Showing posts with label Gilad Shalit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gilad Shalit. Show all posts

Monday, December 12, 2011

Gilad thanks his supporters [video]



JERUSALEM — Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held captive by militants in Gaza for more than five years, has thanked his supporters in a pre-recorded message -- his first since being freed in October.

In the recording, a nervous but healthy-looking Shalit offers his thanks to those who waged a "long and exhausting campaign" for his freedom.

"While in captivity I heard a lot about your efforts to release me," he said. "I know for sure that your determined struggle for my release... was one of the decisive factors in bringing me home."

The video recording was broadcast late on Saturday to a group of around 300 activists who gathered outside Shalit's family home to watch the message.

It was later shown on Israeli television and posted online, including on YouTube.

Source: AFP

Thursday, October 27, 2011

No Fear


In our rapidly changing society, events occur with such speed that before we absorb one, another is already upon us. Additionally, our attention span has become nil. We no longer know how to listen.... even while someone is talking to us, we are busy texting someone else or scrolling through our Blackberrys. So let us pause for a moment and review recent events.

During the last months, we have lost many great Torah sages, but I wonder if we truly feel the terrible void that has been left. And now, the beloved Rebbetzin Bathsheva Kanievsky has been called on high. Her sudden demise represents a tragic loss, especially to the many thousands of women who found solace and comfort through her loving guidance, wisdom and sage advice. May her holy neshama have an aliyah and may she continue to daven for all of us.

This past week has also been a cause for jubilation and thanksgiving. For the past five years, all of us have been davening for the safe homecoming of Gilad Shalit, and now, Baruch Hashem, this past Succos we saw our prayers answered. I realize that there has also been some controversy over the exchange that made his freedom possible – a thousand savage monstrous killers released for one frail, painfully thin little Jewish soldier! To many it is incongruous to even imagine that such a disproportionate, suicidal deal could be struck. Surely, this was a grossly dangerous, ridiculous exchange.

I am not going to argue the pros and cons of that, but I do know that every Yiddishe neshama is precious to us. Our sages teach that ‘kol ha mekayem nefesh achas’ – all those who save just one life, it is accounted to them as though they saved an entire world’. Of course, you could protest, “At what price?” These savage killers could, G-d forbid, take many more lives and encourage more kidnaping.

I am not a halachic expert and I am not here to make a judgment call on that. We are Am Yisrael, and we march to the tune of a different drummer. It is not that we are unaware of the terrifying dangers that this deal represents, but just the same, to us, every Yiddish neshama is precious, so even as we offer prayers of thanksgiving for Gilad’s homecoming, we also pray that Hashem protect us from these barbaric monsters and that they perish before they inflict more harm.

Throughout the years, in my classes, I have taught that one can always find some sort of “remez” - allusion in the parsha (Torah portion of the week) to events that are unfolding before our eyes. This time, it was not only the parsha, but the Book of Psalms as well which stunningly confirm this teaching.

The Book of Tehillim designates a psalm for each day of the week. Gilad Shalit was released on the third day – Tuesday, and the psalm for that day is number 60. There are two words in that Psalm that jump out and demand our attention – Succoth and Gilad. Indeed, the release occurred on the holiday of Succoth, followed by the words, “li Gilad.” “Gilad is mine”

As for the parsha which we read on Simchat Torah, it is written, “And Hashem showed him the entire land – the Gilad” [Deut. 34:1]

Farfetched? Coincidence? Remez (a sign), a message? Take it as you will, but the fact is that these are the passages that we read from the Torah and the Book of Psalms at the time that Gilad Shalit was returned to his land. So take a few moments, put aside your Blackberry and your cell phone, and think. Think some more and absorb.

For a long time now, in many of my messages throughout the world, I have quoted a passage from our sages which teaches that our final redemption will be akin to the first one when we went forth from Egypt. In Jewish history, everything is replayed – What was it that broke Pharaoh and Egypt? – The Ten Plagues. And indeed, today we have experienced the beginnings of this very same phenomena. Time and again, I have demonstrated how each of these ancient plagues has unfolded before our very eyes.

At one of my programs, a young girl approached me: “I have to admit that your examples cannot be refuted, but Rebbetzin,” she challenged, “what about the plague of wild beasts that roamed the streets of ancient Egypt? Surely such occurrences could never happen in our 21st century.”

Well, last week, we witnessed the unbelievable – lions, lionesses, tigers, wolves, bears, monkeys, roaming the streets of Ohio. Can you imagine looking out of your window one morning and seeing lions and bears in front of your home? You’d probably shake your head in disbelief and think that you were having some sort of a nightmare.

