“Gilad Shalit is coming home. Not only to Noam and Aviva, his parents, but to every family in Israel. For every Israeli adult who serves in the army, and then watches his children do the same, many while they continue to perform their own annual reserve duty, Gilad could be anyone’s child. The nightmare of the past five years and four months in which he has been held captive by Hamas – with no access to his family or even the Red Cross – has been a national trauma.

For five years, the national concern for Gilad (in Israel no surname is necessary) has found expression in mass vigils, marches and a permanent tent gathering outside the Prime Minister’s home, all proclaiming the slogan “Gilad is still alive”.

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