district court judge Yisrael Pablo Axelrod on Sunday rejected the petition to release Meir Ettinger from his administrative detention for several hours on Monday so as to attend the brit milah (circumcision) of his firstborn son.
Ettinger has been held for the past eight months without trial or charges against him on administrative orders, a relic from the British Mandate which has almost exclusively been used against Arab terror suspects.
The Israeli Security Agency (ISA) and the Israel Prison Services (IPS) opposed Ettinger’s release for the brit, even if he was accompanied by prison guards which is a measure common even among prisoners who are accused or convicted of serious crimes, such as those serving life sentences for murder.
By contrast, Ettinger is being imprisoned in extreme conditions of solitary confinement and is not being allowed any phone calls except to several close family members, even though there has been no evidence or indictment presented against him for any crime.
IPS authorities proposed having the brit milah held in the prison, instead of approving the common step of letting Ettinger out under guard.
Attorney Sima Kochav of the Honenu legal aid organization, who submitted the petition to have Ettinger let out for the brit last Thursday and is representing him, said the group intends to petition the Be’er Sheva court’s decision to the Supreme Court.
“We regret the decision and are disappointed by it,” said Kochav.
“There are really hard feelings here that the sources tasked with approving the release did not act with clean hands, and they are pursuing Meir Ettinger.”
“It is important to emphasize that this is an administrative detainee and not a criminal prisoner,” she added.
“Dangerous criminal prisoners go out on vacations and Meir Ettinger is behind lock and key without an indictment submitted against him, only for his ideological positions and not for a specific danger he poses, and therefore there is no reason to prevent his release to the brit milah.”
On Saturday night around 30 of Ettinger’s family members protested at the iconic Chords Bridge in Jerusalem, demanding that he be let out for the brit.
Judge refuses to let Meir Ettinger attend son’s brit
4.Brit of “Netzach Binyamin Ettinger ben Meir David Chai & Moriah Ettinger”: Exclusive pictures by Avraham Shapira
After it became clear that the israeli courts ( lower case on purpose) had no intention of letting Meir Ettinger out of his uncalled for solitary confinement so he could attend his first son’s Brit Milah, and after the family announced that the public was invited, I decided to attend, just to make a statement. I figured if enough people attended, this Brit Milah would end up having the same electrifying effect on the nation as the famous wedding of Sara Litman, whose father and brother had been brutally murdered by an Arab just two weeks earlier.
It seems to me that whoever decided to keep innocent Meir Ettinger locked up, forbidding him to participate in this most important and holy Jewish duty for a father, made a huge blunder: they showed Am Yisrael how simply evil they are and turned Meir into a hero of the people.
This report is one more attempt to publicize the facts and give you a chance to sort of “be there”, although belatedly.
The Bris was scheduled for 2:00 PM, but didn’t start until at least 3:00 PM, giving the family time to arrive. Rabbi Ginsburg was given the honor of a special Minchah prayer even though they had just said it a few minutes earlier. Little by little the Shul filled up with all sorts of guests from various walks of life, mostly young people but also quite a few hoary heads, mostly family, friends and members of Meir’s community but also individuals who, like me, chose to be part of this event even though they had never met him.
There was definitely a whiff of Mashiach in the air: one could feel the defiance of the powers that be ( PTB), at the same time as sadness for Meir’s absence and the Kedushah of the Brit Milah; the atmosphere was intense: it feels good to do what is right when the oppressor tries to stop you! There was lots of singing with guitar accompaniment, lively and soulful songs of Torah, Geulah, and traditional Brit Milah songs…. and then the baby arrived. Being on the women’s balcony I could not see who held the baby instead of the father; I did hear that the Kisseh of Eliyahu was given to Rav Yitzhak Shapira of the Od Yosef Chai Yeshivah, author of the famous book Torat Hamelech. To be noted is that Rav Ginsburg used to be head of that same yeshiva, – who it is now, I am not sure – so I guess the Od Yosef Chai Yeshivah was well represented ( by the way, when they mentioned the name of Meir, they called him Meir David CHAI Ettinger, adding a Chai to his name).
