B'nai B'rith Israel has asked that B'nai B'rith International take on a special initiative this Rosh Hashanah on behalf of Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped by Hamas in June 2006 and has been held captive since.
Since Shalit's capture, B'nai B'rith has joined with the Jewish community to call for his release. We are asking B'nai B'rith units across the globe to show their support for Shalit's cause by writing to the International Red Cross Committee (ICRC) on his behalf. B'nai B'rith must urge the ICRC to fulfill their mission by seeking basic human rights and freedom for Shalit.
The sample letter below should be sent under your lodge/unit's letterhead. It has a space for you to insert the name of the lodge/unit in the body of the letter and should be signed by you as president or other representative.
We are asking you to send the letter to the ICRC by mail, fax or email to:
Mr. Jakob Kellenberger
International Committee of the Red Cross
19 avenue de la Paix
1202 Geneva
Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 733 2057
Email:
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We also ask that you send a copy to the B’nai B’rith World Center at
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or by fax to 972-2-6258097 so that the letters can be presented to Shalit’s parents.
We wish you and your families a Happy and Healthy New Year and thank you for helping B’nai B’rith do what we can to help make this a good new year for the Shalit family, one that will see them reunited with Gilad.
Allan J. Jacobs
President
Daniel S. Mariaschin
Executive Vice President
SAMPLE LETTER
Mr. Jakob Kellenberger, President
International Committee of the Red Cross
19 avenue de la Paix
1202 Geneva
Switzerland
Dear President Kellenberger,
On August 28, Noam and Aviva Shalit marked the sixth anniversary of the capture of their son, Corporal Gilad Shalit, by Hamas – a recognized terrorist organization. Later this month, the Jewish world will celebrate the sixth Hebrew new year – Rosh Hashana, one of our holiest days – with Gilad Shalit still held incommunicado. The Shalits, along with the entire Israeli nation and Jewish people, know nothing about the status of his physical and mental health, the conditions of his imprisonment, or even whether he is still alive.
There can be absolutely no doubt that Shalit’s cross-border abduction six years ago by Hamas and the conditions under which he has been held represent a blatant denial of his most basic human rights, including verifiable proof of life to the outside world, visitation by a relief agency, medical care, and basic minimal communication with his family -- the same rights enjoyed by Palestinian combatants in Israeli jails. Corporal Shalit deserves treatment no less humane than that conscientiously offered by his own country to enemy combatants.
The members of the (YOUR GROUP'S NAME) Lodge (or Unit) of B’nai B’rith, the world’s oldest and largest Jewish and human rights agency, implore the ICRC to fulfill its most solemn mandate, applied by the international community through Geneva Conventions: to visit prisoners of war interned during armed conflict. ICRC detention visits must ensure that Corporal Shalit is treated with dignity and humanity, in accordance with international norms and standards. We further insist that the ICRC rebuke Hamas for its inhumane treatment of Shalit over the past six years.
We urge you to act expeditiously in this crucial matter and thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Respectfully,
(YOUR NAME)
President (OR OTHER TITLE)
(YOUR GROUP'S NAME) Lodge (or Unit) of B'nai B'rith
