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June 6, 2008
An Israeli's tale of hope
Childhood story promotes the message of tolerance.
RHONDA SPIVAK
When he was 11 years old, Gilad Schalit, the Israeli soldier who today continues to be in Hamas captivity, wrote an allegorical children's story for a Grade 5 class assignment. The tale, entitled When the Shark and the Fish First Met, is about peace and tolerance, and has been on Israeli bestseller lists since its publication earlier this year.
Schalit was abducted on June 25, 2006, in an attack by Hamas terrorists near Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, near Gaza. He will be 22 years old on Aug. 28.
Schalit's children's story is about the struggle that a fish and a shark go through to overcome their natural enmity for each other, in order to ultimately become friends. In the book's foreword, Schalit's parents, Noam and Aviva, remind the world that the values of peace and tolerance were ones upon which Schalit was raised.
Schalit begins his tale: "A small and gentle fish was swimming in the middle of a peaceful ocean, when suddenly a shark appears and chases him. Suddenly the fish stops swimming away and turns to the shark, asking 'Why do you want to devour me? We can play together?' The shark replies: 'OK, fine. Let's play hide and seek.' "
The two sea creatures playfully begin to swim and develop their friendship, over the objections of their respective families.
Schalit's story concludes: "The shark said, 'You are my enemy, but maybe we can make peace?' The little fish said: 'OK.' They played secretly for days, weeks and months, until one day the shark and the fish went to the fish's mother and spoke with her ... and did the same thing with the shark's mother. And from that same day, the sharks and the fish live in peace. The end."
The story was found last year by a former grade school teacher among her belongings at home and was brought to Schalit's parents. They did not remember that he had written it.
Schalit's parents posted the story on the habanim.org website, a site that advocates the return of Israel's abducted soldiers. In a letter on the website, they ask children, parents and teachers "to discuss the story and how it relates to the issue of kidnapped soldiers. This way we can keep them in mind ... and be connected to the strong hope in all of our hearts that they will return home soon [and] that we will all live in peace and security."
After word of Schalit's newly found story became public, the owners of the Edge Art Gallery in Nahariya, together with the Israeli Illustrator's Association, presented a series of exhibitions across Israel, which showcased illustrations by renowned Israeli artists inspired by Schalit's text.
In January 2008, the Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature compiled the professional illustrations and published Schalit's story as a children's picture book.
All profits from the sale of the story will be dedicated to advance the funding of activities designed to help release Schalit, and two other captured Israel Defence Forces soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.
So far, the book has been published only in Hebrew, but it will be translated into Italian shortly and plans are underway to have it translated into English.
Rhonda Spivak is a Winnipeg freelance writer.
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