Then we heard the heart-rending piercing shriek of the poor baby – I always cringe during a bris, can’t stand hearing the baby’s pain -, the Brachot, and then his name solemnly announced in the midst of silence:
NETZACH BINYAMIN!
What a beautiful name. In memory of his uncle Rav Binyamin Kahane HY”D, a very special man in his own right, who was murdered in cold blood too (ALLEGEDLY by Arabs, I don’t buy it), just like his famous father, Rabbi Meir Kahane, HY”D; whose memories and teachings will live forever.
The baby would not stop hollering for a very long time; normally the baby calms down after the wine, but not this baby; I couldn’t help feel that somehow he was wailing for his father too.
(I find it hard to be at a bris; I find the pain inflicted on the baby hard to bear, although I do understand the major importance of this Mitzvah, and I do get elated afterwards; I just empathize with the poor little creature, so helpless and painfully cut. It’s Hashem testing us, seeing if we choose him despite the blood. We do, but at least to me this one hurts!!)
I had a chance to have a nice conversation with Meir’s mother-in-law, and I asked her some pertinent questions regarding Meir, mostly regarding his incarceration. I was worried that they might still be torturing him, or deprive him of food, etc. Apparently not, thank G-d; however he is in a separate cell, NEXT TO ARABS WHO CONSTANTLY SHOUT AND THREATEN TO KILL HIM LIKE THEY KILLED HIS GRANDFATHER. He is allowed to visit with his wife for only half an hour once a week BEHIND A PARTITION. Now that is really cruel, considering that his wife was about to give birth (and what will be now that he has a newborn baby?) . He is allowed to learn Torah. The mother-in-law told me that Meir is such a meek, gentle, kind person, such a good husband, it is ludicrous that they consider him the number one threat in Israel. He and his wife are strong in their faith, keeping in good spirits despite the situation, which is of course hard for them. An interesting piece of information by the way: Meir is the son of a Bat Cohen and the husband of a Bat Cohen, although he is not a Cohen himself!
Then there was the Seudah, open to all. I understand Rav Ginsburg gave a shiur towards the end of the Seudah, which I missed, about the Netzach and Hod sefirot ( this information is gleaned from the blog End of Days).
During the ceremony, young people were selling a book they put together containing poems Meir wrote, in Hebrew. I bought one, will try to read some of these writings.
All in all, it was a very uplifting experience; I am really glad I went. I was a bit disappointed that the streets were not overflowing with people, and frankly this is not exactly my crowd; still, I was left elated, with a very strong impression of Geulah and of special times that lasted until today. I can tell you one thing, the government has NOT won this one; if at all, this has brought us one step closer to Mashiach!
We will have to follow up.
Mazel Tov to the Ettinger – Kahane family.
ZARO CHAYO VEKAYOMO!
http://shirhalev.com/other#simchas
CDG wrote a good article about the bris too, and added a link to some wonderful PICTURES from the site Hakol Hayehudi. I am including the links to both here below.
http://havahaaharona.blogspot.co.il/2016/04/meir-ettinger-worst-criminal-on-earth.html
http://www.hakolhayehudi.com/brit-netzach-binyamin-ettinger-ben-meir-david-chai-exclusive-pictures/
It’s really a shame that from the women’s balcony it was impossible to see the bris at all: I had no idea Rav Ginsburg was the Sandek!
Brit of Netzach Binyamin Ettinger ben Meir David Chai Ettinger: Exclusive pictures by Avraham Shapira
Meir Ettinger was not released for his son’s Brit despite major protests and a last minute appeal before the Supreme Court. The Brit went on though with hundreds of Jews coming to celebrate with the family.
The Brit of Meir Ettinger’s son took place in Jerusalem on Monday April 4th in the afternoon. In the end, Ettinger was not released for the Brit, but hundreds of members of the public came to support the family in his place.
On Sunday night, over 100 protestors held a rally near the Bridge of Strings and blocked traffic. The protestors held signs reading “Let Meir Ettinger attend his son’s Brit.”
