Hanan Barak's parents holding his picture (archives)
Photo: Herzl Yosef
Pavel Slocker. Killed during abduction
Photo: Uriel Hershco
Galant brings faint hope in Shalit case
Mother of soldier killed during abduction hopes new chief of staff will feel responsible for captive, as 'Gilad was kidnapped on his watch'
The families of the soldiers killed in the incident during which Gilad Shalit was abducted hope that the next chief of staff, Major-General Yoav Galant, will succeed in bringing the kidnapped soldier home.
"I hope he'll feel more responsible and manage to do what others didn't do, because Gilad was abducted during his term, on his watch," said Nela Barak, mother of Lieutenant Hanan Barak who was killed during the abduction.
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Hanan Greenberg
At age of 52, after long, varied service, Yoav Galant to take over from Ashkenazi as IDF's 20th chief of staff to head organization he knows inside out
Within the Barak family there is complete agreement that Shalit should be freed at any price, but they understand that the chief of staff needs the government's support to succeed in such an aim.
"It's not the chief of staff who decides what to do and how to do it, it's the politicians," they said. "We will just pray that the appointment will help (bring Shalit home). If they don't decide what to do, I don’t believe it will happen. (Galant) is only in an operational position. But if it depends on him – it may happen."
Victor Slocker, brother of Sergeant Pavel Slocker, who was also killed during the abduction, is less optimistic. "We hope (Galant's) appointment will assist in freeing Shalit, but the chief of staff doesn’t decide anything," he said. "The chief of staff is a tool in government hands. He's like an axe but an axe can't do anything without the hands."
"If we don't change this government, he won't be released," Slocker continued. "I can't say whether Galant will push for his release. The army gives everything to fulfill a mission, but the government doesn't allow them to fulfill the mission they've been given. Sadly, I don't think the change of chief of staff will help. If the government had wanted it, Shalit would already have been released."
"Shalit is now just a playing card in the government's hands," Slocker asserted. "I can only beg that the government does something. For more than four years we've heard (Gilad's father) Noam Shalit calling on the government to assure his release. For four years they call on the government, which says, 'we've got other issues to deal with'."
"My mother is waiting for Shalit to return in order to talk to him and find out what happened," he added. "She hardly lives now. We hope that Galant will succeed where others didn't try. That's all that's left – hope."
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