Ehud Goldwasser’s Mother Criticizes Olmert in Shalit Tent

Miki Goldwasser, the mother of Ehud whose body was returned in 2008 after the reservist was captured by Hezbollah in 2006, railed against outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today saying, “the prime minister thinks protests strengthen Hamas? He himself strengthens Hamas!”
Goldwasser was speaking from the protest tent set up by Noam Shalit, father of Gilad, who was kidnapped to Gaza in 2006, shortly before Goldwasser and reservist Eldad Regev were kidnapped to Lebanon. The parents of the soldiers became close during their long struggle to return their sons home.Although the two reservists’ bodies were returned last year in a prisoner exchange deal with Hezbollah, Miki Goldwasser maintains her fight is not over. “I wish I didn’t have to come here, but all three families started this fight together and, as far as I’m concerned, business isn’t finished,” she said.

“It’s a horrible, frustrating feeling to stand in front of the prime minister once again,” she said.

“It made me very angry when he said that 20,000 protesters strengthen Hamas and hurt negotiations,” she said in response to a comment by the prime minister about Shalit’s protest tent. “He should know that 77% of this nation supports our struggle and demands Gilad be brought home at any cost,” she said.

“It’s not 20,000, but several million. He thinks the protesters are strengthening Hamas? Everything he’s done so far strengthens Hamas, including messing up Operation Cast Lead, which had very high potential and whose results have disappeared,” Goldwasser raged, adding that Olmert should come out and speak with the family and its supporters in the tent.

“The kidnapping took place during your tenure. Be brave and leave the table clean, when you’ve finished something,” she said, framing a message to Olmert.

Goldwasser added that she does not have high expectations from the expected new government. “Unfortunately, my confidence is deteriorating. I can’t trust in political leadership. That having been said, a new government is on the way in and we need to give them a chance.”

{Yair Alpert-Matzav.com Israel/Yediot Achronot}