A video of Gilad

October 1, 2009 - 1:46 AM by David · 4 Comments
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Israeliness, Life, War

gilad The news that Hamas is going to hand over a one-minute video tape of captive IDF soldier Gilad Schalit has been dominating the news today.

According to the Egyptian and German teams that helped broker the deal that will see 20 Palestinian female prisoners released from Israeli jails in exchange for the tape, it will provide enequivocal evidence that Schalit, who has been in captivity for more than three years, is alive and reasonably well.

It will be the first time that Schalit’s family will be seeing images of Gilad since he was captured in Gaza by Palestinian gunmen.

While it’s a far cry from seeing him released, I’m sure the family will be spending sleepless nights until they receive the tape on Friday. They issued a statement Wednesday night saying, “We wish to stress that although this is a first step in the right direction, the family will not rest until Gilad is freed after almost 1,200 days in which he has been held in a Hamas prison. Both sides must continue the determined process that has recently begun until the final result is quickly achieved.”

It’s bound to be quite a shock when they do finally see the video, as it’s certain that the Gilad Schalit who’s been held prisoner for so long will bear little resemblance to the 18-year-old boy that the country has come to know as their own in the ensuing three years.

The intensity with which the story was covered on Wednesday reflected the emotional baggage the entire country carries with it having lived with the burden of one of its soldiers held prisoner. In times like this, it’s almost safe to say that the cliche that we’re all one country is really true.

Let’s hope the release of the Gilad Schalit video is beginning of movement that will quickly see the release of Gilad Schalit, the human being.

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