Missing in action | Redeeming captives

Campaign for Israel's MIAs

Dateline 14th December, 2000

1. Overview
· 1982 - 18 Years
· 1986 -14 Years
· 2000 - Abduction in October
2. The Right to Know - The Need to Know
3. Negotiations and Hopes
4. Points to Ponder
5. Campaigns to Free the MIAs
6. More Links
7. Israeli MIAs Forum
8. Ron Arad, Zachary Baumel, Zvi Feldman, Yehuda Katz

Overview

While eight Israelis - seven soldiers and a civilian - are held in captivity by terrorist groups of Lebanese origin with Syrian and Iranian support, eight families are traumatised by not knowing if their sons or husbands are still alive and not being able to have any contact with them. Israel has been trying to establish the whereabouts of these men, captured by organizations which do not represent any national government and do not answer to them, or to International Law.

This unit offers individuals and groups the chance to make a contribution by becoming involved - not simply campaigning, but by being pro-active and making a real difference in the outcomes.

Firstly, by joining together to show closeness and support, we can all help the families cope with the cruelty of this psychological warfare, and show that truly all Israel are brothers - kol Yisrael areivim zeh bazeh.

Secondly, the Mitzvah (precept) of Pidyon Shevuyim - Redeeming Prisoners - commands us to do everything we can to secure the safety and release of all these men.

There is no doubt that public, grass-roots action can influence the outcome of diplomatic efforts: moving an issue which concerns our communities to a top billing on humanitarian and international agendas can make a difference in terms of urgency, efforts and pressures exerted to resolve the issue of information about Israel's 7 missing soldiers and one civilian who disappeared in Lebanon.

This updated unit addresses the issues involved, the recent kidnappings, ideas for individual and group action, new links to information - and also links to the educational resources supplied in the previous series about Israel's MIAs on: http://www.jajz-ed.org.il/news/mias/index.html

1982 - 18 Years

In 1982, Israel sent the IDF into Lebanon to combat the Fatahland which threatened from beyond her borders. Five soldiers were captured at the Battle of Sultan Yakoub with Syrian and Palestinian forces in Lebanon, 1982. Three remain in captivity but there has been no direct contact with them for 18 years; their names are Tzvi Feldman, Zachary Baumel and Yehuda Katz. Various reports have emerged of "sightings" and information, although since 1995 these have been rather at second-hand.

In 1993, Yassir Arafat returned half of Baumel's IDF dog tag, which clearly demonstrates that channels exist to whichever terrorist organization is now holding these three prisoners, and equally to whoever is holding all the others.

1986 - 14 Years

It is now over 14 years since the capture of Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad, who bailed out from his aircraft and fell into the hands of the Amal terrorist organization. He has been seen and photographed (1987) but has been held incommunicado, most probably by Iranian forces, since 1988. Hizbullah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, believes Arad "may still be alive".

Arad is married, with a daughter who was a baby when her father was captured and does not remember him.

2000 - Abduction in October

On 7th October 2000, three Israeli soldiers were led into a planned Hizbullah ambush on a routine patrol on the Israeli side of the Lebanese border. Hizbullah illegally crossed the border to set this trap - some unknown event enticed the soldiers to detour into the Dov mountain range (still on Israeli territory), where they were probably all seriously wounded, captured by a large group of concealed Hizbullah terrorists and abducted into Lebanon. This is all the information that is available from searches of the area.

The three soldiers are:


Staff Sgt. Omer Suaed (Sawayid), aged 27, of Wadi Salameh. Married, with 2 children	Staff Sgt. Binyamin Avraham, aged 20, of Bnei Brak	Sgt Adi Avitan, who will be 21 on 27th December, he is from Tiberias

Eight days later, Elchanan Tannenbaum, a civilian holding an IDF reserve rank of Colonel, was kidnapped by the Hizbullah during a business visit abroad; the precise details remain unclear, but this was a sophisticated entrapment. He is aged 54, married, with children.

Updated: November 2001

On October 30th 2001, the IDF revealed that additional and reliable intelligence information recently received about the 3 missing soldiers had been assessed and led them to conclude that there was a "very high probability" that Benny Avraham, Adi Avitan and Omar Souaed were no longer alive. There were no disclosures about the nature of the new information, except that it was highly sensitive and credible.

