Whereas Gilad Shalit, the son of Aviva and Noam Shalit, was abducted by Hamas terrorists at Kerem Shalom within Israel’s borders as part of an unprovoked attack on Sunday, June 25, 2006 when he was 19 years old and has been held captive now for 1,426 days (as of May 21, 2010);
Whereas he has not seen or spoken with family members during these almost four years;
Whereas Hamas, in violation of international law, has not permitted Pvt. Shalit to be visited by the International Red Cross; and
Whereas the mitzvah of Pidyon Shvuyim (The Redemption of Prisoners) is paramount in Jewish tradition.
Therefore be it resolved that the Rabbinical Assembly:
- Call upon the International Red Cross to make every effort to assure the well being of Gilad Shalit and for Hamas to fully cooperate with that effort;
- Call upon its members to demand that their governmental leaders, international agencies, the United Nations and human rights organizations put further pressure on Hamas to secure the release of Gilad Shalit;
- Call upon specifically elected and appointed officials of the United States government especially Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to demand the release of Gilad Shalit from her Palestinian counterparts;
- Call upon the State of Israel to do all that it can to work towards securing the release of Gilad Shalit;
- Call upon religious leaders of all faith traditions to work for the immediate release of Gilad Shalit to his country and to his family; and
- Call upon Jews all over the world to continue to pray on behalf of Gilad ben Aviva v’Noam.
Passed by the Rabbinical Assembly Plenum, May, 2010