Chanukah Heroes
ON THIS FOURTH NIGHT, we remember all the Israeli soldiers who are missing in action. Israel's young soldiers, modern-day Maccabees, defend the Jewish homeland, enabling Israel to build and sustain a flourishing society based on democratic values.
Chanukah Hero:
Gilad Shalit, Abducted IDF Soldier
Gilad Shalit is a 22-year-old IDF soldier who was abducted by the terrorist organization Hamas on June 25, 2006. The terrorists tunneled from the Gaza Strip into Israeli sovereign territory, killing two IDF soldiers and kidnapping Corporal Shalit near Kerem Shalom. Despite the ceaseless efforts of his family and the international Jewish community, Hamas continues to hold Shalit captive in the southern Gaza Strip over two years later.
Shalit is a Chanukah Hero because:
- As an IDF soldier, he defended the Jewish people, and he has had borne the extreme injustice of enduring over two years of captivity as part of this service of his country.
