Shalit and Friends
The image of Gilad Shalit is a familiar one at European shuls. Last winter, a large poster of the soldier hung in front of the Great Synagogue in Rome. Accompanying Shalit was an image of Ron Arad, an Israeli aviator missing since 1986.
French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt is the surprise personality here. “I didn’t know she was Jewish,” remarked my father, as I called him in Israel to tell him of the banner. “Besides, wasn’t she freed from captivity already?”
Synagogue de la Paix, Strasbourg, early September.
