His Name is Gilad Shalit

In 1994, a Jewish soldier named Nachshon Wachsman was kidnapped by Hamas (while they were still only a horrible group of murderers). On a Sunday evening they arrived at a trempiyada (hitchhiking post) in central Israel dressed as Hasidic Jews, with sefarim (Jewish religious books) on the dashboard, and with Jewish music playing on the stereo.

On Monday, Nachshon's family were shown a video of their son:

On that video tape, Nachshon was seen, bound hand and foot, with a terrorist whose face was covered with a kaffiya, holding up Nachshon's identity card. The terrorist recited his home address, identity number, and then Nachshon spoke at gunpoint. He said that he had been kidnapped by the Hamas, who were demanding the release of their spiritual leader, Achmed Yassin, from an Israeli prison, as well as the release of 200 other imprisoned Hamas terrorists. If these demands were not met, he would be executed on Friday at 8:00 PM.

Israel's position was clear: they do not negotiate under, there would be no exchange.

For that entire week, the Jewish people experienced unity the likes of which had not been felt for decades. All sectors of the political spectrum, all levels of religious observance.

t the Western Wall 100,000 people arrived, with almost no notice -- Chassidim in black frock coats and long side curls swayed and prayed and cried, side by side with young boys in torn jeans and ponytails and earrings. There was total unity and solidarity of purpose among us -- religious and secular, left wing and right wing, Sephardi and Ashkenazi, old and young, rich and poor -- an occurrence unprecedented in our sadly fragmented society.

The deadline came and passed. Unbeknownst to the public, Israeli intelligence had found the driver who had kidnapped Nachshon, they had located the village and hideout where he was being kept (a 10 minute drive from his parent's house) and were sending in a commando unit on Friday night to attempt a rescue. Unfortunately, they were not able to get there in time, and Nachshon Wachsman, along with Captain Nir Poraz, the head of the commando unit, were killed.

You can read a more detailed account as was published by Nachshon's mother, Esther Wachsman, on the tenth anniversary of his execution: His Name Was Nachshon Wachsman.

Why is this relevant today?

This morning an attack was launched on Israel by Hamas (the same Hamas that kidnapped Nachshon twelve years ago). They dug a tunnel from Gaza, emerged near an army base. Two soldiers were killed, and one - Gilad Shalit - was kidnapped and dragged back to Gaza.

As of this afternoon (Israel time), the IDF believed Gilad to be alive, held somewhere in Southern Gaza. The Red Cross has asked (and been denied) an opportunity to see him, and Hamas is dusting off their wishlist of what they want in exchange for this young man's life.

I hope and pray that this sad occasion will serve as an impetus for unity among the Jewish people, the same type of unity that was caused by a similar event twelve years ago. As of late, Jews all over the world, as well as in Israel have been showing much more disunity and internal hatred than unity and love. As a Jew and a resident of Israel, I can honestly say that throughout history one of our greatest strengths in the face of adversity has been our national unity and belief that we are all brothers. Likewise, our worst failures have come about because of our disunity, and our insistence on believing that diversity among one another shows how far apart we are, rather than marvelling at how so many people can be so different yet so intrinsically the same.

May God grant Gilad a safe return to his family, and may the blood of his fellow countrymen be avenged.

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