Rally For 8 Kidnapped IDF Soldiers

I wanted to bring the issue of the 8 missing Israeli soldiers to the forefront of our minds. Ron Arad is a pilot that has been classified as missing in action since 1986. Guy Hever has been missing since 1997 and in 2007 a Syrian organization calling itself "The Resistance Committees for the Release of the Golan Heights" claimed to be holding Hever. On June 11, 1982, three soldiers — Zecharia Baumel, Tzvi Feldman, and Yehuda Katz — could not be found after a battle with Syrian and Palestinian militias at Sultan Yakub in Lebanon. Corporal Gilad Shalit was captured by Hamas terrorists after his army post was ambushed on June 25, 2006. A small force of operatives then attacked two IDF vehicles patrolling the Lebanese border, killing several soldiers and kidnapping Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, two soldiers who had been patrolling the north on reserve duty. They were then apparently moved to a Shi’ite mosque, where the abductors changed their clothes. Hizballah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said that Israel must negotiate with the terrorist group in order for the soldiers to be freed, and demanded that Israel release convicted murderer Samir Kuntar and two other Lebanese prisoners held by Israel. On July 16, 2008, after a long and painful ordeal, Israel agreed to trade Samir Kuntar, along with five other Lebanese militants, in return for the bodies of its fallen soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, both murdered after being kidnapped by Hizballah, it was confirmed. Kuntar, the murderer, was given a hero’s welcome in Beirut and his release was praised by Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas. Gilad Shalit has been discussed in exchange talks, but the other five missing soldiers have just about been forgotten. My two goal were, and still are, firstly, to remind the community of those who have been missing for over 2 decades and secondly, to show the community that teenagers can make a difference.