The following program has been found!

Program Name:
#N002 - All Israel is Responsible

Age Brackets:

• USY (gr. 9 - 12)

Program Type:

• Social Action/Tikun Olam

Estimated Cost:
Free

Duration:
Less than 2 hours

Required attendance:
Any Amount

Description:

This program deals with the importance of the mitzvah of Pidyon Sh'vuyeem - redemption of captives in general, and specifically Israeli soldiers missing in action and believed held by the terrorist organization, Hizballah. The program combines a review of the basis of the mitzvah as well as suggestions for specific projects on behalf of those missing in action and their families.

Goals

1. The USYers will have the opportunity to clarify the importance of the mitzvah of redemption of captives in the Jewish tradition.
2. The USYers will become aware of the condition of Israeli MIA's and learn to actively identify with their condition.
3. The USYers will have an opportunity to participate in a variety of projects on behalf of the MIAs and the prisoners.

Category of Activity
Social action

Age
USY

Time
One to two hours including ceremony

Method
Group discussion, ceremony

Size of Group
Whole chapter and guests

Keywords
Responsibility, MIAs, Israel, mitzvah, redemption of captives.

Background:
From the beginning, the people of Israel have placed as a supreme value responsibility for one another. One expression of this responsibility has been the mitzvah - pidyon sh'vuyeem, redemption of captives. Abraham the Patriarch taught this mitzvah through personal example when he risked all that he possessed so as to save Lot, his nephew. Lot had been taken captive during the war between the King of Sodom and the Four Kings.

Abraham's response was: "When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he mustered his retainers, born into his household, numbering three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. At night, he and his servants deployed against them and defeated them; and he pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. He brought back all the possessions; he also brought back his kinsman Lot and his possessions, and the women and the rest of the people." (Genesis 14:14-16.)

It is recommended that this story of Abraham be read. Based on Abraham's example, the people of Israel from those days until our day have sought to fulfill this mitzvah and the central value of mutual responsibility in the words "All of Israel is Responsible for One Another." Throughout all the generations, Jewish communities have worked vigorously to free Jews taken prisoner by their enemies.

When Jews began to return to the Land of Israel and the State of Israel was established, this value became a major obligation of the people and the State to its soldiers who went into battle in its defense. Thus, every Israeli and every Jew in the world is obligated to be informed, to identify, and to act in accordance with this value.

Place:
Indoors.

Preparation of Supplies and Resource Materials:

1. Pictures of each of the MIAs and captives.
2. Background materials on the MIAs and captives.
3. Necessary materials for a solidarity ceremony. (See Attachment 2)
4. Printed addresses for distribution.

General Preparation:

1. The room used for this program should be prepared so that it reflects the appropriate mood of identification.
2. Memorial candles should set up and lit in one corner in memory of all of Israeli fallen soldiers.
3. The pictures of captives and the MIAs should be on display. These pictures are available on the Internet (www.mia.org.il/index1.html) and are found in (Attachment 3).
4. There should be information about each of the captives and MIAs hanging on the walls, including their current status.
5. Appropriate background Israeli or other music should be prepared and played during the program.
6. There should be appropriate readings for the program (Attachment 4).

The Program In Detail:

1. The program leaders should begin with a group discussion by presenting the teaching of the Rambam from Hilchot Matanot Ahneeyeem, 8, 6. "There is not greater mitzvah than that of redeeming captives." This idea should be discussed based on the following questions.
• Why do you think that Judaism has placed such importance on this mitzvah?
• What feelings do you have knowing that these soldiers and citizens are being held captive and out of contact in enemy hands?
• What thoughts and feelings can you imagine the MIAs and prisoners have over all these years of being held in captivity?
• What thoughts and feelings can you imagine that the family members of the MIAs and prisoners have?
2. Group projects
• The group leader should divide the chapter into small work groups of 3 to 5 each.
• Each group should get a group task card (Attachment 4) and an information card (Attachment 5).
• Each group should spend some time reviewing, choosing and preparing some program ideas to share with the other chapter members.
• These program ideas should be presented to the entire group. The entire group should choose which program idea or ideas it wants to adopt.
3. Preparing a Solidarity Ceremony.
• a. Basic materials for preparing a ceremony can be found in Attachments 1, 2, 4, and 5. Updated information can found on the web site www.mia.org.il.
• It is recommended that parents, and friends be invited to participate in the ceremony.

Attachments: Resource Texts & Discussion Questions

Attachment 1 - Suggested Solidarity Ceremony

1. Opening - Selected reading of the Psalms

   1. A song, a psalm of Asaph.

   2. O God, do not be silent;
   do not hold aloof;
   do not be quiet, O God!

   3. For Your enemies rage,
   Your foes assert themselves.

   4. They plot craftily against Your people,
   take counsel against Your treasured ones.

   5. They say, "Let us wipe them out as a nation;
   Israel's name will be mentioned no more.

   - Psalm 93: 1-5

2. The participants should go onto the stage or move to the center of the presentation area. Each one should hold a sign which has on it the name and picture of each of the MIAs and prisoners. (Attachment 3).
3. The moderator should begin: "We are holding this ceremony so as to express our solidarity with the families of those Israeli soldiers and citizens who are missing in action or being held prisoner in terrorist captivity. We all pray for their health, safety and safe return to their families and homeland as the Prophet Jeremiah said:

   Thus said the LORD:
   A cry is heard in Ramah
   Wailing, bitter weeping
   Rachel weeping for her children.
   She refuses to be comforted
   For her children, who are gone.
   Thus said the LORD:
   Restrain your voice from weeping,
   Your eyes from shedding tears;
   For there is a reward for your labor declares the LORD:
   They shall return from the enemy's land.