Yes, events are unfolding so rapidly that even as they do, we remain immune. We are so preoccupied with our addictive gadgets that we don’t see, we don’t hear, and we don’t think, but while we are playing games, time is relentlessly marching on. The signs are becoming more and more intense and menacing, but we congratulate ourselves and rejoice in a false sense of security. Bin Laden and Khadaffi have been killed, so what is there to fear? We forget that even before their elimination, they had become “has been” and no longer represented a global threat. Tragically, we are oblivious to the new menace that threatens us – IRAN!. Ahmadinejad is given free rein to continue her Satanic agenda while Washington ties up Israel’s hands and instructs her to “take risks for peace.”

Just recently, Ahmadinejad’s long arm reached the U. S. where he planned to murder the Israeli and Saudi Ambassadors .... Make no mistake about it, he has many partners ready to execute his nefarious plans and some of them are right here in our own neighborhood. Just consider Chavez of Venezuela. And mind you, he has these partners throughout the world, the most dangerous being Israel’s Moslem neighbors who, in the guise of democracy and with the support of the U.S. have overthrown their dictators. These terrorists have been romantically dubbed “Revolutionaries of the Arab Spring”, but they are the harbingers of a bitter Arab winter that could freeze the world.. They have only one agenda: “Kill the Jews! Obliterate Israel!”

Ironically, it is Washington that helped choreograph this ominous scene. With America’s blessing, Mubarak of Egypt, Khadaffi of Libya, have been eliminated, paving the way for Iran’s domination of the region. It is maddening when you think about it. It was only yesterday that America helped unseat the Shah of Iran, paving the way for the mullahs to take over and impose sharia law, and it is that road that made it possible for Ahmadinejad to institute his satanic plans.

As I write these words, the murderer of Khadafy is joyously celebrating, but even as this news reaches us from Libya, so does the announcement that henceforth Sharia will be the new law of the land. Ahmadinejad is laughing up his sleeve. Not only has Washington given him the green light and tied Israel’s hands, but Washington has also eliminated all his neighbors who would obstruct his path. To be sure, he has one more obstacle to overcome..... American troops stationed in Iraq. But not to worry – Washington will soon pull them out as well.

As you my readers know, I am a survivor of the Holocaust. I smell the toxic fumes that assailed us in pre-Hitler Europe, but not only has our generation lost its ability to see, to hear, but we have also lost our sense of smell, so as the toxic fumes assail our nostrils, we fall asleep and become oblivious.

I have just touched upon a few events that must give us pause, but trust me, my friends, there is much, much more. When will we realize that there is no one to help us – that in the entire world there is no one to even raise a voice on our behalf. We, the Jewish people are like one little lamb among 70 ferocious wolves who stand ready to pounce upon us and totally devour us.

There is only One source of help for us, only One support, and that is our Heavenly Father, the Almighty G-d. From time immemorial, He has saved us from their clutches. We need not fear.. We need only turn to Him – and if we do so, not only will He answer us, but He will take our hands and lead us through the dense darkness that looms menacingly before us.

“If only My people would heed Me – If Israel would walk in My way, I would subdue their foes and against their tormentors turn My Hand...” [Psalm 81]

What a simple teaching, and yet, how difficult to understand.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Gilad's Release: A Message in the Torah Parsha

What would the Lubavitcher Rebbe have said about Gilad Shalit and the reference in the parsha to his release?

Rabbi Shmuel Butman presents Shabbos Night Live [video] - highly recommended!

And to pre-empt any queries regarding the 'speaking' at the Rebbe's grave: people go to the graves of tzaddikim to ask that those tzaddikim assist them, and so they 'speak' to the tzaddik...... don't misunderstand and think that chassidim pray to their Rebbes and not to Hashem.... that is not the case at all.   However, a tzaddik can intervene for us in Shamayim and bring about a salvation. Their merits are much greater than ours, they are closer to Hashem, they can [and do] intercede on our behalf..... This is why Jews will make a special trip to daven at the gravesites of tzadikim.


english from COLlive.com on Vimeo.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

The Release of Gilad Shalit in Torah Codes

Two new videos:



Five Years: Gilad - Before and After




In the blink of an eye

Did you feel it?

Yesterday was a kind of turning point. Erev Hoshana Rabba, the ushpizin of Yosef, and the miraculous release of Gilad Shalit.

How could it possibly be coincidental that Gilad, whose soul is connected to Yosef as we saw in Rabbi Glazerson's Torah codes, was released on the day Yosef is the spiritual guest in everyone's sukkah? There are no coincidences in this world, everything that happens here is orchestrated by Hashem. If you don't understand this yet, you need to go back and start again.