Protestors Sunday night by the Bridge of Strings.
A protestor holding a sign reading “Let Meir Ettinger out for his son’s Brit.”
The morning of the Brit there was an appeal before the Supreme Court where lawyers from Honenu once again requested that Ettinger be released for his firstborn son’s Brit. The appeal was rejected and at the end of the hearing one of Meir’s brothers shouted at the judges, “Stop trying to reeducate us, you’re a bunch of Bolsheviks!” The brother was removed from the court house by security guards.
Meir Ettinger at the hearing before the Supreme Court.
In the end, the Brit took place in Jerusalem with a large crowd of supporters. Rav Yitzchak Ginsburgh served as the sandak and also recited the blessing normally recited by the father of the baby.
The name of the baby, “Netzach Binyamin,” being passed on a piece of paper to be announced.
Rav Ginsburgh holding the baby during the Brit.
The crowd at the Brit.
After the Brit itself, there was the seudat mitzvah, where all those gathered ate to celebrate the occasion. Following the seudah, there was a chassidic hitvaadut (fabrengen) with words of Torah from Rav Ginsburgh as well as singing and dancing.
Rav Ginsburgh and Meir Ettinger together at a previous event.
5.Hevron soldier’s indictment expected for next week Military experts predict a formal indictment within the week – but what charges will be filed? By Tova Dvorin JewishPress.com First Publish: 4/6/2016, 8:08 PM
Soldier who killed neutralized terrorist arrives in court
Flash 90
The IDF soldier who controversially shot dead a neutralized soldier in Hevron last month will remain confined to his base, the military prosecution and the soldier’s legal team announced Wednesday evening – with a formal indictment expected for next week.
The Yafo (Jaffa) Military Court will formalize the “base arrest” agreement Thursday, following the soldier’s release from full detention earlier this week. Earlier Wednesday, the military court on the Kirya army base in Tel Aviv rejected a remand request for the soldier.
Controversy surrounds the case of the Kfir Brigade soldier, who shot a terrorist dead in Hevron two weeks ago after arriving at the scene of an attack; the terrorist had allegedly already been neutralized.
The soldier, a Magen David Adom (MDA) investigation, and the IDF maintain that the soldier believed that the terrorist was wearing a suicide belt, which was covered up by an unseasonable coat; leftist activists from B’Tselem and other organizations argue otherwise. The case sparked a fierce debate, both legally and in the media, about the limits of self-defense during the current terror wave.
Military experts predict Wednesday night that a formal indictment against the soldier will be filed next week – but uncertainty remains over the nature of the charges. Last week, the Qastina military court dropped “murder” charges, instead charging the soldier with “manslaughter”; recent IDF and MDA testimony may provoke further revisions.
Hevron soldier’s indictment expected for next week
6.Turning an Arab Terrorist into an “Innocent Victim” By Batya Medad Arutz Sheva IsraelNationalNews.com 4/5/2016, 6:04 AM
New York-born Batya Medad made aliyah with her husband just weeks after their 1970 wedding and has been living in Shiloh since 1981. Political pundit, with a unique perspective, Batya has worked in a variety of professions: teaching, fitness, sales, cooking, public relations, photography and more. She has a B.S. in Journalism, is a licensed English Teacher specializing as a remedial teacher and for a number of years has been studying Tanach (Bible) in Matan. Batya blogs on Shiloh Musings and A Jewish Grandmother.
Turning an Arab Terrorist into an “Innocent Victim”
By blocking the sound on the video from the Arab terror attack on innocent Jews in Hebron last month, B’tzelem managed to distort reality and turn the Arab terrorist into an “innocent victim,” sic, when a soldier executed him as he (the terrorist) began moving. There was legitimate fear/suspicion that under the terrorist’s coat, which was a sure sign, that some weapon or bomb was hidden and ready to use against the Jews around him.
And very tragically our hapless and gullible Minister of Defense fell for the con and has been leading the B’tzelem extreme Left anti-Israeli security campaign against the quick-thinking soldier.
