Miki Goldwasser urges government to facilitate her son's release

Miki Goldwasser, mother of kidnapped IDF soldier Ehud Goldwasser, sent a harsh letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Thursday, in which she urges the cabinet to vote in favor of the exchange deal for the return of her son and Eldad Regev. The Cabinet stands to vote on the matter this coming Sunday.

“I heard that the defense minister summoned his army heads to discuss the release of Kuntar in exchange for my son and Eldad. Some of them had objected.

"I ask you: How dare they object? They were the ones involved in the failures that enabled the kidnapping. What is this self-righteousness all about?

"On the opposite end there are officers demanding the return of our kidnapped sons, knowing full well that the public’s vote of non confidence will be irreversible and cause much draft dodging. Ironically, I am stopping today an initiative for a mothers’ rally which began before Passover and is expanding in scale,” wrote Goldwasser.

Addressing the arguments stating that if Kuntar is released, more soldiers will be kidnapped, she said: “I can only say that had Kuntar been exchanged in the Tennenbaum deal, you would not have been reading my letter today.

"However, if Kuntar is not considered a bargaining chip today, more kidnappings will follow, perhaps involving Israeli civilians touring abroad this time.  Nassralah is determined to bring Kuntar back (to Lebanon) come hell or high water. His next attempt may be much worse. He may kidnap an entire family, teenagers, pregnant women, who knows?”

When addressing the possibility of the soldiers no longer being alive, Goldwasser claimed that “according to the medical reports and ultrasounds, Udi’s injury may have caused the amputation of his hand. According to Nasrallah, ambulances were waiting for the injured. We know they have the best medical equipment and specialists. Moreover, Nasrallah announced at the time that his men had kidnapped two living soldiers.”

‘Time is running out'

Miki warns that “if the deal falls through because of Israel, Hizbullah will earn all the praise from his country and mainly from the world. It will present itself as an organization who had made the gesture towards Israel, while Israel is the one who sabotaged the deal, demanding information Nassralah himself could not supply - which Israel is well aware of.”

In her touching plea to Olmert, Udi’s mother confesses: “Sir, I have just been through a very tough day and find it hard to concentrate. But I could not attempt sleep without writing this letter. I know I have many more issues to formulate before I can argue them. But time is running out, and I don’t know when this self-righteous cabinet will adjourn to decide on my son’s fate. Therefore, I am sending this letter as is. Unproofed, not spell-checked.”

Goldwasser said the letter was sent before dawn, hoping it would pressure the cabinet into deciding over the matter during its Sunday meeting. According to her, aside from the prime minister and cabinet ministers, the meeting is supposed to include the chief of staff, the Mossad and Shin Bet chiefs and Olmert’s MIA emissary, Ofer Dekel.