The sixth anniversary of the capture of downed Israeli air force navigator Ron Arad was marked Friday by the release of hundreds of blue and white balloons over the boder with Lebanon, where he was shot down in 1986.
The gas-filled balloons were launched by hundreds of children from the cliffs overlooking the sea at Rosh Hanikra, in the hope that they would be seen and taken as a message of optimism and encouragement by Arad, wherever he is being held.
The pilot of the plane on which Arad was navigator was saved by a helicopter rescue crew, but they could not get to Arad before he was captured by local farmers and handed over to a terrorist organization.
According to reports, he was subsequently “sold” by one organization to another, and his exact whereabouts are not known.
During the anniversary ceremony, a small plane circled overhead, dragging a banner reading: “Ron Arad – Born Free.”
The fate of Arad, and the lack of news about other Israelis posted as “missing,” was raised Friday by Israel’s new ambassador to the United Nations, Gad Ya’acobi, when he presented his credentials to U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali.
The U.N. head is reported to have assured Ya’acobi that he is making every effort to obtain information about Arad and other Israelis missing in Lebanon.
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