BRUSSELS (EJP)--- Busloads of people descended upon Schuman Square, in the heart of the EU quarter of Brussels, on Wednesday afternoon to join a rally to show solidarity and support for the families of the three Israeli soldiers abducted this summer.

As well as local Belgians, many of the supporters came from France as well as other European countries including Germany, Holland and Italy. They gathered and shouted slogans such as “Free our soldiers”, “Bring them home” and “Save the hostages”.

Chanting “Am Yisrael Chai” (The people of Israel lives), they appealed to the European Union for its help in securing the release of Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.

So far the three young men are still held by Hamas and Hezbollah and the families have not received any sign of life until now.

Goldwasser and Regev were abducted on July 12 by Hezbollah, an incident which sparked off the 34-day conflict between Israel and the Lebanese group, while Shalit was kidnapped in June by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Symbolic venue

The Brussels rally took place symbolically in front of European Commission and the European Council of Ministers headquarters on the day the European Parliament opened its monthly session.

Many protesters carried banners featuring photos of Shalit, Goldwasser and Regev, while others simply waved flags of Israel and of the European Union.

The security surrounding the event was tight, but all remained peaceful outside.

“Our fight will not stop until the soldiers will be released,” said Roger Pinto, head of the French Siona organization, which initiated the rally, in a speech opening the event.

“Europe has a particular responsibility to make that UN Security Council resolution 1701 be applied,” he said. The resolution calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the three soldiers.

Red Cross criticised

Several speakers criticized the fact the International Red Cross was unable to give the families any information about the whereabouts of their sons as “unacceptable”.

Roger Cukierman, head of CRIF, the umbrella group of French secular Jewish organizations, denounced the use of European money to help “bloodthirsty people for whom the human being is a bargaining chip”.

“Your children are our children. We will not let our political leaders sleep serenely as long as your children are not returned home,” he told the families.

Jana Hybaskova, a Czech MEP and chairwoman of the delegation with Israel, promised “to do our best to push the EU institutions and the EU member states to implement international law and the Geneva conventions”. “The families have the right to know where their sons are,” she said.

Families reiterate call

As they did earlier Wednesday at the European Parliament, the families called on the EU to use its influence in Lebanon and with the Palestinians to obtain the release of the three men. “We call on the European countries to help us obtain a sign of life from our children,” said Miki Goldwasser, Ehud’s mother, who thanked the Jewish communities for their support. “Don’t let them be forgotten and help us bring them home”.

Her feelings surrounding the rally were mixed. When asked what he thought about the cause, a Belgian young man who asked not to be identified told EJP: “I find that this is a bit ridiculous. Why should we all come out to protest the three kidnapped soldiers when there is so much else going on?”

Demonstrators speak out

Phillip from Holland, who returned early from his trip to the United States so that he wouldn’t miss the protest, responded: “We shouldn’t leave those boys on their own, they must be freed.” When asked if he felt that it was the European Union’s responsibility to help free the soldiers, he replied: “Oh yeah, definitely. If they point the finger at Israel…First of all, we didn’t start the war. They must not just look at the side of the Lebanese….we have to get our boys back.”

William Simon, a young man from Strasbourg, said simply that he came because it is important that the soldiers are freed and that it could have been anyone who could have been abducted.

An older French couple, who also wished to remain anonymous, said that “our roots are there (in Israel), and our presence (at this manifestation) will help”.