Nazi-hunter Beate Klarsfeld has launched an appeal for the immediate and unconditional release of the five Jewish hostages still held in Beirut. Klarsfeld returned to Paris Monday from a three-week stay in Beirut where she had offered to take the place of the hostages but failed to establish any direct contact with their kidnappers.
Seven Lebanese Jews were kidnapped in Beirut in the spring and summer of 1985. Their captors demanded the release of some 100 Lebanese prisoners held by the South Lebanon Army at Khyam, 60 miles south of Beirut, in exchange for their freedom. Two of the kidnapped Jews have since been murdered.
Klarsfeld said upon her return here, “This is a crime against humanity, similar to the Nazi crimes against the Jews.” She called for world public opinion to help obtain the release of the five missing Jews.
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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.
