Karnit Goldwasser at the Holon Theater
Photo: Liron Sinai
Karnit Goldwasser: Barak not concerned with kidnapped soldiers
Wife of soldier held captive by Hizbullah says defense minister 'not doing anything' to facilitate kidnapped troops' release. 'It took me two days to recuperate from my last meeting with him,' she says
Ehud Goldwasser's wife Karnit said Saturday that Defense Minister Ehud Barak "is not doing anything" to facilitate the release of the kidnapped IDF soldiers.
Speaking at a cultural event at the Holon Theater, Goldwasser said Barak was "not involved at all".
"I feel that Udi (Ehud) is of no concern to him," she said, adding that she had met with Barak a few months ago but had not heard from him since.
"It took me two days to recuperate from that meeting (with Barak)," Goldwasser said. "I felt as though it was just another meeting on his schedule – it was a very difficult feeling."
'Not another Ron Arad'
Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were captured by Hizbullah terrorists during a cross-border raid on 12 July 2006, an incident that sparked the Second Lebanon War.
IDF soldier Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by members of several Palestinian terror organizations on 25 June 2006, and has been held captive in Gaza ever since.
"It is very said that in the end the affair is viewed in terms of political gain," Goldwasser said. "Aside from the fact that three people are being held captive, this is also about values and about our society and the messages we convey.
"Everyone says that it is only (Prime Minister Ehud) Olmert's problem, but he has other matters to tend to, and the feeling is that it the private problem of the three families.
Golwasser also criticized Gen. (res.) Udi Adam, who was Northern Command chief at the time of the abduction and at the onset of the Second Lebanon War: "A few days after the kidnapping he told me that 'this may be the price Udi has to pay for the country'. I was shocked."
Goldwasser also spoke of her personal anguish and quest for the truth. "I folded up his clothes when it suddenly hit me: Am I doing this for someone who is dead or alive? We want to know the truth, because we will not be able to change it – but they (government) do not know the truth, and we will continue to fight until they do.
"My greatest fear is that this will be another Ron Arad case. We will not let that happen. With him too there were negotiations and they knew who kidnapped him," she said. "I hope it will be beneficial for (Hizbullah leader Hassan) Nasrallah to free them (kidnapped soldiers)."
