Abducted soldier's mother asks him to hold on
In letter read during rally for kidnapped troops, Miki Goldwasser tells her son, 'Udi, you must know that we will not give up. We will bring you and your friends Eldad and Gilad back home, fast'
"Udi, you must know that we will not give up, we will bring you and your friends Eldad and Gilad back home, fast. You'll see. Listen to my voice and hold on to it. Hold on, child, just a little longer, hold on," Goldwasser said in the letter.
Eldad Regev's uncle, Michael Helfman, said that "nine painful months have passed. The families are moving from hope to despair, asking for a sign of life. They gave to the State, and it's time for the State to also give its sons what they deserve."
Miki Goldwasser turned to her son in a letter. "Udi, I was asked to write how parents feel when they are informed that their dear son was kidnapped by a cold and cruel enemy. And as they past, the level of this enemy's cruelty becomes clear: The terror of silence, failing to release information, not even the slightest detail.
"Udi, what is going on with you? What are you going through? Exactly half a year ago your father and I sat on the balcony of our small rented house in Durban, in South Africa, where you were supposed to visit before your planned trip to India with your wife Karnit. We sat in front of a wonderful and serene view… And then the thunder hits. Everything is shattered in a second."
Last meeting – on wedding day
"How does one describe such a second? That same second when you are told that your son was kidnapped? There are no words in any language that can describe that feeling. You hear yourself screaming and denying. From that moment life is not what it was. There is no life. There is no ability to enjoy those parts of life that were given to us as a gift the day we were born," she said.
Miki Goldwasser talked about the last time she saw her son. It was Ehud and Karnit's wedding day, nine years after they had met.
"We arrived in Israel for a visit and it was the happiest day of your life and of our lives, but it was also the last day we saw you. A day after the wedding we went back to South Africa and never saw you again," she said.
"Since the day you were kidnapped we are leading a constant war. Meeting with everyone, from the common, caring man in the street to the greatest leaders who seem to view our huge problem as marginal. Everyone promises to help, but half a year has passed and you are not home with your loved ones."
At the end of the ceremony, the students threw balloons in the air and expressed their hope to see the sons return home.
