Tonight on Larry King Live, Ehud Goldwasser’s father and wife appeared to plea for his safe return. Ehud Goldwasser is one of two Israeli soldiers captured by Hezbollah on July 12. It was the precipitating event of this spasm of violence.
Karnit Goldwasser, Ehud’s wife, made an emotional plea to the wives of Hezbollah for information about his health and safety. When Ehud’s father, Shlomo Goldwasser, spoke about his efforts to free his son, his voice trembled with the quiet anguish of a parent:
KARNIT GOLDWASSER, WIFE OF KIDNAPPED ISRAELI SOLDIER: First of all, I want to thank the people who brought us here to speak to you. I ask the wives of Hezbollah to help me to get a sign that Ehud and Dan are still alive and to know if something happened to them, if they are injured or not.
KING: Shlomo, you’ve heard nothing?
SHLOMO GOLDWASSER, FATHER OF KIDNAPPED ISRAELI SOLDIER: Nothing. It’s now the 23rd day since Ehud was kidnapped. We’ve heard nothing.
KING: Shlomo, what are you doing in the United States?
S. GOLDWASSER: You know, there is no school in the world to teach you what to do when your son is kidnapped. And I was thrown into this situation in the fraction of a second on the 12th of July. And judging what to do, what are the tools to bring him back, I found that there is not so many tools in my hand, and the only one that is in my hands, with the help of you, is the media. I am using it and I’m going everywhere, everywhere that I can raise my voice and have some people to hear me. And you’re doing a great job.
It seems to me that there has been too much death already in this war. Too many parents have lost their children. There has been enough death. Enough.
I still believe if both sides of this conflict could start to see each other as human beings, as mothers and fathers, as brothers and sisters, as sons and daughters, this madness that is destroying generations would come to an end. The beginning of the end can start here. It can start with the safe return of Ehud Goldwasser and his two brothers in arms.
I ask all bloggers who read this post, as a gesture of peace and good will, to repost this plea on your blogs. Ask the same of those who read your posts. Let this plea spread across the blogosphere. Perhaps this plea will be posted on the blogs of our Arab and Lebanese friends. Perhaps this plea will make a difference in saving at least one life.
Regardless of which side of the conflict you are on, let us come together on the shared belief in the sanctity of life. Arabs, Israelis, Lebanese, Palestinians, Americans, Jews, and Muslims will still have to live together after the guns fall silent.
This may seem like a naive plea while the bombs and missiles continue to take their deadly toll, but the bombs aren’t working too well – perhaps its time to find some humanity in this madness.
I agree, its really time to stop this madness, everyone need to understand, that in spite of our religious belief, we were all born human and will die as one.
as you request.
Consider it done..let’s get our own domino effect going…
Ingrid
Ingrid, Zebster, thanks. Please link directly to the CNN transcript. There is no need to link to my blog. Also, feel free to copy without attribution my post if you like.
I just want to get the ball rolling. I dont want or need everyone to come here to get the story. I would include the quotes from Mr. Goldwasser and Karnit Goldwasser in the post. I think those quotes speak for themselves.
I’ll add the CNN link…not sure why I didn’t in the first place, other than laziness probably.
Thanks Zeb.
Mash, I only did an cut and paste of your post and did add an update. Naturally, I had the CNN transcript link included. It was faster for me to do it that way..
let’s see how this continues..
Ingrid
Mash Im gonna git you fer hi jackin my blog dangit!
Soldiers are captured not kidnapped. Does anyone know for sure whether they were captured in Israel or in Lebanon ? If they were captured in Lebanon that would put a different spin on this war. I hope that Israel’s soldiers are returned safely. I also hope both sides will stop killing civilians.
Keefer, you are right. I have specifically used the word “captured” in my text…although CNN transcript uses the word “kidnapped”. Since they were acting in their capacity as soldiers at the time of their capture, they were not kidnapped.
I wanted to not get into the politics of this. It is not clear to me, given the regular Israeli incursions into Lebanon, that the soldiers were taken on Israeli soil.
The resolution to this, as has always been the case, will be a prisoner exchange. In a conventional war, these soldiers would be considered POWs. This post is a plea for peace and for an end to the killing.
As for the politics, I have always said that Israel has committed a strategic blunder by attacking Lebanon. Israel will come out of this weaker. That is the best possible outcome for Israel. It could end far worse for Israel and the region.
Jeremiah, I am sorry for my underhanded move on your blog. Please don’t come after me. If you do you can find me here.
Just one request…if you need to ninja me, make it quick. Don’t knock on the door or anything.
Sent it to Al Jazeera and Dahr Jamail
wbfree, thanks 🙂
I have also ‘domino-posted’ it.
As an Israeli, its obvious that I want the release of the kidnapped soldiers.
Nice initiative.
“I still believe if both sides of this conflict could start to see each other as human beings, as mothers and fathers, as brothers and sisters, as sons and daughters, this madness that is destroying generations would come to an end.”
That’s the critical point isn’t it – if only people could see that.
Sonia, no doubt. Unfortunately very difficult to do while the violence continues and lives are taken.
Yohay, thanks for the post. Signs of a climb down are starting…not quick enough though.
Its up to the world (well mostly America) to stop the war. It seems like Israel and Hizbullah won’t stop it. Nobody wants to “lose”. Everybody wants to “win”. After 25 day of destruction and killing, nobody really wins…
You got it!
The whiner should stop traveling around the world and stay right in Israel to work on the release of the Lebanese in Israeli prisons…That is the only way her husband will be returned………….:((