State failing us, says captive's mother
In rally for kidnapped Israeli soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser's mother says, 'We put our fate in the hands of people that do as they please, and build atomic bomb shelters for themselves while they have no money to protect Sderot'
Hundreds of off-road vehicles participated in a solidarity campaign for kidnapped IDF soldiers Gilad Shalit, Eldad Regev, Ehud Goldwasser and their families on Saturday.
The journey began Saturday morning near Kibbutz Yad Mordechai near Ashkelon and ended in a rally Saturday afternoon near Rosh Hanikra in the north. The campaign was organized by the "Derekh Shetah" drivers' organization in cooperation with the Matte Asher Regional Council in the western Galilee.
Ehud Goldwasser's mother MIcky spoke at the rally, along with Eldad Regev's brother Eyal. A song written for Gilad Shalit was also played.
Micky Gldwasser expressed her fury at the government, pointing out that while there was money to secure the government's bomb shelters, the state continued to claim there was not enough money to fortify Sderot, and that there was no budget to install cameras at the point her son was kidnapped from.
"Twenty years have passed since Ron Arad (was taken hostage), and 10 administrations have come and gone. They all promised, and they all failed. Ron disappeared, and no one knows what his fate was. However, the three boys are alive and it is known where they are. The state failed doubly in this case: Firstly in the kidnapping itself, and secondly in that they haven't brought them home yet."
"We put our fate in the hands of a group of people that do as they please, and build atomic bomb shelters for themselves while they have no money to protect Sderot. The responsibility lies in each of our hands. We all have children or brothers in the army. We must keep the matter of the boys in the public consciousness," she said.
Eyal Regev said that a year ago he wouldn't have believed that his brother would be a hostage Hizullah's hands for so long. "One year ago, when my brother and Udi had been in captivity for 50 days, there was a mass rally in Tel Aviv. No one believed that it would drag on this long. After all, the Second Lebanon War ended with an agreement to release the hostages."
"There should be no obstacle to the state to bring the boys home. Nothing should be stopping it," he added.
Uri Cohen, one of the initiators of the campaign, said that he knew Ron Arad personally before he was taken captive. He said when Ron Arad was kidnapped, there was little public awareness and activity of the matter, which ultimately led to the state's inaction. "That won't happen again," he vowed.