I know I'm not the only person in the world whose life has changed dramatically over the past few months. The world is moving into a new era, the signs are all there, and it's happening so quickly. Who would have thought that Gilad would be home for Sukkot? Alive. Talking. Sane. An unbelievable miracle.

I, for one, am not worried at all about the release of the terrorists. Hashem is in control here, and will take care of business, but for the moment, it's enough to have Gilad back. Ness gadol haya po. A great miracle happened here, make no mistake about it.

Everyone has a mission in life. For Gilad, it was a huge one, and not too many people would have the strength or will to survive in a dungeon for five years... but Gilad is special, he was given the necessary tools [as we all are] to cope with the ordeal that is/was his mission in this world. Whatever tikkun he was chosen to do, on behalf of klal Yisrael,  has now been achieved. We are one step closer to the Redemption. It should give us all encouragement in our own lives, when we are facing some kind of test, that there is a time limit to suffering, and one day we will all be set free from whatever kind of Galus has been given to each one of us.

Remember: things can go from the very worst to the very best...in just the blink of an eye.' [Rebbe Nachman of Breslov]


Gilad

All I can say is, thank God he's home.



In this forced interview, Gilad bravely answers some cruel and ridiculous questions from an insensitive reporter:



Monday, October 17, 2011

Does Noam Shalit have Stockholm Syndrome by Proxy?


In psychology, Stockholm Syndrome is a term used to describe a real paradoxical psychological phenomenon wherein hostages express empathy and have positive feelings towards their captors, sometimes to the point of defending them. These feelings are generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims....


Noam Shalit: No sign of life from Gilad yet
Father of captive soldier says there is no finalized timetable for his son's release. 
'Inshallah he is well,' he says ......

Inshallah ?

Source: Heading Home

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Gilad's Birthday


Lemon just reminded me, it's Gilad Shalit's birthday. Thanks Lemon, I knew the 28th August was something, but couldn't think what it was.

Gilad's birthday..... another one in captivity..... and Irene bearing down on N.Y.
I'm sure there's a connection there somewhere.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Leave a Message of Support for Gilad


On the eve of the fifth anniversary of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit’s capture, an online campaign launched in Australia and highlighting his continuing captivity by Hamas, has gone global.
The site Meet Gilad.com is the brainchild of Andre Oboler, director of the Community Internet Engagement Project at the Zionist Federation of Australia.
Its aim is twofold: to collect one million personal messages of support for Shalit from around the world, and to build a coordinated global network of organisations, which can work towards “goals of mutual interest”.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Torah Codes: Gilad Shalit encoded in the Story of Yosef

Just as we saw in the Jonathan Pollard Torah Codes , where Pollard's name is encoded in the story of Yosef, so is the name Gilad Shalit.  The codes note that one is in captivity in Edom, and one in captivity with the Yishmaelim.

Update: Also see: In the Blink of an Eye

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Australian Senator : "Gilad Shalit must be freed"

Wednesday September 29, 2010

from Hansard - a speech in the Australian Parliament by Senator Mitch Fifield  (Victoria)—Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate


Staff Sergeant Gilad Shalit
As we enter the fifth year of the captivity of Gilad Shalit at the hands of his Hamas tormenters, we cannot escape the importance of the continued struggle for his freedom. On the morning of 25 June 2006, eight terrorists used a tunnel excavated during a period of ceasefire to launch an unprovoked assault on an Israeli Defense Forces position. IDF soldiers were attacked while guarding a place called Kerem Shalom — ‘Vineyard of Peace’ — a border crossing which enables trade between Israel and Gaza. For years facilities such as these have been attacked by Palestinian terror organisations because of a brutal opposition to any exchange that might foster an end to the conflict. Firing automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades, the attackers killed two soldiers, Lieutenant Hanan Barak and Sergeant Pavel Slutzker, both 20, and injured three more. They abducted then-19-year-old Corporal Gilad Shalit, who was seen being publicly dragged, wounded, into Gaza, where he is believed to have been held captive since then.

Gilad has been virtually shut off from the outside world; the only signs of life have been three letters and a short video, for which 20 Palestinian prisoners were released in exchange. The International Red Cross has been refused any access. Mail and aid packages cannot reach him. To make a mockery of his family’s pain and anguish, Hamas has staged re-enactments of the kidnapping. They have held plays in which actors portraying Gilad beg for their release. They have even released an animated film depicting an aged Noam Shalit, Gilad’s father, grieving over his son’s coffin.

