Yuval Arad, daughter of Israeli Air Force officer Ron Arad who was kidnapped in Lebanon almost 40 years ago, shared a unique post on Facebook, expressing her frustration and sorrow over the ongoing situation surrounding the Israeli captives held hostage by Hamas and the lack of lessons learnt from past experiences.
"In the last three months, I've memorized the names of all the hostages, read the life story of each one, and felt the hole in my heart that my father left widening," Yuval wrote. "Unfortunately, my father is now a poster, 'Captured Navigator Ron Arad,' that no one wants to be."
Yuval, who professes to keep a low public profile and stays away from social media, decided to share her message via her mother Tami's Facebook page. She emphasized the pain that accompanies the family members of captives, who endure the waiting, uncertainty, and the repeated assurances that everything possible is being done to bring them back.
"Time is running out; in a few days, a hundred days will pass of the captivity of young and old, soldiers and soldiers, women and men, brothers and sisters, fathers and partners," Yuval wrote. "Families wait, and they are told, 'a little more military pressure, and we will be better placed to bring them back,' or 'don't talk to the media because it affects the negotiations,' or 'we're doing everything; we also want them home.'"
"We were also told, "everyone comes back.'"
She highlighted the difficulty of the decisions that must be made by Israel's leaders to secure the release of the hostages, acknowledging the painful sacrifices that may be required. Yuval stressed the need for responsibility, directness, and accountability when making such decisions and urged leaders to face the challenges head-on.
"To bring the abductees home, the decision-makers, the government, and its leader, need to make tough decisions," she wrote. "It's necessary to negotiate and deal with a murderous terrorist organization, and mainly to give [concessions]. They will hurt us as a people and as a country, and they will hurt the government politically. And that's precisely why there's no deal."
In her post, Yuval also expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of behind-the-scenes negotiations and deals. She called for a focus on addressing the root causes of the strengthening of terrorist organizations rather than engaging in discussions about the personalities involved in negotiations.Yuval concluded by advocating for a more assertive and responsible approach from the Israeli leadership, stating, "It doesn't happen because leadership and responsibility are two qualities that were also taken hostage."
The story of Ron Arad
On a mission to target Palestinian terrorists in southern Lebanon in October 1986, Ron Arad and pilot Yishai Aviram were forced to evacuate their aircraft after a premature explosion.
While Aviram was retrieved by the Israeli Air Force, Arad was captured by terrorists of the Lebanese Resistance Regiments (Amal). Despite attempts to secure his release, he remained in Lebanese hands and apart from little documented evidence, Israel declared in 2016 that he died in captivity in 1988.