Hadar Goldin
Hadar GoldinCourtesy of the family

The friends and comrades of Hadar Gold and Oron Shaul, whose bodies have been held in Gaza for the past three years by the Hamas terrorist organization, responded angrily to the latest article by radical left-wing columnist Gideon Levy in the Haaretz newspaper this morning, in which Levy accused the bereaved parents of Goldin of incitement against the population of Gaza.

Levy wrote: "The Goldins want their dead son's body returned by Hamas at any price, and they want to extract that price from the Gaza Strip’s two million cursed inhabitants."

He went on to accuse the Goldins of wanting to force all Gazans to live through a humanitarian crisis without electricity and of wanting terrorists in Israeli prisons to be tortured.

Hadar and Oron's friends wrote an open letter in response to his attack on the families who have not been able to bury their sons, in which they accused Levy of ignoring the true humanitarian concerns.

"We who put ourselves danger while defending the nation, including those who are cut off from reality like you, who put ourselves in harm's way so that innocent people would not be killed on the other side [in Gaza]. Hadar, together with his friends Benya and Liel Gidoni, were murdered during a humanitarian ceasefire initiated by the United States, which was violated for the eighth time by Hamas. They were killed because they did not open fire on innocent people. They were killed because of the overriding humanitarian concern.

The letter added that Levy's attempt to separate the Hamas leadership from the population of the Gaza Strip is artificial and false. "If it is so bad for the residents of the Gaza Strip, then they can put pressure on Hamas to put an end to this story, but apparently they are backing Hamas. No, do not think that they are afraid or captive to the leadership of the military wing. The civilian population in the Gaza Strip has a great influence on the military wing."

"People who think like you, who dismiss our lives, give legitimacy to Hamas, to continue abducting more soldiers. Our blood is not worthless, and we will not allow you to continue to incite against us. One thing is certain: If you had a son, brother or even a friend in this situation, even if you would not support us, you would at least keep silent. It is about this that our sages said: 'Silence is a fence around wisdom."