Bringing the sons back Home

Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul – the struggle to bring them home

“The leadership has abandoned the struggle to return Hadar and Oron”

In an event held in the days before Yom Kippur, Prof. Goldin tells of his son Hadar, his engagement to Edna, the difficult decision to accept his death and the difficult crisis of values surrounding his return.

Shimon Cohen, Tishrei 5, October 4, 2019

At a special event that was held at the Oz veGaon Preserve a few days before  Yom Kippur and that was dedicated to the struggle to return Lieutenant Hadar Goldin and Sergeant Oron Shaul, Prof. Simcha Goldin delivered a speech that was both difficult and emotional.

The bereaved father stated that the Israeli leadership, including the spiritual leadership, had actually given up on returning the sons and that for the past five years Israel has been conducting a policy of nothing more than appeasement of Hamas.

Prof. Goldin spoke before many dozens of people that had gathered at the Oz veGaon Preserve for the special event organized by the co-chairwomen of Women in Green, Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar.

Prof. Goldin began his speech wondering why, surprisingly, it is when he speaks before the religious and Haredi public that he needs to emphasize the basic importance of the commandment to bury the dead. Goldin mentioned the importance of the commandment as a basic value that the Almighty confers upon himself when He is the one who buries Moshe, a merit that Moshe experienced himself as he dealt with Joseph’s burial. He also mentioned the famine during the era of King David, which was caused by the fact that Shaul and Jonathan had not been properly buried. When the remains of the two were returned to west of the Jordan, the famine stopped immediately.

Changing the topic, Prof. Goldin spoke about his son Hadar and his proposal of marriage to Edna, which was done immediately after the funeral of the three abducted youths. When his mother asked why he chose such a day as that, Hadar answered that he and Edna had come to the conclusion that they should gladden the family and the People of Israel especially on such a difficult day.

The two became engaged five days afterward and about three weeks after that he went to battle, not to return, when, during the humanitarian cease-fire, Hamas ambushed the Sayeret Givati, killing the commander of the Sayeret, Major Benaya Sarel and Liaison Officer Sgt. Liel Gideoni as well as Hadar, who was abducted, and has been held by them ever since.

Prof. Goldin tells of the difficult moments when senior military officers came to the family, after 36 hours when Hadar had the status of having been abducted, and they were told of forensic evidence that Hadar was no longer alive. Goldin says that the family was faced with two choices, one of which was to accept what many had suggested to them, which was to declare that the family views Hadar as being held in bondage alive, and to demand that the government return him, but in light of Hadar’s close familial relationship to Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, this would be perceived as a great victory for Hamas. The family chose the second option, which was to accept the army’s opinion and arrange a funeral for Hadar.

The father emphasized that in Hadar’s room sat Ya’alon, the defense minister at the time , General Barbivai, who was head of Human Resources and Rav Rafi Peretz, who was the IDF Chief Rabbi, and they all promised to bring Hadar home; Prime Minister Netanyahu also promised this, stating that all action to rehabilitate and upgrade the Gaza Strip would be conditional upon the return of the soldiers.

Prof. Goldin states that the leadership has given up on returning the sons, and according to him, the spiritual leadership, including the rabbis, have also abandoned the commandment of burying the dead and bringing the dead to a Jewish burial. Goldin asks when we have heard a rabbi proclaiming the duty of returning the two and when the rabbis have acted toward this goal.

Goldin views this event and the leadership’s conduct as an example of the Israel’s collapse vis a vis Hamas, ideologically and practically, to the point where they fired on Ashkelon during the prime minister’s speech.

According to him, instead of pressuring the enemy and forcing him to returning the sons, for five years, the Israeli leadership has been speaking in terms instilled by Hamas – concern about the high price, humanitarian needs in Gaza and worry about the  possibility of war, “these three concepts are concepts of the terrorists and not of an independent state. They are not humane concepts”, states Goldin, and wonders how a group of terrorists can dictate the price to Israel like Mafiosi.

And regarding the term ‘humanitarian crisis’, he states that it is the terrorists that create such crises and the more we solve these sorts of problems, the more such problems will arise, and in solving such problems we are supporting Hamas. About this, he noted that in Hamas’ area, a hospital was built to serve Hamas people with Israeli funds. Buildings that were on the Syrian border were transferred to Rafah to build a hospital for Hamas.

The father states that Israel should have made it clear that there would not be any humanitarian aid as long as the sons are not returned for burial in Israel. He mentions that as a result of efforts by him and his wife Leah, the U.S. as well as the UN have agreed to this principle but the Israeli leadership does not act accordingly.

He calls for a return to basic Zionist values of not leaving the fallen, wounded or abducted behind, and he says that every citizen in Israel has an influence and the ability to support his family in this cause. “The mission will not be complete if the people don’t understand what they are missing”, he stated.

He concluded his speech at the event with a quote from the interpretation of the book Mesilat Yesharim written by Hadar, an interpretation that he intended for himself and not for publication, but after his death his remarks became a book.

“We must teach the enemy what our values and sensibilities are. True, we have undergone five very difficult years, but I am sure that anyone who goes out from here will come to help and this help can come in many ways”.

The emotional evening also included pre-Yom Kippur songs and prayers sung by Dr Zeev Kitzis.