Archive for the 'Ehud Goldwasser' Category

Goldwasser vs. Ahmadinejad

Published by
tieki rae
at September 27, 2007 in Ehud Goldwasser, Eldad Regev, Gilad Shalit, Hamas, Hizbollah, Iran, Israel, ahmadinejad and media bias. 4 Comments

From YNet:  Goldwasser recounts confrontation with Ahmadinejad

Goldwasser managed to enter Ahmadinejad’s press conference at the United Nations building in New York on Tuesday, and told Ynet that the she was surprised by the treatment the Iranian leader received upon his arrival.”He came in and started to smile at everyone. The reporters gave him great respect… As he walked by me he said hi to me, because he still didn’t know who I was. He thought I was one of the supporting journalists, and that he was walking into a place where everyone loved him. He seemed very pleased,” Goldwasser recounted.

Goldwasser said she was not afraid to present the president with her question, and asked him, “Hello, my name is Karnit, the wife of Ehud Goldwasser, the soldier who has been held captive for over a year. Since you are the man that is behind the kidnapping due to the aid you grant Hizbullah, why don’t you allow the Red Cross to visit the two soldiers?” she asked.

The president ignored the question.

Goldwasser being escorted out of press conference (photo: Shachar Ezran)

“Now he knows that the kidnapped soldier’s wife can reach him too,” Goldwasser told Ynet, “he knows that he does not scare us.”

Good for her.  The way Karnit Goldwasser has led the fight to keep her husband and his fellow soldiers (who were kidnapped by Hizbollah and Hamas) in the attention of the media and international leaders is the definition of true loyalty and love.

I’m also a big fan of how she used this opportunity to stick it to both the media and Ahmadinejad.

As a side note, this is what my American Foreign Policy professor had to say about Bollinger’s introduction to Ahmadinejad’s speech on Tuesday:

“It was not very academic of him.  I would have started out by saying, ‘We have someone like you in our country too.  I think he’s wrong, and I think you’re wrong.’  That way we’re on the middle ground.”

The someone Prof. Katzenstein was referring to, of course, is President Bush.  Smooth?  I thought so.

After 1 Year, Kidnapped Israeli Soldiers Still Missing

Published by
tieki rae
at July 29, 2007 in Ehud Goldwasser, Eldad Regev, Gilad Shalit, Hamas, Hizbollah and Israel. 8 Comments

Five months ago, this is what I had to say about Ehud Goldwasser, Eldad Regev, and Gilad Shalit:

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’s unimaginable. It would be unacceptable to Americans.

The latest “news” comes out of Lebanon, a report that one of the captive IDF soldiers held by Hizbollah is dead.

One of the two kidnapped IDF soldiers in Lebanon are dead, according to estimates by German security sources, who were quoted in the Lebanese newspaper, An-Nahar, Saturday.

“Security forces understood that one of the kidnapped soldiers is still alive, however, the other is dead,” An-Nahar reported.

According to the report, senior diplomatic sources in Berlin said that the German government had begun to get seriously involved in negotiations for the release of captive soldiers, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser.

The report said that the Germans were in direct contact with the Christian general, Michel Aoun, who is currently in the midst of a presidential campaign in Lebanon.The diplomats were trying to get information regarding the fate of the two soldiers, who were kidnapped by Hizbullah last July. However, Aoun, who is cooperating with Hizbullah against the Siniora government, refused to comment on the issue.

If this were true, it would obviously be tragic news. The problem is that these reports tend have a lack of credibility. Since their kidnapping on July 12, 2006, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev have not been permitted visits from the Red Cross. They have had no contact with the outside world. No proof has been provided by Hizbollah that they even lived past the first day of captivity. Gilad Shalit’s situation with Hamas is not much better. In recent months, there have been some negotiations between Israel and Hamas that give the impression Shalit is still living. Hamas has also released some tape recordings of Shalit’s voice.

Perhaps I’m sounding repetitive, but how on earth is this tolerated by Israel and the rest of the civilized world? I cannot even come close to comprehending why the US has basically sat back and allowed Hizbollah (and Lebanon simply by association and lack of action) to do this to our greatest ally’s soldiers.

I can’t imagine what the families of the kidnapped soldiers are feeling right now, but I do think they are making the right move by publicly rejecting the report:

Goldwasser’s parents dismissed the report, saying Hizbullah was making “cynical use” of unsubstantiated information. “It’s a psychological game. If they want to transmit credible information, they should do so through ordinary channels,” said Miki Goldwasser, Ehud’s mother.“As for us, this information will only be real when the Red Cross visits them, or a tape is presented to us,” she added.

Karnit Goldwasser, Ehud’s wife, also released a statement:

Karnit Goldwasser, wife of kidnapped reservist Ehud Goldwasser, responded on Sunday to a report in the Lebanese media that one of the two captives held by Hizbullah was dead by saying that to her sorrow, she was “used” to such reports.

“They can’t play with my feelings, and I know that they wouldn’t just release information to [a] newspaper,” Goldwasser told Army Radio.

“I know Michael Aoun, so this report isn’t worth anything to me,” she said.

Karnit and Ehud were still newlyweds - married only 10 months - when all this began. Now, their 2nd wedding anniversary is approaching and she has devoted all of her time to find out whether or not Ehud is even alive.

Isn’t terrorism and international capitulation to terrorists wonderful?

Now, here is the part of the story that really infuriates me the most:

The issue of the kidnapped soldiers continues to make waves in Israel, as well as Lebanon. While Israel demands a sign of life from the two soldiers, Hizbullah Secretary-General Hasan Nasrallah said he would not give away information about Regev and Goldwasser for free.

“I’m the only one authorized to give information about their condition,” Nasrallah said in an interview with Al-Jazeera.

Are you kidding me?

Here in America, idiotic and traitorous liberals are whining and crying about the Gitmo detainees not having their Korans read to them at bedtime and all the while we don’t even know if these IDF soldiers who were kidnapped by terrorists are even alive.

I’ll ask again. Where is the international pressure on Lebanon and Hizbollah and Hamas to release these prisoners? Where is the outcry from human rights organizations about the refusal to provide medical care? Where is the non-stop media attention about this situation?

Hello?

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For more information on Ehud Goldwasser, Eldad Regev, and Gilad Shalit, check out these websites:
Banim.org - “Thy children shall come again to their own border.”
Behind the Headlines - Information from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Kidnapped Israeli Soldiers

Published by
tieki rae
at February 4, 2007 in Ehud Goldwasser, Eldad Regev, Gilad Shalit, Israel and terrorism. 2 Comments

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.