Family of shot terrorist threatens Israel with legal action
The family of Abd al-Fattah al-Sharif, the terrorist who was shot by a soldier in Hevron last week after a stabbing attack against Israelis, on Monday threatened the IDF with legal procedures, the Ma’an news agency reported.
In a press conference at the Hevron governor’s office, al-Sharif’s uncle Fathi al-Sharif also urged the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, to file legal procedures against Israel at the International Criminal Court, over the incident.
We are at war, and in a battle things happen, and Bogie Ya’alon seems to have forgotten it in his quest for “good press.”
Soldier charged over shooting Hevron terrorist appears in court – POOL/Flash 90
Turning an Arab Terrorist into an “Innocent Victim”
7.IDF investigator’s testimony backs soldier’s version
Investigation officer tells court there were concerns the terrorist in Hevron had a bomb belt before soldier shot him. By Uzi Baruch Arutz Sheva IsraelNationalNews.com First Publish: 3/31/2016, 5:51 PM /Update: 3/31/2016, 6:09 PM
Soldier who shot wounded terrorist – Corinna Kern/Flash 90
Several important details came out on Thursday at the Qastina military court, during the hearing on an extension of the detention of the soldier who last Wednesday shot a wounded Arab terrorist.
During the hearing the military prosecutor Lt. Col. Adoram Rigler dropped the murder charges against the soldier, and instead accused him of manslaughter while asking for a seven day extension of his arrest.
An officer in the army’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID) was put on the stand during the hearing, where he made statements seemingly backing the soldier’s version of events.
The soldier has argued he shot the terrorist – who minutes earlier together with an accomplice stabbed and wounded a soldier – over concerns he was moving to detonate a bomb belt that was thought to be hidden under his unseasonably thick coat. That version of events was vindicated by a Magen David Adom (MDA) investigative committee.
Eyal Beserglick, one of the defense attorneys for the soldier, questioned the CID officer on the stand about whether or not there were concerns that the terrorist had a bomb belt on his body.
“The terrorist wasn’t acquitted,” said the officer, using terminology indicating that there had been no confirmation that the terrorist was not hiding an explosive at the time when the soldier shot him.
“There (were) suspicions of a combined incident with a knife and an explosive?,” asked Beserglick, to which the officer confirmed there were indeed such suspicions.
Afterwards the attorney tried to press the point, asking, “Does that mean that according to the testimonies there was a potential situation in which everyone could have been blown up?” The officer shied away from drawing the conclusion, stating, “I don’t want to mislead.”
The officer also described how at the scene contradictory statements were heard, saying, “the soldiers and the civilians, some of them said, ‘call up a bomb sapper,’ some of them said, ‘don’t call one up.'”
“You haven’t checked the B’Tselem video?”
Earlier in the hearing the military prosecutor said that in the video filmed by an Arab activist for the radical leftist NGO B’Tselem, the soldier can be seen calmly cocking his weapon and shooting the terrorist in the head.
Rigler added that other soldiers stood near the terrorist, which he claimed showed the terrorist was not viewed as an active threat.
The prosecutor said that when the soldier’s commander asked him why he shot the terrorist, he responded: “the terrorist is alive, he should have died.” The prosecutor added that another soldier testified that the soldier said, “they stabbed my friend, he also deserves to die.”
Regiment commander Lt. Col. David Shapira said that after he heard the soldier’s version of events he did not believe them, according to the prosecutor, who asked to keep the soldier under arrest even if the investigation against him concludes.
For his part, Beserglick asked if the remaining investigation involves an investigation of the B’Tselem video, to which he was told that it does.
“Does that mean that up until now you didn’t check if the video was edited?,” responded Beserglick, to which the investigator said the video was transferred to the Division of Identification and Forensic Science (DIFS), but there are additional videos which need to be checked.
