Shark-fish tale by captive Israeli soldier becomes a book for children

Schalit, now a 21-year-old Israeli corporal, was seized in June 2006 by Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip in a cross-border raid into Israel. Two of his comrades were killed in the attack. Secret negotiations on a prisoner swap deal have stalled, and he remains a captive in Gaza.

The story, When the Shark and the Fish First Met, was published as a children’s book on Saturday, with its 64 pages illustrated by 29 Israeli artists. The project is also on display in a gallery in Nahariya, the Mediterranean town where Schalit was born.

In the story, which Schalit wrote as a fifth-grade student in 1997, a shark is about to eat a little fish, but the fish persuades the shark to let him live. Instead, the two play hide-and-seek underwater and become friends. But their mothers disapprove. “The fish is an animal we eat. Don’t play with it!” the shark’s mother tells him.

After avoiding each other for a year, the two meet again. The shark says, “You’re my enemy, but shall we make up?”

The fish agrees, and eventually the two announce their friendship to their mothers. “Since that day, the sharks and the fish have lived in peace,” wrote Schalit.

One of Schalit’s teachers found the story while doing spring cleaning last year and brought it to his family, said Noam Schalit, Gilad’s father.

“This is a message from an 11-year-old kid who believes that even enemies can live together in the end,” Schalit said. “It’s amazing how relevant that is to his situation today.”

Mazal Gabai, Gilad Schalit’s fifth-grade teacher, said he wrote the story after she taught them about parables. “I believe that the prophecy will come true, and the two will live together,” she told Israel Radio.

“The message is clear - nothing can happen without dialogue. Even if the other side is extremely difficult, we’ll find a way to bridge the gaps.”

All of the illustrators who took part in the project volunteered their work.

Talks over Schalit’s release have produced no results so far.

Hamas wants Israel to free hundreds of Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis, which Israel has refused to do, though the Government recently has been discussing relaxing its criteria for a prisoner release in order to bring Schalit home.

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