3 years have
passed. As I read the words I wrote then, it seems like yesterday. What I felt
then comes rushing back and with it, the realization that still people around
the world are unable to see these simple truths…
Parents usually have hopes and dreams
for their children. Some dream that their children will be more successful than
them, have more money, a bigger house… others will tell you “I just want my
kids to be happy.”
In the Jewish tradition words and even
individual letters are very important. God used words to create the world; Jews
are the “People of the Book” (i.e. the bible). This belief is what led Bat
Galim and Ophir Shaer to name their son “Gil-Ad”, rather than the more common
“Gilad”.
“Gil-Ad” means eternal joy.
“Gil-Ad” means eternal joy.
The Shaers chose a name that
encapsulated their feelings about their son, their hopes for his life. They
were very particular about writing his name with a hyphen to differentiate it
from the standard bible name “Gilad” and from another word written with the
same letters but pronounced differently: galed. “Galed” is a monument, built to
honor and preserve the memory of the dead.
How ironic.
On June 12th, 2014 sixteen year old
Gil-Ad Shaer was kidnapped and murdered by Hamas terrorists, along with Naftali
Frenkel (16 yrs) and Eyal Ifrach (19 yrs).
Now the Shaer, Frenkel and Ifrach
parents are left to build monuments for their children – tombstones. Galed
instead of Gil-Ad.
A few moments after the three boys were
abducted Gil-Ad called the police. This 16 year old child had the strength of
mind and courage to call for help, to try to save himself and the boys with
him. Who can imagine such audacity? Trapped in a car speeding off in the wrong
direction, with armed terrorists, Gil-Ad dialed the police and told the
operator “I’ve been kidnapped”. The recording of the call documents the crucial
moments of the abduction: the call for help, the terrorists shouting at the
boys to put their heads down, their hands down, one of the terrorists telling
the other “take that (phone) from him”, bullet shots, shouts of pain and one of
the terrorists singing. Yes – singing.
Purpose and intention make all the
difference in the world. On one hand there are three boys that just wanted to
go home. On the other, terrorists who left their homes, intending to kidnap
Jews, terrorize and create suffering.
In an interview, the mother of one of
the terrorists said that: “If it was her son that kidnapped the three teens she
would be proud for the rest of her life.”
One mother wishes eternal joy for her
son, Gil-Ad. The other says she finds eternal joy in the knowledge that her son
killed the children of three other mothers.
What a difference.
****************************
It is politically
correct to say that everyone is the same, all people have the same hopes and
dreams for their children, have the same fundamental morals and values but this
is just not true. Unfortunately. If that was true, Gil-Ad, Naftali, Eyal and so
many others would be alive today. If that was true no Arab would have
celebrated the kidnapping and murder of three children. Or be proud that it was
their son who committed the murders.
It’s not
politically correct to point out the difference. You could ignore them. Pretend
they don’t exist. Many do. You could – but it’s very, very dangerous to do
so.
Intention and
purpose matter.