IDF investigator’s testimony backs soldier’s version
8.Right from wrong: Soldiering on through tears By Ruthie Blum JPost.com 04/03/2016 20:44
The soldier is now serving as a symbol for all sides of the dilemma that our boys and girls must face as soon as they don the uniform.
Since last Thursday, when an Israeli soldier shot a subdued terrorist in the head, the issue of the IDF’s code of ethics has been debated to death. Arguments about whether the usual rules of engagement should apply to situations like those that have grown so commonplace over the past six months are not at all new in the Jewish state; they are as old as its enemies’ repeated attempts to wipe it off the face of the earth in one way or another.
The current method has taken the form of a “lone-wolf intifada,” the term coined to describe a disorganized war of attrition waged mostly by young, knife-wielding Palestinians on Jew-killing rampages. That it is not deemed an official “uprising” by the Palestinian powers-that-be who encourage it passively while actively egging it on is the only thing that differentiates it from previous waves of terrorism to which Israelis were accustomed.
The soldier who has become the topic of every dinner- table conversation from Metulla to Eilat is now serving as a symbol for all sides of the dilemma that our boys and girls must face as soon as they finish high school and don an IDF uniform. It is impossible to know what his parents told him before he got on the bus to go off to basic training.
But I admit to telling my own children, each in turn, that I’d rather visit them in a military prison than in a graveyard.
That particular sentiment was born of watching my kids grow up in a society whose underlying message was that it was just as important to be armed with a law book as a gun when forced to fight enemies with no rules of engagement whatsoever. Other than useless slaughter, that is.
And backing from an “international community” with extremely high double standards.
Indeed, the first time I allowed my seven-year-old to walk to school by himself, a report on the radio that a terrorist was on the loose in our neighborhood sent me tearing down four flights of stairs, with babies in my arms, to make sure he was safe. As it transpired, my son had made it to his classroom – but an 18-year-old female soldier named Iris Azoulay was not so lucky. After kissing her own mother goodbye before heading to the bus stop to return to her base, a Palestinian laborer – who had worked in the area for years painting houses and the like for Jewish families he knew well – went on a stabbing spree with a 15-inch knife and slashed her to death. Right in front of her home.
The terrorist, shouting “Allahu akbar,” then killed another man and wounded a 13-year-old on his way to school.
At that moment, as I was still running to locate my child, Shalom (Charlie) Shlush, an off-duty member of the Israel Police’s counterterrorism unit, had just left his house with his pregnant wife in tow. Hearing the screams of the victims, Shlush drew his weapon and ran toward their attacker, yelling at him to halt. When the assailant did not comply, Shlush fired a warning shot into the air.
When this did not prevent the terrorist from continuing to charge, Shlush shot him in the leg. When this did not stop him, Shlush shot him in the other leg, and he fell to the ground. Believing the terrorist to be “neutralized” and the danger over, Shlush approached to arrest him. But the terrorist had another knife, which he had kept hidden. It was with this weapon that the “subdued” stabber murdered Shlush, leaving his widow to give birth by herself before the week of mourning was even over.
That was on October 20, 1990.
On December 29, 2005, an IDF lieutenant named Uri Binamo was blown up by a suicide bomber in the Palestinian town of Tulkarm. Dror Zicherman, a 19-year-old soldier under his command, was critically wounded in the same explosion. On Saturday night, Zicherman wrote a Facebook post to describe that traumatic incident. He was doing this, he said, to explain why he considers the soldier held in custody over the death of a terrorist in Hebron last week a hero. Zicherman recounted the last conversation he had with Binamo before the bombing.
“You are not to shoot,” Binamo told Zicherman, who had cocked his weapon and aimed it at the head of the Palestinian the two were questioning at a road block erected when a warning was received about imminent attacks on Israeli children attending Hanukka festivities. “But he is wearing a leather coat,” Zicherman protested, fearing the suspect was hiding explosives under his clothing.
“You are not to shoot, period,” Binamo ordered. And Zicherman obeyed.
Zicherman continued his post by saying, “The procedures… in the IDF are a joke, a very bad joke. Tell me more about how humane our army is, but before talking about the rules of engagement, remember that because of [them], Uri is gone and I remain seriously impaired and shell-shocked.”
