(Washington, DC) - U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, today noted the one year anniversary of the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, and submitted the statement below into today’s Congressional Record. Goldwasser and Regev were abducted by Hezbollah on July 12, 2006 and Shalit was kidnapped by Hamas on June 25, 2006. No live contact between the three soldiers and the outside world has been allowed by their captors, and repeated requests by the Red Cross and Red Crescent to see the men have been refused.

This past March 13, the House passed a resolution (H. Res. 107) sponsored by Ackerman that called for the immediate and unconditional release of the three Israeli soldiers. Ackerman introduced the resolution on January 30, 2007 and announced the measure at a press conference the same day on Capitol Hill with Karnit Goldwasser, the wife of Ehud Goldwasser. They were joined by Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Sallai Meridor, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Dan Gillerman and several other Members of Congress. Ackerman presented copies of the approved resolution to the families of the captive soldiers on April 11, at the IDF Headquarters in Tel Aviv during the Congressman’s visit to the Middle East.

Statement:

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to call the House’s attention to a very sad anniversary. One year ago today, Hezbollah terrorists crossed into Israel to attack Israeli troops patrolling the Israeli side of the border with Lebanon. They killed three Israeli soldiers, wounded two others and kidnapped Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. Only a few days earlier, on June 25, 2006, Hamas terrorists likewise crossed into Israel and attacked an IDF position, killing two soldiers, wounding a third and kidnapping Gilad Shalit.

Both of these vicious terrorist organizations, which constantly proclaim their adherence to religion and morality, have denied these three Israeli soldiers contact with the Red Cross or Red Crescent, or direct contact with their families. Despite the recent release of an audio tape, it is not in fact known if these three men are currently alive, if they are injured or if they are well. Not content merely to hold these men as hostages, Hamas and Hezbollah insist on torturing their families with the agony of not knowing about the true condition of their loved ones.

This is true measure of the faith and morality of these terrorists. In the name of religion they inflict agony. In the name of the sacred they perpetrate barbarism. In the name of their faith they degrade other human beings.

Thus they show the true content of their beliefs. Thus they show the world what their vainglorious proclamations amount to: cynical cruelty and cold calculation.

These terrorist groups have sought to transform Gilad, Ehud and Eldad into something they are not: bargaining chips or pawns, a kind of political chattel. Things that can be swapped for favors or sacrificed on a whim. These three men are not things. They are human beings. They have names and they have families. They have rights as captured soldiers and they have rights as human beings.

The House has expressed itself clearly on this matter on March 13th, when it passed H. Res. 107, the bipartisan resolution I introduced demanding the release of these three captives and condemning both the terrorists and their Syrian and Iranian sponsors for their criminal and indecent behavior.

We can not compel Hamas and Hezbollah to release Gilad, Ehud and Eldad any more than we can force them to understand the difference between right and wrong. You can not disgrace someone incapable of shame. But we can stand by our ally, the State of Israel. We can express our sympathy and our concern for the captives and for their families.

We can let the perpetrators of this barbarism know that we have not forgotten what they have done, and what they are continuing to do. We can bear witness. And we can add our voices to all those saying ‘Enough. Enough. Let these men go home.’” 

###

Return to Gary's Homepage