World's Jews: Free Gilad Shalit

On Sunday, July 2, Cpl. Gilad Shalit was kidnapped when Palestinian terrorists used an underground tunnel to infiltrate his outpost in Kerem Shalom near southern Gaza, killing two of his comrades before escaping back to Gaza. Since then, there has been no word of his fate.

To this effect, the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization are planning rallies on Monday, July 10, in capital cities around the world, including New York, Paris, London and Buenos Aires, to call for Shalit's release.

In a press release, the organizations stated that because the instructions for the kidnapping were issued directly by the Hamas headquarters in Syria, the Syrian government and the Hamas-led Palestinian leadership bear direct responsibility for Shalit's wellbeing and fate.

As such, the statement said, the Syrian government, the Palestinian leadership and the entire international community must be called upon to exert maximum pressure and find a way of bringing about the soldier's release.

The organizations are working to bring hundreds of demonstrators from local Jewish organizations, Christian supporters of Israel, student organizations, members of youth movements and others to rally in protest outside Syrian embassies.

The demonstrations will use speeches, placards and posters, and the protestors themselves, some handcuffed, with black tape stuck across their mouths, to get their message across.

For further information contact:

Michael Jankelowitz, Liaison to Foreign Press, Jewish Agency for Israel, Jerusalem, Israel.

Website: www.jewishagency.org

Telephones: +972.52.6130220 mobile +972.2.6202780 voicemail