PM visits exhibit of fallen Gaza soldier’s art
Ein Hod artists’ village displays paintings and drawings by Lt. Hadar Goldin, whose body is held by Hamas
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday visited an exhibition of the art of IDF officer Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was killed in last year’s fighting in Gaza and whose body has not been recovered.
Goldin’s work, together with photos of him painting, were put on display at the Ein Hod artists’ village in northern Israel alongside paintings by his older brother Chemi and twin Tzur.
“I am moved by the creativity of our dear Hadar, who combined line, color and spirit to give expression to his very soul,” Netanyahu wrote in the guest book. “The drawings are marvelous and serve as a reminder of the magnitude of the loss.”
Goldin painted and drew throughout his life, dedicating his work to his parents, brothers and fiancée.
The prime minister’s wife Sara also penned a dedication.
“Hadar’s rich and sensitive world is revealed here,” she wrote. “His works display an understanding and humor which it is hard to believe were [present] in one so young, a complete world which stays with us after his passing. The pain is mixed with great pride.”
The exhibit came about after artists from Ein Hod visited the Goldin family during the week of mourning following Hadar’s 2014 death, and offered to host an exhibit of the fallen soldier’s work.
Goldin, along with IDF soldier Oron Shaul, were killed in Gaza during last summer’s 50-day military campaign against Hamas.
On July 20, 2014, Shaul was one of seven Israeli soldiers critically wounded when, amid fierce battles in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, his armored personnel carrier became stuck in the middle of a city street and was hit by a Hamas anti-tank rocket.
Goldin was killed in a tunnel attack of Hamas fighters in Rafah on August 1. His body was dragged into a tunnel by the attackers. The IDF pronounced his death based on forensic evidence retrieved from the tunnel by a fellow soldier who rushed in to attempt to rescue him.
Hamas says it is holding the two soldiers’ bodies.
In April, Ruhi Mushtaha, a senior Hamas official who was released from prison as part of a deal that secured freedom for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, said “Hamas will not reveal anything about the fate of the soldiers missing in Gaza without a price,” indicating that Hamas intends to use the missing bodies as bargaining chips to exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
The Gilad Shalit swap in which Israel freed 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the IDF soldier took place in October 2011. A few of the freed prisoners have carried out deadly terror attacks since their release.
The Times of Israel Community.