He concluded by suggesting, “Maybe it’s better to be thought of as a murderer” than the alternative. Whatever the outcome of the soldier’s trial, which the facts of the case – not public opinion or political posturing – will determine, I will shed no tears for the dead terrorist and many for the soldier who put an end to his life.
The writer is the web editor of The Algemeiner (algemeiner.com) and a columnist at Israel Hayom.
Right from wrong: Soldiering on through tears By Ruthie Blum
Soldiers load a Palestinian, believed to have taken part in violent protests, into the back of an armored personnel carrier in Qalqilya on January 14, 2016. (Judah Ari Gross/Times of Israel, File)
Judah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel’s military correspondent.
The Shin Bet security service arrested the brother of firebombing victim Riham Dawabsha in the West Bank village of Duma on Sunday night, the agency said.
Wissam Dawabsha was picked up and brought in for questioning for allegedly belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization, according to the army. (While the Israel Defense Forces did not name Dawabsha directly, it said that the one person arrested in Duma overnight was suspected of Hamas affiliation.)
Riham Dawabsha, along with her husband, Saad, and their 18-month-old toddler, Ali, were killed last summer when firebombs were thrown into their home, allegedly by Jewish extremist Amiram Ben-Uliel.
Elsewhere in the West Bank, the IDF arrested four other suspected members of Hamas, the army said. One of them was a university lecturer in Nablus, Palestinian sources said.
Weapons seized by security forces in the West Bank on April 4, 2016. (IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)
Overnight, Givati Brigade soldiers uncovered two homemade Carl Gustav-style submachine guns, along with ammunition and magazines, in the Judea region of the West Bank, the army said.
Eight other Palestinians were arrested for rock throwing and taking part in violent demonstrations, the IDF said in a statement.
10. ZEHAVA & HERZL SHAUL – LEAH & SIMCHA GOLDIN: PARENTS OF ORON & HADAR
Zehava Shaul & Herzl Shaul with Oron Shaul’s photo
Ben Sales
JTA — One family lost their son in late July 2014. The other lost theirs on the first of August in the
One family has lobbied the United Nations and crossed an ocean in hopes of bringing their son’s remains back. The other mostly stays home.
One family is sure their son is dead. The other is plagued by uncertainty.
But one thing unites the Goldin and Shaul families: Of the 67 sets of Israeli parents who lost sons in the Gaza war two years ago, only theirs have not returned.
Now, Leah Goldin and Zehava Shaul look burned out and constantly on the verge of tears as the two mothers separately talk through their ordeals. By their sides, their husbands, Simcha Goldin and Herzl Shaul, look dejected.
IDF soldiers Oron Shaul (left) and Hadar Goldin (right) (Flash90)
“They say we’re not normal,” said Leah Goldin. “We have to talk about the first of August. It’s like returning to the scene of the crime. We can’t leave the place of our mourning.”
Oron Shaul, then 20, was engaged with his unit in a brutal battle over the Gaza City neighborhood of Shejaiya on July 20, 2014. He had left his armored personnel carrier to repair a broken part when Hamas militants began firing on the vehicle, taking him prisoner. Five days later, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed that he had died based on evidence at the scene. The battle claimed 12 other Israeli soldiers.
Herzl Shaul accepts the army’s conclusion about his son. But because his body wasn’t recovered, Zehava Shaul believes he is still alive. She says Oron is being held captive by Hamas like Gilad Shalit, the soldier captured in a 2006 raid and returned in a hotly debated 2011 prisoner swap that saw over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners go free.
“As a mother I feel he’s alive,” she said. “How can you determine death when he’s in the hands of Hamas? In any case, I want Oron. The government and the defense minister sent him to this operation. They need to bring him back.”
About two weeks after Shaul’s capture, Hadar Goldin was taken during the collapse of a cease-fire. In response, the IDF employed the controversial Hannibal Directive, which calls for the army to use any means necessary to ensure a soldier isn’t taken prisoner. Some 150 Palestinians and three Israelis died in the ensuing fight.
