Jewish Leaders Call for Concerted Global Action to Save Lives of Beirut Jews Kidnapped by Extremists

Leaders of three national Jewish organizations have called for swift, concerted action by the world community to combat global terrorism and specifically to try to save the lives of Beirut Jews kidnapped by a Moslem extremist group last March 29 and now being systematically murdered by their abductors. (Related story from Israel, P.3.)

The latest call for international cooperation against terrorists by the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, the American Jewish Committee and the American Jewish Congress was prompted by the discovery on January I of the body of Isaac Tarrah, 53, one of four Jews seized by a group calling itself “The Organization of the Oppressed of the World.” He was the second murder victim. The first, Haim Cohen Halala, was found dead in Beirut on December 25.

In each case, the discovery of the bodies was followed by an announcement by the killers that they were “executed” in revenge for the killing of Shiite Moslems in south Lebanon by the Israel-backed South Lebanon Army (SLA).

Abraham Foxman, associate national director of the ADL and head of its International Affairs Division, sent a telegram to United Nations Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar on January 3, urging immediate international action to save the kidnapped Jews still alive.

“The murder of a second Lebanese Jew in Lebanon within a week heightens the urgency for international action,” Foxman’s message said. “We urge you to call on member nations, particularly Syria and Iran, to use their influence with the Shiites in Lebanon. We further urge that you use your influence with Islamic and other religious leaders to bring about the release of those Jews still being held. In light of this week’s tragic events, it is clear that time is of the essence.” David Gordis, executive vice president of the American Jewish Committee, expressed “its profound sorrow and outrage at the news of the cruel and brutal execution” of Tarrah, a retired professor of mathematics. He pointed out that neither Tarrah nor Hallala, a 39 year-old Beirut businessman, were “involved in any way in domestic Lebanese politics or in the Arab-Israel conflict.

“Despite this latest outrage, the American Jewish Committee will not be deterred from its ongoing efforts to secure the release of the remaining Lebanese Jewish hostages,” Gordis said. “We once again implore the nations of the world to make a concerted effort to combat international terrorism, as they have unanimously pledged to do in the United Nations.”

Henry Siegman, executive director of the American Jewish Congress, also expressed “horror and anger at the barbaric murder of Isaac Tarrah … by Moslem fundamentalist killers.” He noted, “This latest outrage is chillingly reminiscent of the ruthless and senseless murder of wheelchair-bound Leon Klinghoffer, an American Jew, by the Achille Lauro terrorists and the setting apart of the Jewish passengers during the hijacking of the TWA airliner last June.”

Siegman observed, “Although these three outrages were perpetrated by different Arab terrorist groups, all three were characterized by a common pattern of singling out Jews for special abuse. This obscene practice gives the lie to Arab terrorist insistence that they are fighting Israel, not Jews.”