Former POWs: Don’t leave soldiers behind

Twenty years have passed since Ron Arad was captured in Lebanon, and former captives arrive at Knesset to call on government to keep prisoners on agenda

Neta Sela|Published: 10.16.06 , 22:44

As the opening ceremony of the Knesset's winter session was underway, a group of former prisoners of war gathered outside the Knesset calling on the government not to abandon the efforts to bring to the release of all IDF captives and kidnapped soldiers.

Hezi Shai, one of the protestors and a former POW himself, who was taken by the Syrians in 1982 and released in exchange for 1,150 prisoners in the Jibril Deal, said that "the most important value we hold is the value of not leaving anyone behind. Not wounded and not even a body. Everyone must return to Israel."

"Just like I sat in prison and believed wholeheartedly that the state is doing everything in their power to release me, every soldier must feel the same way. It is a shame that this is not the case," said Shai. He believes that "no matter how much we resist, Hizbullah will still demand the release of their prisoners. Samir Kuntar will sit in prison for ten more years… they will achieve their goals anyway and will do anything to win, but you have to think about whoever is alive."

One of the protestors distributed a letter written by Ron Arad after he was captured asking his family to press the government to do all they can to bring to his release. "A man does not have to be in prison if there are other alternatives," the letter reads. "You must act as if there is no time. You have to talk because our lives depend on you," it continues.

Uri Hernfeld, another POW who was held captive for two months during the Yom Kippur war said that "every day we wait, the price goes up and the risk that the prisoners will die grows higher."

One of the most contentious issues the protesters must deal with is the question of whether or not to exchange terrorists for Israeli prisoners, for fear they will return to strike again. Rami Doron, who was also held prisoner for two months during the Yom Kippur war, says that this assertion shows "disrespect for human life. Every soldier who goes out to fight must be 100 percent sure his country will do everything to bring him back."

Doron added that the government must regard the issue of the prisoners as its highest priority. "They do not know what it is like to be a prisoner of war, but we do. This is why we are here," he said.