Emanuela Robinson Steve Blowers Beverlee Swayze Diana Brown Annie Evans The mothers of all three kidnapped Israeli teenagers have taken center stage so far • Now Ophir Shaer, the father of Gil-ad, speaks out for the first time • When it is quiet I can hear Gil-ad calling me for help, he says. We have six children -- five girls and Gil-ad. He is my only son. That was the first thing I thought about when I realized that he was kidnapped: I cannot lose my only son. The bad thoughts are there. I cant erase them. So I tell them: Move aside for now. I clear room in my head for doing things. I focus on being productive for myself and for Gil-ad. I try to control the thoughts, tire myself out with tasks, just to avoid a single moment of quiet. When it is quiet I can hear Gil-ad calling me for help. Ophir Shaer, 43, is the last person you would ever imagine in a situation like this: standing in front of television cameras, walking red carpets at the Presidents Residence. It was the mothers of each of the three abducted teenagers who took center stage. Bat-Galim, Naftali Frenkels mother Rachel and Eyal Yifrachs mother Iris all possess the kind of personalities and eloquence that propelled them to the front. The three mothers have become a symbol. Their spouses, Avi, Uri and Ophir, stand behind them, both physically and mentally. Silent male support, ostensibly strong, that cracks in this heartbreakingly open conversation. When it becomes necessary, I will take a step toward the front of the stage, but Bat-Galim is better suited for it. Even when I pray, I am not one of those people who rock back and forth in all directions. It is more of an internal experience for me. I have this feeling that we are on a mission. I cant explain why, but the fact that we are here, in this place, is a responsibility. But I am no martyr. I have the fatherly impulse to protect my son, to hold him, hug him, do everything for him. I have moments when I break down. I cry when I see pictures of him, that is why I avoid looking at newspapers. I have these flashes of memories, of me wrapping him up in a tallit [prayer shawl] as we recite a prayer, or of various images from different times in his life.
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 19:38:33 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015