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Noam Shalit: Long way to go to reach our goal
Father of captive soldier Gilad Shalit meets youths hold 'stretcher march' in capital calling for gov't to secure Gilad's release. Shalit urges youths to keep campaigning, says, 'If it seems for a minute that release is near, I can only say this is not the case'
Ronen Medzini
Noam Shalit, father of captive soldier Gilad Shalit,
arrived at the protest tent outside the prime minister's residence on Monday, where he met with hundreds of youths who took part in the 'stretcher march'
for his son earlier in the day.
Shalit arrived at the tent minutes before the youths and was moved when he saw them marching toward him shouting, "We want him home, we want him now."
Accompanied by head of the Shalit campaign Shimshon Libman, Shalit addressed the youths and urged them not to stop campaigning.
"If it seems for a minute that the release is near and that things are being wrapped up, then I can only say this is not the case. While it does seem to be going in the right directions, we are still not there. There is sill a long way to go to reach our goal," he said.
He urged youths to keep joining the cause: "Put the matter on the agenda by meaningful and blessed campaigning. We are so pleased with this and thank all those who came and put in the effort instead of using the holiday to go to the beach. I was very moved by the power and this energy should not be taken for granted."
He added, "We will not stop and will not cease our efforts and campaigning for Gilad's release. We will keep going until the goal is achieved."
Monday morning some 100 youths from the headquarters of the campaign for Gilad Shalit embarked on a 'stretcher march' in Jerusalem under the banner, "Bibi, finish what you started". The youths, wearing Gilad Shalit T-shirts and carrying flags, marched from the Mount Herzel Cemetery, a symbolic location commemorating the soldiers that gave their lives for the State, to the prime minister's residence.
Twelfth-grader Ayelet Tal, who attended the march, told Ynet, "Gilad is not here and cannot run, so we should do it for him. I am in good shape, but even if I wasn't, I wouldn't mind sweating, fainting, or whatever it takes, because this is what he did for me in the army."
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