The information was passed to the IDF Chief Rabbi, Brigadier General Yisrael Weiss and, in consultation with Israeli Chief Rabbis Lau, Bakshi Doron, former Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and the Muslim clerical leaders, rulings would be issued as to their official status. On Friday, Rabbi Weiss declared all 3 men to be deceased, their burial place unknown, and the Avraham and Avitan families beginning the shiva mourning period. The Souaed family also accepted the decision, but Muslim law requires that 2 adult witnesses testify to the death where the body is not returned, and could not therefore begin a period of mourning with the traditional mourners' tent.

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=90365

There has been no additional information on any of the earlier hostages from the War in Lebanon that could point to whether any of them is alive or not, but Elchanan Tannenbaum is believed to be alive.

The Right to Know - The Need to Know

Since October, there has been no word whether the abducted men are alive and, if so, in what condition they are, or how they are being treated. This is proving a terrible strain on the families and violates every understanding of humanitarian treatment of prisoners, and the laws which are designed to protect their welfare.

The Israeli government views the prime responsibility for the abducted men's safety as that of the Hizbullah. It also holds the Lebanese government responsible for actions undertaken by organizations operating on its territory; it holds the Syrian government responsible, as a sponsor of Hizbullah and terrorism in Lebanon.

All these rights to know are protected in the 1949 Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War - see http://www.mia.org.il/laws.html which is implemented largely through the International Committee of the Red Cross http://www.icrc.org/eng or http://www.cicr.org/eng/icrc

The Red Cross representatives have been unable to obtain any information - and four more families wait to hear whether their sons and husband are alive or not. Rene Cosnik, an ICRC representative, met with the families of the kidnapped Israelis on 11th December and accepted religious items for them. He regretted that he had been unable to see the prisoners or receive any information about them, but assured the relatives that the Red Cross would make every effort to meet the soldiers and provide information on their status.

For over a year, Hizbullah leader Nasrullah has refused to provide any information about the kidnap victims, except for one declaration that they had not been harmed. His response to Israel declaring them to be dead was to call it a ploy to extract admissions from him - he assured viewers that none would be forthcoming.

Israel views this as a further sadistic attack on the morale of the families of these three soldiers and the community of MIA families as a whole.

Negotiations and Hopes

In almost every case of ambush and injury during IDF operations, Israeli soldiers and support forces have spared no effort to bring back both the injured men and the fatalities, with helicopters returning time after time to rescue or search for anyone left behind. The significance of this principle is not lost on the lawless terrorist groups operating from Lebanon.

Since 1983, Israel has a record of willingness to exchange huge numbers of prisoners and terrorists' remains in return for the remains of its own soldiers. At times, this price has been so prohibitive as to raise questions about the precedent that it has created for the future. There have been happy occasions when Israel's POWs have been returned alive; it is hoped that the fact that all eight prisoners are still on the discussion agenda means that they, too, have a chance of survival and return to their families.

Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh and Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz remain cautious about the possibility of a breakthrough in negotiations to free the men abducted in October. The policy they are recommending appears to be to maximize the intervention of international mediators - whether diplomats or humanitarian activists - and minimize public demonstration.

In exchange for its MIAs, Israel has been holding top Hizbullah operative Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid and Amal's Mustafa Dirani in administrative detention (without trial). On 12th December, the Israel Supreme Court rejected an application for their release and, in his ruling, Judge Cheshin specifically stated that it would be inappropriate to free them in the hope that Hizbullah would free Israeli soldiers. Israel also holds many security prisoners who actively engaged in terrorist operations.

Since Israel has truly no idea which of the MIAs is definitely alive, she is entering these negotiations blindfold.

A statement by Hassan Nasrallah of Hizbullah on 14th December, demanded that - simply in return for information about the latest prisoners - Israel supply prior information on what he terms numerous "humanitarian" counts (information about known detainees in Israel; information about remains; also about minefields in Lebanon), and specifically excluded any negotiation over Ron Arad. These are all clear indications that straightforward cooperation will not be forthcoming in this area.

In view of all these facts, Israel will need far more than its own negotiating power to bring about a release of its MIAs.

The three Israeli familes accepted the rabbinical ruling on the loss of their sons with a heavy heart, and a certain apprehension that it would lower the profile of the endeavors on their behalf, but a weight has been lifted from their hearts with the closure. They have been assured by the IDF and the government that no effort will be spared to negotiate for a return of the bodies for burial in Israel. Foreign Minister Shimon Peres appealed to Farouk A-Shara, his Syrian counterpart, to do all he can to expedite the return of the bodies.

