Aviva Shalit: Bibi, don't ignore us

In an emotional plea before 15,000 supporters in Jerusalem, Aviva Shalit told the prime minister he is all out of excuses, now that her son's had been in captivity for more than four years.

Other speakers at the event included former Shin Bet Director Carmi Gillon, and past captives. The rally was scheduled to end with a performance by singer Yehuda Poliker, one of Israel's most popular performers. The dominant colors among the crowd on hand were the yellow protest ribbons and the blue and white flags.

Some attendants at the rally held up signs objecting to a prisoner swap, with several verbal clashes ensuing between them and march participants.

Speaking at the rally marking the end of the Shalit family's 12-day march to Jerusalem, Aviva Shalit said: "On a Sunday morning, we left our home…in the long and difficult journey for the sake of the life of our son, Gilad. We were accompanied by thousands of citizens who supported us and issued a clear statement to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with their feet: After four years, the excuses are over."

"Gilad has been in Hamas' cellar for 1,474 difficult, dark and painful days and nights," she said. "The time has come to say enough. Four hellish years are too much."

Aviva directed a personal message to PM Netanyahu, urging him not to abandon her son and courageously work for his release.

"Don't ignore our calls, don't disparage our values," she added, after noting that in Israel parents send their children to the army based on an unwritten pact between the people and state.

"This pact constitutes in my eyes a fundamental basis for the existence of a healthy society, a moral society, a society that shows public courage and does not allow its leaders to abandon a living soldier," she said.

'Don't break our spirit'  

Gilad's mother said she believes "the state is stronger and we, its citizens, are stronger thanks to our values." She noted that senior security officials, including Defense Minister Ehud Barak, support a prisoner swap and say Israel can cope with its implications.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu, don't break our spirit and our faith in the pact and belief of every soldier heading to battle," she said. "The people have spoken. Bibi, don't ignore us."

Marchers in Jerusalem (Photo: Roni Gal)

Thousands or marchers poured into the capital Thursday afternoon via Highway 1 and passed by the Chords Bridge at the entrance to the city, en route to downtown Jerusalem. Meanwhile, protestors objecting to the mass release of terrorists in exchange for Shalit gathered outside the Prime Minister's official residence in the capital for their own protest.

Overall, about 20 people protested at the site against a possible prisoner swap for the kidnapped soldier. They called on the marchers to return home and "stop the pro-Hamas campaign".

The objectors claimed that the past week's march will not help release Shalit. Eli Cohen, a resident of Jerusalem, explained that the soldier should not be retrieved at all costs.

"The murderers whose release is demanded by Hamas will build terror networks that will cause the deaths of dozens of Jews," he said.

Cohen added that the Shalit march constituted an "insurance policy" for the terrorists. "Once we release a thousand, they will make every effort to kidnap additional soldiers. This is a bloody price Israel must not pay," he said.

David Ish-Shalom, who organized the counter protest, told Ynet the media was not allowing their side to be heard.

"We might have been joined today by thousands of people who love Gilad but refuse to pay the price demanded of us by the organizers of the rally," he said.

Ish-Shalom added that the Shalit cause had become a soapbox for the radical Left. "The leftists want to release as many terrorists as possible because of their ideology," he said.

"We are wearing a red ribbon in order to represent the blood that will be shed in Judea and Samaria if the marchers' battle succeeds in meeting Hamas's demands," he said.