The IDF was able to recover enough of Hadar’s body to declare him dead. The family held a funeral, and since then has engaged in an unending quest to return the rest of their son’s remains.
Leah and Simcha Goldin have embarked on a tireless campaign to retrieve the body of their son, Hadar, from Gaza. He was captured and killed in a clash at the southern end of the strip on Aug. 1, 2014. (JTA/Ben Sales)
Though both parents work, the Goldins’ campaign takes up all their energy. They have traveled from their home in this central Israeli city to the United States three times in their so-far failed attempt to meet with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and lobby for the return of Hadar’s body. They hope for a deal to increase humanitarian assistance to Gaza in return for the bodies of their son and Oron Shaul. They confer on the campaign regularly with the Shaul family.
“We have no time to be sad,” said Leah Goldin. “We have no time to get angry. We must act. We need energy to speak, to influence.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits an exhibition of paintings by the late Hadar Goldin, killed in battle in Gaza with his body never recovered, at the artists’ village Ein Hod in northern Israel, on August 10, 2015. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)
Back home, the Goldins and their friends are doing everything they can to keep their son’s memory alive. They held an exhibit of his artwork on the war’s first anniversary at the Ein Hod artists’ village in northern Israel. Twice a year, his classmates organize a day of hiking and study in his memory.
Following Oron’s capture, the IDF offered a headstone for him in a section of a military cemetery reserved for missing soldiers. The Shauls wanted no part of it. Oron has been memorialized at no shortage of events — from official military functions to a marathon to a home match of his favorite soccer team, Beitar Jerusalem. An hour after speaking to JTA at their home, the Shauls would be visited by former Education Minister Shai Piron.
But while the Shauls appreciate the thought behind these gestures, they are exhausted by them. Zehava Shaul doesn’t want to see her son memorialized; she wants him back. Besides, she doesn’t think he’s dead.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon visits the family of IDF Golani Brigade soldier St.-Sgt. Oron Shaul in the northern village of Poria on August 10, 2014
(Photo credit: Ariel Hermoni/Ministry of Defense/Flash90)
“What can I tell you? None of that helps me,” Zehava Shaul said. “The opposite; it makes it worse for me. Sometimes you want quiet, to be with yourself, and they don’t let you. Some minister is supposed to come over. Nothing helps.”
Before last year, says Zehava Shaul, it “didn’t occur to us” to join the Goldins’ overseas trips. Zehava Shaul traveled to London last summer to meet with representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross, to no avail. They planned to join the most recent trip, in February, but Herzl Shaul was diagnosed with intestinal cancer.
Neither Shaul works now. They spend their days on the couches in the living room of their home in Poriya Ilit, a small town near the Sea of Galilee, surrounded by pictures of their son in and out of uniform, tortured by what might have happened to him. Oron’s bed is covered with signs, pictures and gifts sent to the family after his death. Otherwise it remains untouched, his shirts and jeans still sitting in neat stacks in his closet.
“It’s the hardest thing,” said Zehava Shaul. “There’s nothing harder than uncertainty. Every day the hole in my heart gets bigger. Every day I say when I get up in the morning, ‘What have I done to bring back Oron?’ There’s no one to talk to.”
Both families have met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But nearly two years after the war, neither expects much of him or finds comfort in his sympathy. They understand that after the Shalit deal, which saw some of the Palestinian prisoners return to terror, the Israeli public has little appetite for another exchange.
As much as they’re campaigning to get their sons back, the Goldins and Shauls are fighting for something more basic: They just want Israelis to pay attention to their plight.
“When we start talking about bringing back Hadar, they say, ‘Oy oy oy, how much will it cost? The trauma of Gilad Shalit was terrible for us,’” said Leah Goldin.
“So what?” she asked. “You don’t do anything?”
ZEHAVA & HERZL SHAUL – LEAH & SIMCHA GOLDIN: PARENTS OF ORON & HADAR