Mother Seeks Justification for Death of Her Son in Lebanon

The bereaved mother of a young Israeli soldier killed in the early stages of the war in Lebanon last summer had a lengthy meeting with former Defense Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday. Mrs. Raya Harnik, still mourning her son, Goony, who fell in the battle for the Beaufort Castle, a Palestinian terrorist strongho in south Lebanon, said she continues to seek a justification for his death.

Sharon asked her to his office after receiving a letter from Mrs. Harnik explaining why the parents of the six soldiers who died in the assault on Beauf Castle felt bitterness toward him. On the evening following the battle, Sharon had declared on television that there had been no Israeli fatalities. When error was discovered, Sharon should have apologize to the parents, but he never did. Harnik wrote.

Sharon, now a Minister-Without-Portfolio, told Mrs. Harnik during their 2 1/2 hour meeting that he was occupied at a Cabinet meeting at the time and later simply forgot to correct a statement he made to a television crew that he would not apologize to people who called him “murderer.”

According to a report in Yediot Achronot, Sharon also told Mrs. Harnik, “Nobody can understand you better. Both of us are bereaved parents.” Sharon’s young son was killed accident ally while playing with a loaded gun at home.

The Sharon-Harnik meeting ended with a silent handshake. Mrs. Harnik told reporters later, “He did not convince me, neither did I convince him. I am still looking for the justification for Goony’s death.”