Points to Ponder

Pidyon Shevuyim

There are extensive Jewish sources relating to efforts to release Jewish
captives - why it is important according to the Sages; who is obligated and
to what extent; how to integrate this today:
Explore these and discuss what you think Israel should do and what you
can do to help.
See the background units and activities prepared by the AZM:
http://www.jajz-ed.org.il/news/mias/00.html
and http://www.jajz-ed.org.il/news/mias/04.html

Solidarity - Kol Yisrael Areivim

What is our individual and collective capacity to help?
Find out how families and serving soldiers feel - and transform your
solidarity into impact on diplomatic action!
Integrate the curricular ideas from our earlier website unit about MIAs -
simulated introduction using information about the soldiers; Jewish
solidarity (kol Yisrael areivim)
http://www.jajz-ed.org.il/news/mias/02.html
http://www.jajz-ed.org.il/news/mias/02a.html
and http://www.jajz-ed.org.il/news/mias/03.html

The role and responsibility of a humanitarian organization:

Should we focus efforts on international organizations to a greater extent?
As Haim Avraham, father of Staff Sgt Benny Avraham said, "How are our
sons different from American prisoners?", or: why does the ICRC manage
to receive information on many other prisoners around the world, but not
on the Israeli ones?
[See "More Links #9", below for the context and focus of ICRC action.]

Israel's Dilemmas - what would you recommend?

What are the standards and limits which Israel should adopt if a prisoner
exchange becomes possible?

- International Pressure and Action
Israel has withdrawn from Lebanon in May 2000 - see:
http://www.jajz-ed.org.il/actual/lebanon/withdraw.html
When will Lebanon take full responsibility for events in its border zone with
Israel?
What can Israel do to ensure international law enforcement?
How can Lebanon and Syria be subjected to international pressure to at
least rein in what are essentially militia and terrorist groups?

Campaign Focus (see next section)

Discuss:
What can we do to help?
How can we make effective use of our elected representatives?
Can we help the families of the MIAs in any way?

Campaigns to Free the MIAs

1. The UNO as a focus for activity.
Secretary-General Kofi Anan has been more active in the Middle East than many of his predecessors. It is important to organize petitions and further rallies through the UN.
(see:19th October - Rally held at the UN Plaza, New York).
If you need photographs or information for future events or ideas, contact the Israeli Consulate General, NY [212] 499 5410 or the nearest Israeli Consular Office.

2. The International Coalition for Missing Israeli Soldiers - Petition
This website has good biographies and is campaigning for a Petition of 1,000,000 signatures to call for the release of the prisoners.
Please sign the petition to bring our boys home, on the website: http://www.mia.org.il/petition/index.html

POWs - Solidarity Chanukah candle-lighting on December 27th in front of Lebanese embassies around the world.

3. Shabbat Vayeshev Dedication - 23rd December
The weekly portion is about Jacob's yearning for his lost son, Joseph. Dedication of the second day of Chanukah, Shabbat, to the MIAs - all your synagogue and school activities can address the family issues and call for action to help bring these men home safely.

Prayers for the welfare of the MIAs for your congregation, school and group [Hebrew/English] http://www.mia.org.il/prayer/

4. Educational Programming - Solidarity and letter campaigns
Be involved at every level; don't leave a stone unturned in your efforts to help Israel find out about and return her missing and abducted men!

Use the teaching units in schools, synagogues, committees and youth groups, then have them all send letters to:
Elected representatives;
Ambassadors to the UN;
Euro-MPs;
UN Secretary General Kofi Anan;
The ICRC
- to help secure the release of the abducted Israelis and the earlier MIAs.
For format, please see: http://www.ou.org/public/mias/sampleletter.htm

Please write also to the following to ask for their assistance in obtaining news of the MIAs and return of the bodies of the kidnapped soldiers:

Syrian Foreign Minister,
Farouk A-Shara, Lebanese Prime Minister,
PM Tony Blair

Other campaign links [including photos, banners]:
http://www.ou.org/public/mias/

5. Zot Chanukah - A dedication to all our MIAs this Thursday night.

We dedicate this night
A thought, a name,
The hope of freedom, ever bright.
We kindle these last Chanukah lights
To shine for the return of :
1. Zvi Feldman
2. Ron Arad
3. Adi Avitan
4. Zachary Baumel
5. Benny Avraham
6. Yehuda Katz
7. Omar Souaed
8. Elchanan Tanenbaum