THE NEVER-ENDING PAIN

In a brilliant Shai from Jerusalem today, Nachman Shai, UJC's Director General, External Affairs, UJC Israel, wrote of Our Family, Our Sons observing once again that "Israel is weeping." And we are weeping as well -- for the grief that our extended family feels right now, is a grief that we, all of us, share as part of the extended family that is the Jewish People. We grieve with the Goldwasser and Regev families in particular and we grieve with and for our Israeli mishpacha.

But we also cry real tears for Smadar Haran, whose family was so viciously murdered by a terrorist almost 30 years ago -- a terrorist who will be welcomed as a "hero" by the terrorists in Lebanon who will welcome him today. I remember leading a Mission to Israel in 1979, our group saying Kaddish at the Haran family graves freshly dug. We pray for them again today and added to our prayers are those for Ehud Goldwasser, z'l, and Eldad Regev, z'l.

We who, as a People, value life before all else, will never understand those who extol death, and, in particular Jewish deaths, before all else. Some day...some day...those who value life will, must, prevail.

Rwexler