Bring Our Sons Home - sign the letter

[Shirley Perry]

November 2017

Cheshvan 5778

 

 

We are all aware of the horrible ongoing situation in which the bodies of fallen Israeli soldiers Hadar Goldin z"l and Oron Shaul z"l have yet to be returned to their families for proper burial. This letter has been written to be sent to the U.S. leaders and the U.N. asking for their intervention to bring Hadar and Oron home.  Leah Goldin, Hadar's mother, has read this beautiful and powerful letter and is beyond grateful for all efforts to help them. Including 500+ signatures would have a significant impact.  Please add your signature to the letter - it will make a difference.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeaFBQAQ5Y5jNrRuSsd9iBo87zVh7dduvvoMQkVwecDVXK1Hw/viewform

Please forward this email to anyone else who would be interested in signing the letter.

Dear Dignitary,

This sorry saga first unfolded on August 1, 2014. Most of us are likely to have no recollection of what we did that day but for Leah and Simcha Goldin the deep pain of that day is indelibly etched into their hearts, souls, and minds.

On that fateful day, in the midst of Operation Protective Edge, during a U.S. and U.N.  brokered ceasefire (largely for the humanitarian needs of Gaza Strip residents) their son Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin was killed by Hamas terrorists and his body was kidnapped by them. Since then the remains of Hadar have been lost to the Goldin family in a labyrinth of terror tunnels and in a web of lies and deceit. In the words of his parents, Hadar dies each and every day and will continue to do so until they are granted the minimal modicum of closure represented by a funeral back in Israel.

There can be no greater tragedy than a parent losing a child but to prolong this agony for years on end is nothing short of inhumane.

Not only did the Hamas operatives (led by a terrorist previously released in the Gilad Shalit deal) flagrantly and cynically break the ceasefire but in retaining the body of a foreign combatant in this manner, as a bargaining chip, have blatantly breached all moral and legal norms of the battlefield. Hamas has clearly breached the Geneva Convention (1st convention article 17, 3rd convention article 120, 4th convention article 130)  as well as the protocols of the International Red Cross Committee (section 114).     

This obstruction of justice goes way beyond being an Israeli problem or even a Jewish problem. It represents a crisis of confidence in humanity as a whole which prefers to bury its head in the sand rather than granting the basic decency and dignity of interring Hadar and his fellow soldier Oron Shaul in their motherland amidst their own people. For in their defense these two young men made the ultimate sacrifice.   

Campaigning with corpses and bargaining with bodies is a grossly gruesome and grotesque practice which surely represents an anathema to every true person of faith whether they be Moslem, Christian or Jewish.  How unfortunate it is that the Abrahamic covenant with G-d which is meant to bind us all while representing a blueprint for a civilized society based on justice, mutual respect and compassion has been torn asunder by so-called believers.

Given the circumstances surrounding the abduction of Hadar's body during this U.S./U.N. sponsored cessation of hostilities, we the undersigned believe that responsibility of returning his body to his parents cannot be shirked by the leaders of the U.N. or the legislators in the United States. While not believing in collective punishment those regional leaders who eschew basic morality, as well as the fundamental issues of their own people, should be informed that from now on external aid money- anyway going to terror tunnels and rocketry rather than schools and hospitals- will be indexed to their willingness and ability to conform to international standards of civilized conducts.

We comprehend the constantly shifting tectonic plates of geopolitical conflict in the Middle East. We understand that there are a plethora of domestic and international issues to deal with. However we hope, trust and pray that the U.S. nation's leadership will stand together with us, shoulder to shoulder, and prioritize the upholding of the most basic freedom- of a parent to bury a child.

Let this torture end. Bring Hadar and Oron home now!

Thank you.