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May 29, 2002
Orthodox Union Marks Twentieth Anniversary of Captivity of
Israeli MIAs Captured June 11, 1982
Urges Implementation of Laws Mandating State Department Action
On June 11, 1982, Sergeant Zachary Baumel, First Sergeant Tzvi Feldman,
and Corporal Yehuda Katz were reported missing in
action in Syria, captured during the battle of Sultan Yaqub in the
1982 war in Lebanon. This year we sadly mark the twentieth anniversary of
their capture. Their families have struggled long and hard to obtain any
knowledge about what has happened to these men. To this very day, we have
had no information about their whereabouts or the conditions in which they
are being held. Syria, which is responsible for the MIAs according to the
Geneva Convention, and Yassir Arafat, who promised Prime Minister Yitzchak
Rabin more information after presenting him with one-half of Baumel’s I.D.
tag, have consistently refused to divulge what they know. The pain and
anxiety that the families of these MIAs have been undergoing for the past
twenty years is immeasurable.
Governments, international human rights groups, and the United Nations
have been continually approached for assistance in obtaining information
and the release of these MIAs, to no avail. While many of these
organizations have repeatedly condemned Israel in one-sided statements and
resolutions, the issue of Zachary Baumel, Tzvi Feldman, and Yehuda Katz
has been ignored. No international outcry has been heard.
In 1999, bills were passed in the House and Senate, mandating the United
States State Department to raise the plight of these men in all relevant
Middle East discussions. S. 676 and H.R. 1175, acts to help secure the
release of the MIAs, were introduced by Senators Ben Nighthorse Campbell
(R-CO) and John McCain (R-AZ) and by Representatives Tom Lantos (D-CA) and
Benjamin Gilman (R-NY) and passed by overwhelming majorities. These laws
demand that the State Department raise this issue in all relevant Middle
East discussions and report their findings to Congress. The United States
government must take into consideration the willingness of these Arab
countries to assist in locating and securing the MIAs when considering
economic and other types of aid. Yet no word has been heard of any
discussion nor report to Congress by the State Department.
The Institute for Public Affairs of the Orthodox Union is urging everyone
to mark this twentieth year since the MIAs were reported missing by
joining us on a full-scale advocacy campaign to help bring about the end
to the inhumanity of their captivity. Legislators should be contacted to
implement S. 676 and H.R. 1175 of 1999 and urged to demand information
from the State Department about their efforts on behalf of the MIAs.
President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Powell and other
officials should all be enlisted in making this a top priority agenda
issue. That these men have been held for twenty years is an outrage. For
the families of the missing Israeli soldiers, every pain-filled day is a
lifetime. For the sake of decency and respect for human life, for the sake
of humanity and compassion, after twenty years of anguish, let these young
men come home at last. -30-
Take
Action Now!!
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