GILAD SHALIT RELEASED FROM PRISON

WUPJ STATEMENT ON
RELEASE OF
GILAD SHALIT

The World Union for Progressive Judaism, representing 1.8 million Jews around the world is delighted to welcome Gilad Shalit back home to Israel and his family.

After over five years of captivity the nightmare is finally over and the WUPJ wishes Gilad Shalit and his family and friends an easy passage back to normality.

Many countries and numerous people were involved in the negotiations that lead to Shalit's release and in this spirit of co-operation may we pray that goodwill will be generated for future stability in the region.

In this time of joy, however, we must pause to ponder the enormous prices Israel paid to secure Gilad Shalit's release. Our thoughts turn to the families of the victims of some of the terrorists who have been released in this prisoner exchange. The WUPJ understands their misgivings but we hope that this symbolic gesture can outweigh their fears and concerns.

May we see in the New Year with hope and a new beginning.