The families of the 65 Israeli prisoners of war in Syria received their first letters last night. The letters, written in Hebrew on Red Cross form, were brought from Damascus by a Red Cross representative yesterday and were immediately delivered to the addressees’ homes by couriers from the Army Manpower Division despite the late hour.
They were the second communications received by the POW families from their sons. Last month, the Red Cross delivered only forms on which each prisoner had signed his name. Last night it was letters. They were brief. But each prisoner said his condition was satisfactory. Wounded prisoners said they were confident they would recover and soon be home.
The POWs’ families, though overjoyed by the letters, are becoming increasingly restive over the delay in affecting a POW exchange with Syria. Relatives of prisoners joined with the families of soldiers missing on the Syrian front in a rally today to demand that a POW exchange be conducted immediately irrespective of disengagement negotiations with Syria.
They demanded further that wounded prisoners be returned home forthwith and that the bodies of 15 Israeli soldiers who died in prison, according to the Syrian Ministry of War, be returned immediately for burial. The families are also asking that matzos and other Passover foods be delivered to the POWs so that they can have some sort of seder during Passover next month.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
