Andrew Tucker about Gilad Shalit as Symbol of Israel

Andrew Tucker, executive director of "Christians for Israel", about his organization, Gilad Shalit and Israel.

Dear Yoel Shalit,
Dear friends of Gilad Shalit,
Dear friends of Israel and the Jewish people,

I am delighted to be able to bring you a message on behalf of the European Coalition for Israel. This organization was set up in 2004 in partnership with a number of Christian ministries in Europe, including Christians for Israel, Ebenezer Operation Exodus and Word of Life Ministries. I bring a message today on behalf of tens of thousands of Christians throughout Europe who love and support Israel and the Jewish people.
Since 2004 the European Coalition for Israel has been raising a Christian voice in Europe on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people. Our goal is to urge the European Union and the nations of Europe to make sure that the errors of the past, in which the Church has born such a huge responsibility for the suffering of the Jewish people in Europe, do not happen again. Our motto is: Learning from History.
The European Coalition for Israel has lobbied on behalf of Gilad Shalit in a variety of ways. We visit Brussels and the capital cities of the member States of the European Union regularly, and the release of Gilat Shalit is one of the issues we raise. We submitted a petition to the Red Cross signed by over 30,000 European Christians demanding his release.
Sadly, to no avail. Gilad is still held by Hamas.
I want to tell you that as a Christian living in Europe I am ashamed -- deeply ashamed - that Gilad is still captive and that the nations of Europe have done so little to have him released. We cannot just point the finger at the Red Cross. This is a deep stain on the conscience of all the so-called Christian nations of Europe. We have failed Gilad, we have failed his family, we have failed the Jewish people.
Let us make no mistake. There is a lot at stake here.
As long as Gilad is in captivity, Israel, Europe and the nations of the world are in captivity.
As long as Gilad is not free, Israel, Europe and the nations of the world will not be free.
As long as Galid's life is at risk, the life of Israel, Europe and the nations of the world is at risk.
This, my friends, is not just words. There is a deeper reality to what is happening today in the Middle East. If we ignore it, we will never understand what is really going on, and we will wake up from our dreams too late, only to discover that we have sold the most precious thing we have ever had. Freedom.
Freedom, as most of you know much better than I, is not a gift. You have to fight for it. A price has to be paid, and it could be a high price. Our freedom to gather here today we owe to the millions of our forebears who gave their lives on European soil in the First and Second World Wars. We owe it to the millions of Jews slaughtered like lambs in the lands of Christendom for over 19 centuries.
Are we willing to fight the fight they fought?

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