Metro

Captivity

Pho to by Kr is ten Ar tz, Mayo r 's Off ice

F amily

Above: Aviva and Noam Shalit flank New York City Mayor Michael

Pho tos by Ang ie Baa n

Bloomberg (center) at the Salute to Israel Parade

Robin Schwartz
Special to the Jewish News

T

hey could be anyone's family. He
could be anybody's son. On Jun.
25, 2006, the lives of Aviva and
Noam Shalit of Mitzpe Hila in the Western
Galilee, and their children, Yoel, 25, and
Hadas, 18, were forever changed.
They were thrust into the international
spotlight when their son and brother Gilad
Shalit, just 19 years old at the time, was
kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists in a
cross-border raid at the Kerem Shalom
crossing between Israel and Gaza. Two
Arabs and two Israel Defense Forces sol-
diers died during the attack and three oth-
ers were wounded. The young IDF soldier
has been held prisoner by Hamas in the
Gaza Strip ever since.
"I have been hoping and waiting for
the day of my release for a long time,'
Shalit says in Hebrew in an eerie video
first shown Oct. 2, 2009. Ifs the only time
he has been seen since the abduction and
the most recent piece of tangible evidence
Shalit is still alive.
Looking thin and pale he continues to
read calmly from a prepared statement,
"I hope the current government under
Benjamin Netanyahu will not waste the
chance to finalize a deal and therefore I
will be able to finally have my dream come

true and be released."
The world watched that video as a
group of outsiders looking in. But, only
one camera crew was there, inside the
Shalit home, as the shades were lowered
and his parents and immediate family
members saw Gilad for the first time in
years. Israeli filmmakers, Tal Goren, 31,
and Tamar Pross, 29, of Tel Aviv were
invited by the family to document that
painful moment and so many others as
part of the film Family in Captivity.

Local Screening
The first North American showing of the
57-minute documentary, which originally
aired on Israeli television, took place Feb.
10 at the Maple Art Theatre in Bloomfield
Township. More than 500 people attended
two screenings sponsored by the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. Goren
and Pross flew in from Tel Aviv to answer
questions from the crowd.
"We really came into this project want-
ing to help the family:' Pross explained.
She and Goren first met and befriended
the Shalits several years ago during an
event in London. The filmmakers eventu-
ally gained the family's trust and were
permitted to follow them with cameras
rolling nearly every day at protests and
demonstrations, during a meeting with
former President Jimmy Carter, and even

Left: Film producers Tal Goren and Tamar Pross of Tel Aviv

smiling pictures of a young Gilad. She says
in their car or at home — in private
she keeps his room neat, exactly as he left
moments when the family struggled to
it, and folds his clothes.
make decisions to facilitate Gilad's safe
"I have a son who just turned 25 and
return. Hamas has demanded the release
I
can
relate to what his mother is going
of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including
,' said Ruth Shayne of Farmington
through'
many convicted terrorists, in exchange
Hills following the
for Shalit's release. In December,
screening. "It really
it appeared a prisoner exchange
is heart wrenching.
might be imminent, but the talks
I
felt like I was liv-
fell apart and no deal has been
ing
it with them as I
reached.
was
watching them:'
"This is heartbreaking and the
After
the attack,
,
'
Pross
said.
story must be told'
neighbors
described
"This movie really didn't have a
the family as
political agenda. For us, this is
"extremely quiet,
very personal. The most impor-
Gilad S halit
gentle and nice" in
tant thing is to help raise aware-
the Jerusalem Post.
ness for this family and keep the
Another neighbor called Gilad "a magical
discussion alive:"
kid, quiet and cheerful, everyone's friend:'
A Web site dedicated to Shalit says he
Behind The Scenes
Before they were seen and heard on televi- loves sports and excelled at math. Because
of his medical profile, he could have
sion and in newspapers across the world,
avoided combat duty when he joined the
Aviva and Noam Shalit and their children
IDF in July 2005, but instead, Gilad chose
were like any family in their tiny town.
to serve in the Armored Corps, following
According to the filmmakers, Noam is an
in his older brother's footsteps.
engineer and Aviva has a part-time job in
"Everybody in Israel knows this family,
addition to the family's bed and breakfast,
everybody. They think they know every
which she still runs on weekends. The
aspect of their lives, but actually they
modest, low-key couple had never spoken
don't," producer/director Goren said. "The
into a reporter's microphone before the
abduction. In the film, Aviva is seen flip-
Captivity on page 10
ping through a family photo album full of

February 18 • 2010

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