Shalit's comrades en route to Rabin Square
Photo: Ofer Amram
Gilad Shalit's comrade: Our friend has been left behind
Hundreds of people, including IDF comrades, take part in Gilad Shalit protest rally in Tel Aviv
Hundreds of people arrived at Tel Aviv's Rabin Square Tuesday evening in order to take part in a protest rally on behalf of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. The protest was organized by Shalit's army comrades, who completed their three-year military service earlier in the day.
"We are standing here and thinking about how Gilad would act, what he would do, what he would say and think…after finishing the army, but we can't find an answer," Noam Shalit said. "We haven't spoken to him for two years and sadly we are disconnected from him. Yet we are comforted by one thing – we see that his army friends…have not forgotten the value of comradeship even on discharge day…the friends are not forgetting Gilad, and we thank them for that."
Gilad's father, Noam Shalit, thanked his son's friend and noted that instead of going to the beach or flying abroad, they chose to march from an IDF base near Tel Aviv to Rabin Square.
Gilad Shalit
Defense Minister Barak meets captive soldier's comrades who Tuesday completed IDF service term
The rally opened with Shalit's audiotape from captivity, received by his family several months ago. Before the speeches, participants observed a moment of silence in honor of fallen IDF soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser.
Later, one of Gilad's army friends, Guy Elyasif, took the podium: "Today, my friends and I are marking a very meaningful moment in our lives. After three years of efforts on behalf of the homeland and its security, we are completing our army service…however, we are missing one friend who has been left behind. He is unable to embark on a new future with us today. He has been left behind, in uniform and in captivity."
"Dear Gilad, this is precisely the reason we are here today," Elyasif said. "We want you to know that none of us will let off for a moment. We won't let anyone forget."
Elyasif called on the prime minister and all other officials involved in the negotiations to "stop and think about Gilad for a minute or two, to picture him sitting there in captivity, somewhere in a dark basement, isolated, scared, and mostly disappointed – disappointed and hurting because he was left behind; because nobody came for him."
