Chemi and Tzur Goldin, two brothers of deputy Hadar Goldin, who was kidnapped in Operation Protective Edge and whose body is being held in Gaza, visited the protest tent set up in front of the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem by the family of Avraham Mengistu, an Ethiopian-born Israeli from the coastal city of Ashkelon taken captive in the Gaza Strip.
"Love Avra as yourself. That’s what’s written in the tent of the Mengistu family in front of the prime minister’s residence,” Chemi Goldin said. “To think that this family went through the desert and risked everything to come to the Land of Israel, to us. We owe them much more than they owe us," he said.
"Once, the Israeli government sent them a plane to the edge of the world to bring them. Today, the Israeli government despises them, and the son and brother who needs help most of all is left behind the Gaza border. A quarter of an hour separates a mother from her son, and the prime minister is silent. Love Avra as yourself. Let's go back to being ourselves. "
Tzur Goldin described the difficult atmosphere in the protest tent of the Mengistu family. "There is a family here that is simply being skipped over, and we are here to encourage and support. There are obvious steps that must be taken to change reality and force Hamas to return the civilians and soldiers to Israel.
"We saw the prime minister make bold moves when it comes to refugees and non-enlistment of haredim, but he fails to carry out one courageous move: to fight for IDF soldiers and Israeli citizens. It is a war over our social cohesion and the glue that binds us together: the value of the people's army and the value of mutual responsibility.”
Tzur, Hadar’s twin brother, said that “it is inconceivable that they simply skipped over IDF soldiers and skipped over an Ethiopian family that made their way all the way to Israel during Operation Moses. We owe them much more. "