Gilad Shalit was born on 28 August 1986 to parents Aviva and Noam Shalit. Gilad’s family lives in Mitzpe Hila, a small village in western Galilee. He grew up playing basketball and soccer with his neighbourhood friends. He was a great fan of the American NBA. In high school he excelled in physics and maths and often helped other students. Like his uncle before him, Gilad joined the tank division when he was drafted into the IDF in 2005. His story resonates with the Israeli people because many in the ranks of the Israeli Defense Forces are young citizens fulfilling the obligation to serve their country; it could have been any Israeli’s son or daughter who was captured that morning. His plight has become the plight of an entire nation. Public events mark his birthday and the anniversary of his kidnapping. Photographs of Gilad as a teenager appear on public walls and fly on flags from car antennas. His name is inscribed on bracelets worn by Israeli youth and the number of days of his captivity is publicly displayed near the Prime Minister’s residence.

Israel in this situation was attacked from a territory which it does not occupy and over which it makes no claim. It was attacked from a territory from which it had withdrawn in an effort to forge peace. Let us not forget that the territory from which the raid was launched claimed to be a democracy, but real democracies respect the rule of law; real democracies do not take hostages; and real democracies do not allow entities within their borders to operate outside the law, to launch attacks on their neighbours and to kidnap their neighbours’ citizens. There should be no doubt, if ever there was, that any claim of democracy is a facade for a brutal and ugly agenda.

Hamas has granted no quarter to civilian populations on either side of the border; Hamas has fired more than 10,000 missiles indiscriminately at the population centres in Israel. Hamas deliberately and contemptuously puts the residents of Gaza in danger by storing and using weapons in civilian areas. Hamas enforces the isolation of Gaza and its people. The truth is that Hamas seeks neither peace nor prosperity for Gazans. Captive with Gilad are all Israelis and Palestinians, hostage to a cynical and violent campaign of jihad being waged by Hamas and its fellow travellers. Israel’s difficult journey reconciling the nation’s security needs with the Jewish principle of pidyon shvuyim, the redemption of prisoners, reveals the enduring strength of its national character. Every effort has been made to secure Gilad’s release, yet for months at a time Hamas does not respond to proposals mediated in good faith by third parties. His captors continue to issue unreasonable demands and ultimatums for Israel to release as many as 1,000 prisoners. Many on its list are convicted of fatal terrorist attacks. Gilad Shalit should not languish a moment longer. His family and his nation should not spend another moment in torment. He should be released without equivocation, condition or delay. Gilad was defending his country, democracy and the rule of law, but above all Gilad was defending his homeland, defending Israel from those sworn to destroy it.

The state of Israel has the right to defend itself but, more than that, the government of Israel has an obligation to protect its citizens and to fail to do so would be a dereliction of its duty. Australia has always stood by the people of Israel and I think always will, but ultimately it is because of soldiers like Gilad that the nation of Israel still stands. Israel consistently strives to maintain the rules of international law. This acknowledgement is not reciprocated by its enemies, who cynically push for Israel to be held to the highest standards of compliance with the very rules they comprehensively repudiate. Taking a hostage to compel a state to do or abstain from any act is criminal. Prohibiting prisoners contact with their families is criminal. Refusing any right of visitation by a humanitarian body is criminal. Those who kidnapped Gilad are criminals, and for too long the international community has passively accepted Gilad’s captivity. For too long Hamas has not taken seriously the imperative of negotiations to secure his return. For too long many have ignored the fundamental injustice of the suffering and isolation of an innocent youth.

The criticism of Israel’s efforts to enforce a blockade against arms shipments to Hamas cannot be a distraction from Gilad’s confinement and deprivation. The campaign to free Gilad grows stronger. On 30 August 2010, dozens of students gathered in Melbourne to reflect on Gilad Shalit’s 24th birthday, marking the 1,525th day he has been held in captivity. I acknowledge the tireless efforts of Gilad’s family and all of his supporters. The pain of his family is shared by many of their fellow citizens and supporters, and these efforts continue to bring light to the struggle of Gilad.

Contrary to all standards of international law and decency, a young man’s life still hangs precariously in the balance. The international community must escalate its advocacy on behalf of Gilad and all those who Hamas holds hostage, not just in words but in deeds.

Ours — Australia’s and Israel’s — is a solidarity built on common values. Israel is indeed a beacon of hope and liberty in the Middle East. It is a great and robust democracy, a nation of free men and women, and Australia, I hope, will stand by them. We must not rest until the message is heard: Gilad Shalit must be freed.