Dear friends:
A meeting was held on Sept. 13 as proposed in the previous e-mail, and present were a group of interested and interesting grandmothers, with many ideas and approaches to our mission. Let me try to give you all the gist of the discussions.
Grandmothers for Gilad (we thought it more pungent to leave out "Schalit" in our title) is composed of Canadian women who have respect for human rights and for the rule of law, as per the values of Canadian Society. We are also grandmothers who, as grandmothers of boys of our own, cannot help but be horrified by by the torment that has occurred to Gilad Schalit.
Gilad Schalit was abducted on June 25, 2006, from an Isaeli army post near the Gaza strip by Palestinian terrorists from Gaza. He was 19 years old. From that date to the present he has been kept in total isolation by the Palestinians somewhere in Gaza. We do not know if he is alive, and if alive, we know nothing about the status of his health, both physically and mentally, nor do we have any knowledge about conditions of his imprisonment. No visitation by individuals, doctors, or the International Red Cross havebeen permitted by his Palestinian captors.
At the same time that Gilad was abducted, the Palestinian terrorists killed two of his companions. Why then did these terrorists choose kidnapping for Gilad Schalit instead of death as they had for the other two boys? Because they knew that Gilad would then become a bargaining chip to demand that Israel release, not one, but a thousand Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The history of Israeli trades for their own soldiers told them it could be a profitable venture. Not only do they want unconscionable large numbers of prisoners, but their demands include at least 450 convicted killers.
What then is the aim of Grandmothers for Gilad (GforG)? First, we think it important to make the Canadian public aware of this terrible situation for this young Israeli boy. Canadian society is one where international law is respected, and by not permitting normal human contacts with Gilad Schalit, Canadians will learn that the Palestinians thereby are in direct violation of the Third Geneva Convention.
Secondly, we intend to bring this issue to the attention of our political leaders in Canada. I think we have to put a fire under our politicians because I learned today that Irwin Cotler had a program/project re. Gilad Schalit that he took to members of Parliament to no avail. So we have our work cut out for us. We will use snail mail, e-mail, personal contacts and any other means of communication with members of Parliament. But we also plan to create a web site for GforG information that will be available for leaders, media and the public at large. At a minimum, we hope and expect that our politicians will express a most reasonable demand for at least three things; one conversation by an appropriate individual (family member, rabbi, etc), one visit by a responsible doctor of international recognition, and one visit by the IRC.
Thirdly, although the International Red Cross (IRC) maintains that they have tried to see Gilad Schalit and have been refused visitation by his Gazan captors, we plan to contact the Canadian Red Cross to ask that they demand more intense efforts on the part of their parent organization, the IRC. We were reminded that the IRC is sheltering three convicted Hamas murderers in Jerusalem from deportation by Israel. The thought occurred at our meeting that perhaps the IRC is less active on behalf of Schalit than it ought to be or could be.
There followed discussion about the need for a mission statement for the GforG. Suggestions for the input in a mission statement included background, the abduction, the violation of Schalit's human rights, the failure of international orgranizations to intervene against his barbaric isolation, and the Canadian component. I now ask all participants to take a crack at writing the mission statement and send it to me. I expect that the statements will have much in common, and I will coordinate and finalize from these contributions to arrive at a statement that should suit our purpose.
Other matters of interest came up, such as, suggestions for the web site, how to expand our numbers, what additional contacts will be warranted, the specifics of letters to politicians, how to encourage other groups for Gilad Schalit, and so on. I leave these suggestions to another e-mail and/or meeting when they are more directly relevant as we progress.
I appreciate your contributions and look forward to continuing in our mission. I encourage everyone to spread the message and bring more grandmothers into the fold. You may forward my e-mails as you see fit.
Have a good and satisfactoryYom Kippur.
Sally
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