Protesters demand return of bodies of Hadar Goldin, Oron Shaul from Hamas
The demonstrations are an attempt to put pressure on the Israeli leadership "to express Israel's sovereignty" by bringing back the bodies for a Jewish burial.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFUpdated: APRIL 26, 2021 14:16Sovereignty Youth at the Black Arrow Vigil.(photo credit: Courtesy)
The Sovereignty Youth Movement joined a protest on Sunday demanding the return of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, two Israeli soldiers who's bodies were abducted by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip in 2014.The protest was part of an attempt to put pressure on the Israeli leadership "to express Israel's sovereignty" by bringing back the bodies for a Jewish burial.One of the leaders of the Sovereignty Youth, Eliyahu Friedman, spoke about what his group believes Israeli sovereignty truly is and should be. He explained that they believe that Israeli sovereignty does not just entail the quest for sovereignty over Judea and Samara, but that there are many different levels to achieve sovereignty.“When a state does not bring back its soldiers it is an expression of the lack of sovereignty; a state that is not capable of stopping an attack on Jews expresses a lack of sovereignty," said Friedman. "The first basic thing that we must do as a sovereign state is to bring back the soldiers who go out to battle."When we - the youth - enlist in the military, we want to know that in all cases, we will return home," he added. "The first step on the path to sovereignty is the return of the sons."Friedman directed his statements at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and the rest of the Knesset to take action.“A sovereign state knows how to use leverage against terrorists in order to bring back its sons. A sovereign state does not give humanitarian benefits to the enemy’s citizens while its sons have not been returned to its borders," said co-chairwomen of the Sovereignty Movement, Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar. "Heading a sovereign state there should be leadership that does not remove the claim or the demand for the return of its fighters and citizens from the agenda."They noted that it is "unfortunate" that Israel's leadership can smuggle the Iranian nuclear archive out of Tehran, knows how to send its forces deep into enemy territory and "rescue" its country from a pandemic, but does not know how to "bring back her sons, who fought for her welfare."“Very soon, these will be the soldiers and officers who will lead the IDF," they said, directing their comments towards the Sovereignty Youth and future IDF soldiers. "They must know that the unique, unwritten but ethical covenant between the fighters and the state will be kept, and that the leadership of the state is responsible for this.”
