A young boy from the Golan Heights presented his mother with a big idea: to remember and raise awareness for the hostages held in Gaza by using yellow caps on milk cartons. The mother, who immediately became a passionate supporter of the idea, encouraged him to write to the Tnuva dairy company, Walla reported on Monday.
The boy, Shachar Tertz, wrote a letter to the company, stating, “Dear Tnuva, My name is Shachar, I am 9 years old. I live in Mevo Hamma in the Golan Heights. This morning, I looked at the milk bottle and asked my mom why isn't the cap wasn’t yellow? My mom asked why, and I explained that we need to take action to remember and raise awareness for our hostages. I would be happy if you consider my idea.”
Shachar Tertz is about to enter the fourth grade at Mitzpe Golan School in Bnei Yehuda, the Golan Heights. His grandfather, Hezi Melamed, mentioned that the idea came up during a family breakfast in Jerusalem.
Children encountering Israel's surreal experience amid the war
“I wasn’t surprised on one hand, because I know my child, but on the other hand, it reflects the very surreal Israeli reality in which he lives,” said his mother, Dr. Inbal Melamed-Tertz, a gynecologist at the Tzafon Medical Center (Poriya), near Tiberias.
The family returned to Israel from a study stint in England just a month before the war. “His friends in London don’t deal with such a reality,” she said. “He lives and breathes it. He sees the bracelet, which is an inseparable part of me, he sees his grandparents demonstrating every Saturday evening for the return of the hostages, and at home, it’s a topic that’s not hidden from him but is rather part of his life. A few weeks ago, there was a Shavuot fair at the kibbutz. He set up a booth with someone, and they donated all the proceeds to help the hostages.”
Interestingly, this idea mirrors a long-running campaign in the United States to help locate missing children by printing their photos on milk cartons. From the 1980s until the late 1990s, photos of missing children were featured on milk cartons across the US. At the height of the program in 1985, about 700 of the approximately 1,800 independent dairies in America displayed photos of missing children.
As for Israel? Recently, Tnuva’s milk cartons have been updated with white caps (replacing the blue ones used previously). The company states that the switch to white plastic is due to its easier recyclability and better environmental impact.
Will Tnuva consider Shachar Tertz’s idea? Dr. Inbal Melamed-Tertz tagged Tnuva in a Facebook post about the proposal. One commenter wrote, “Shachar for Prime Minister.” She and Shachar are still waiting for a response from Tnuva. A direct inquiry from Walla to the company has not yet received a reply and will be published once received.