Zehava Shaul z"l: Farewell to a Lioness Mother
A personal farewell article by Avi Kalo, former head of the POW and MIA Department in Military Intelligence, in memory of Zehava Shaul, mother of Golani soldier Oron Shaul z"l, who fell in battle in Shejaiya in 2014 and whose body is held in Gaza. Kalo describes her tireless struggle to bring her son back, the intelligence and political difficulties, and the closure with the IDF's entry into the Strip.
A personal and poignant farewell article by Avi Kalo, who served as head of the POW and MIA Department in Military Intelligence, in memory of Zehava Shaul z"l, mother of Golani Staff Sergeant Oron Shaul z"l. Oron fell in battle in Shejaiya on the night of July 20, 2014, and his body is held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Kalo describes the deep personal bond formed with Zehava and her family over the years, and her tireless struggle to bring her son back. He reveals the pessimistic intelligence assessments he conveyed to her along the way, the difficulties in gathering intelligence in the Strip after Operation Protective Edge, and the stagnation in the negotiation process for the return of the missing, stemming from the conception that "Hamas is deterred and weakened" and that it is possible to "change the equation." Kalo notes that the IDF's entry into the Strip after October 7 changed intelligence capabilities and enabled a breakthrough in Oron's case. The article ends with a sense of closure and a call for unity, while noting Zehava's expectation that we return to "the good and benevolent Israeli-ness."