U.S. Jews Rally for Release of Four Missing IDF Soldiers

Ten years after Capt. Ron Arad disappeared in Lebanon, American Jews rallied for an international effort to secure the Israeli airman’s release.

Arad’s plane was shot down over Lebanon on Oct. 16, 1986, and there have been varying reports over the past decade about his captors and where he was being held.

Israel believes he is still alive.

Several thousand demonstrators attended the rally Monday at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza opposite the United Nations, according to its principal organizer, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

“I am here today, at this place where representatives of nations and countries convene, to ask for the assistance of the international community in bringing about Ron’s release,” Batya Arad, the missing soldier’s mother, told the crowd.

The rally also called attention to the fate of three other missing Israeli soldiers, Staff Sgt. Zvi Feldman, Sgt. Yehuda Katz and Sgt. Zachary Baumel, who were captured in June 1982, during a Syrian-Israeli tank battle in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.

“It feels good to hear that they are not forgotten and that there are groups and coalitions that are working to free them. Unfortunately, they’re not accomplishing it,” said Carol Goldberg, a mother of three who attended the rally. “It’s 10 years, right? That’s a long time not to free some of these guys.”

The alleged captors have not allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit the soldiers and have not confirmed whether the four MIAs are in their possession. Both Iran and Syria, which are believed to have influence over the groups that may be holding the four Israelis, have not been forthcoming with information.

“We will not allow those responsible to get away with this,” Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents, declared to thunderous applause as he addressed the rally. “They will be held accountable to the days of their death and we will hunt them and look for them and hold them responsible until all of them are freed and returned to their families.”

Students from Jewish high schools across the city made up most of the crowd. They carried signs stating “Untie Ron Arad,” “Don’t let the U.N. forget their commitment” and “Don’t forget the hostages when negotiating peace.”

Meira Russ, 15, said her school, Stella K. Abraham Yeshiva High School for Girls, had lobbied in Washington, D.C., twice for the soldiers’ release.

“I feel an emotional and personal attachment to the boys,” she said. “When the Baumels came to the school, as soon as I laid eyes on them I started to cry,” referring to the family of missing soldier Zachary Baumel, who holds dual U.S.- Israeli citizenship.

Among the speakers at the 90-minute rally were other family members of the missing soldiers and Israeli, American and New York City officials.

“I hope they will bring them home soon,” said Sharon Cohen, 23, who recently moved to New York from Israel. “I don’t know if they’ll bring them alive or dead, but they will bring them.”