It has been nearly 7 months since three Israeli soldiers were kidnapped by Hamas and Hezbollah - right before the war between Israel and Hezbollah last summer. There has been minimal communication from the Hamas abductee in the form of a letter and minor negotiations. There has been no communication from Hezbollah concerning their two abductees.

I was privileged to hear Karnit Goldwasser, wife of abductee Ehud Goldwasser, come speak at Cornell this afternoon in between appointments with Sen. Clinton and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon. Her story about her husband’s kidnapping on July 12, 2006 is amazing and horrifying at the same time.

At the time of Ehud’s kidnapping, they had only been married 10 months. It was Ehud’s last day of his reserve service for the year and she was preparing a special dinner for him when she heard about the kidnapping. She did not get to celebrate his birthday with him or their first anniversary. She has has no idea where he is being held, if he is hurt or has received medical attention, or even if he is alive.

Her strength and determination in telling her story to not only various speaking audiences but also the most prominent political leaders in the world astounds me. The story that she tells horrifies me. I cannot even comprehend why this is not a front page story every day. I do not understand why the leaders of the free world (a.k.a. the US and company) are not putting extreme amounts of pressure on Lebanon and Hezbollah to return these Israeli soldiers. I am sure that if they were American soldiers, or European, or any other nationality in the world, this would not be tolerated. But is the anti-Israeli worldview truly so prevalent that we are willing to forget three men who were kidnapped simply while monitoring the border?

It appears that Congress is starting to get the picture, thanks to Karnit. I was going to try to quote a part of this JPost article from Jan. 31, but really, you’ve got to read the whole thing:

Several US House members from both sides of the aisle have joined together to sponsor a bill demanding the release of three IDF soldiers kidnapped this summer by Hizbullah and Hamas.

Bill author Gary Ackerman (D-NY) acknowledged that the resolution, even once it passed, would not have the authority to force the release of captives Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.

“While we cannot compel these parties to release Gilad, Ehud, and Eldad any more than we can force them to understand the difference between right and wrong,” he said, “we can stand by our ally the state of Israel, we can express our sympathy for the captives and their families, we can let the perpetrators of this barbarism know that we have not forgotten what they have done.”

Ackerman also blasted Syria and Iran for their role in sponsoring the terror organizations, something that was echoed by the other representatives who joined him at a press conference on Capitol Hill Tuesday afternoon.

Israel’s ambassadors to Washington and the UN were also present, as was Ehud Goldwasser’s wife, Karnit.

She said that actions such as the resolution have significance because of the message they send, both to the perpetrators and to the European Union, where - she said - some parliamentarians were now working on a similar resolution.

“The United States is helping us,” she said after the press conference. “It shows Nasrallah that he’s not dealing with the Goldwasser, Shalit, or Regev family. He’s dealing with the whole free world which wants them to come home.”

Goldwasser said the American Jewish community was also playing a key role in raising awareness and providing moral support, and she praised Congress for taking action.

“Please don’t stop raising your voice. For us, it means the world,” she said.

Personally, I think it is absolute bullcrap that Ackerman thinks “we cannot compel [Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Hamas] to release Gilad, Ehud, and Eldad.” I am almost positive that the US has the diplomatic power and knowledge to place pressure where pressure needs placed. I know that I am going to write my representative and senators concerning this matter, and I strongly encourage you to do the same. Especially in a state like Wyoming where we have a relatively low Jewish population and I’m not sure our representatives get lobbied frequently enough about this issue. There is no excuse for the United States not taking a strong and determined stance and working as hard as possible to get these soldiers home.

Check out that first link to the kidnapped soldiers’ families’ webpage and also this link from the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry. Please, I can’t encourage you enough to contact your congressional representation about these men. Imagine if they were your family members, if they were American soldiers, being held by a terrorist organization for 7 months with out any contact with the outside world and with little to no media coverage or international political pressure. It is truly inexcusable.