Aviva Shalit, the mother of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, made an emotional speech Thursday in honor of her son's 23rd birthday. “I'm so sorry that we failed to protect you, and to prevent your suffering. I'm sorry that we have failed to bring you back home to this day,” she said at a gathering in the northern town of Mitzpeh Hila, where the Shalit family resides.
"My Gilad... you've already paid the full, painful price for mistakes that were not your own,” she said. “You bear the yoke alone, on your thin back, for the fourth year now... alone and lonely, somewhere out there in the darkness.”
Aviva Shalit expressed sympathy with the Arab residents of Gaza, but told them to blame their leaders for their situation. “Hundreds of thousands of residents of Gaza, simple people, bystanders, are also paying the price for their leaders' adventure for more than three years now,” she said.
Hundreds of Gilad's relatives, friends and neighbors turned out for the event. Also present were the families of Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, IDF reservists who were kidnapped while patrolling near Lebanon, about two weeks after Shalit. Regev's and Goldwasser's bodies were returned in 2008, two years after the kidnapping, in a prisoner exchange deal that saw the release of the infamous Lebanese terrorist Samir Kuntar.
Gilad Shalit was kidnapped more than three years ago by Gaza terrorists affiliated with Hamas. Hamas has since taken charge of negotiations for Shalit's release, and is demanding the release of more than 1,000 terrorists from Israeli prisons in exchange for the young soldier.
Hamas has never allowed international observers to visit Shalit, and has released only three letters and one taped message from him.
Protest in Tel Aviv
While Shalit's family and friends marked the young soldier's birthday in his hometown, activists held a protest in Tel Aviv pushing the government to do whatever necessary to secure Shalit's freedom.
On Friday, several Jewish communities abroad will hold events calling for Shalit's release. They will also demand that the Red Cross insist on visiting him as long as he remains in Hamas captivity.