Gilad Shalit turns 24 tomorrow. It has been over four years since Gilad was kidnapped from Israel by Hamas. None of his family or even the International Red Cross has been permitted to see him since. Not for his birthday, nor even to provide for his most basic humanitarian needs as international law demands.

When Gilad was 11, he wrote a story called “When the Shark and the Fish first met.” The words of a small boy, a maritime allegory, have come to represent the entire conflict. In the video below, posted originally two years ago, a group of 11-year-olds from the Bronx read this story whose author was just like them when he wrote it, except that he hailed from Israel instead of New York.

While the terrorists who hold Gilad captive have taken away his freedom, they have not silenced his voice.

Unfortunately, the international community still has not spoken forcefully enough to secure Gilad’s release. While the world looks on, nothing has changed — four years since he was kidnapped, Gilad is still a hostage, Hamas still refuses to allow the Red Cross to visit him, and there is still no end in sight.

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