Schalit: Don't use my son to rebuild Israeli deterrence
Says kidnapped soldiers' families disappointed with Israel's inability to bring boys home.
Gilad Noam Schalit 298.8(photo credit: AP [file])By AMIR MIZROCHThe government should not try to rehabilitate Israeli military deterrence on the back of a single 19-year old soldier, Noam Schalit, father of abducted soldier Cpl. Gilad Schalit, said Sunday.
Schalit made the comments in a speech at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism's Seventh Annual Conference at IDC Herzliya. Relatives of two of the kidnapped IDF soldiers made a special appearance at the conference on Sunday.
Both Noam Schalit and Karnit Goldwasser, wife of Ehud Goldwasser, expressed their emotions and frustrations to the delegates at the conference.
Schalit said the families were disappointed with the inability of the State of Israel to bring home the soldiers kidnapped in terrorist activities some 14 months ago. He called on the government to show "consistency and creativity" in finding channels to free his son, adding: "To decision-makers I say, don't give me fairy tales about the need to establish deterrence on the back of a single 19-year-old soldier." Karnit Goldwasser discussed the serious issues of just getting information, arguing that "it's unacceptable that there is a price to pay just to get an indication that they're alive."
Apart from a recent audiotape with a recorded message from Gilad Schalit, no other information about him or the two other kidnapped soldiers has been received by the families.
Both Schalit and Goldwasser were introduced by Adv. Uri Slonim, who volunteered to represent the families of the kidnapped soldiers.RECOMMENDED STORIESIsrael Navy attacks Houthis for first time in Hodeidah Port strikeJUNE 10, 2025Russia to construct eight nuclear power plants in IranJUNE 9, 2025Greta Thunberg among voluntarily deported activists, eight remain in detentionJUNE 10, 2025Jewish woman reveals plot to poison Israelis at Boom Festival in PortugalJUNE 9, 2025