   - Jeremiah 31:15-16

4. Each participant, one at a time, should read the name of the MIAs and add a few details of his personal history. For example, where he grew up, where he went to school, what he liked to do and his age when he fell into captivity or was declared missing, and how long he has been gone.
5. Another participant should light a candle if inside, or released helium inflated balloon as a call for their release.
6. As an alternative, it is possible to include appropriate poetic or prose selections or letters written by students to the MIAs and prisoners. Between each reading it is possible to play appropriate music.
7. The program should conclude with the prayer for the welfare of the MIAs and prisoners. (Attachment 2).

Attachment 2 - Prayer for the Missing in Action Israeli Soldiers
The following prayer was composed by the Chief Rabbinate of Ramat Gan, Israel. We urge you to adopt it at your Synagogue.

He who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Joseph, Moses, Aaron, David and ' Solomon, may He bless, preserve and protect the captive and missing soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces including:

Yekutiel Yehuda Nachman ben Sarah (Katz)
Zecharia Shlomo ben Miriam (Baumel)
Zvi ben Penina (Feldman)
Ron ben Batya (Arad)
Elchanan ben Rivka (Tannenbaum)
Guy ben Rina (Hever)

May He Rescue them from captivity and speedily restore them in peace, in the merit of the prayers of this holy assemblage who pray for them. May the Holy One, Blessed be He, show them mercy, increase their strength, remove their pain and send them a recovery of body and recovery of spirit, may He return them to the bosom of their families, (On Sabbath: The Sabbath prohibits us from crying out, may salvation come speedily) swiftly and soon. Now let us respond: Amen.

Attachment 3 - Pictures

Attachment 4 - Cards for Group Assignments
These assignments are for groups of 3 to 5 USYers.

Instructions:
Your task is to take at least three ideas and turn them into a program or project on behalf of the Israeli MIAs and prisoners. Here are some examples:

1. Organize the preparation of letters of support and encouragement for the families of the MIAs and prisoners. Try to include as many letters as possible, not just from the USY chapter members.
2. Prepare a solidarity ceremony on behalf of the MIA's and prisoners at your synagogue, USY Kinnus, school or another appropriate setting.
3. Organize a petition signing campaign. These petitions will be sent to UN Secretary General and U.S. Members of Congress and Members of the Canadian House of Commons.
• U.S. Senate Members
• U.S. Members of Congress
• House of Commons, Parliament Buildings, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6, Canada
• United Nations - inquiries@un.org

Attachment 5 - Background Information on MIAs and Prisoners
The sword is worse than death, famine is harder than the sword, captivity is worst of all..." (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Bava Batra 8b).

Since the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, over four hundred Israeli soldiers have been declared "Missing in Action" (MIA). Only nine of these cases are officially listed as "soldiers missing but presumed to be alive." Three of the soldiers - Zachary Baumel (an American citizen), Tzvi Feldman and Yehuda Katz were captured in 1982. The fourth - Ron Arad - was captured in 1986. Over the years there has been a steady flow of information indicating that at least some of these MIAs may be alive and are being held under Syrian and Iranian control. Despite the diplomatic and military efforts of over seven successive Israeli governments, almost no progress has been made in determining the fate of the missing men.

Recently, five more names were added to the list of the missing. On October 7th, 2000, Hizbullah terrorists, in a clear-cut violation of International law, crossed the Lebanese border into Israel and abducted three Israeli soldiers. The soldiers - Adi Avitan, Binyamin Avraham and Omar Souad - were being held in Lebanon. On October 15, 2000, Hizbullah announced that another Israeli citizen, 54-year-old Elchanan Tannenbaum (Col. Res.), had also been taken captive. In 1997, Guy Hever went missing from his army base in the Golan. In November, 2001, the Israel Defense Forces, with the IDF Chief Rabbinate declared Adi Avitan, Binyamin Avraham and Omar Souad as "killed in action whose place of burial is unknown."

The issue is of extraordinary import in Israel, where almost every household has a loved one serving in the armed forces. Although the United States and other countries have suffered and struggled with their own MIA problems, Israelis, due to religious, historical, and cultural factors, have a particular sensitivity to the issue. In Israel's military tradition, significant risks have been taken even for the return of bodies. And so, the issue continues to make headlines in Israel, and even Israeli schoolchildren know the names and personal histories of the missing men.

The International Coalition for Missing Israeli Soldiers (ICMIS) has worked tirelessly both in Israel and abroad, on behalf of the MIAs and their families. The Coalition is a non-profit and non-partisan body, dedicated to keeping this humanitarian cause on the international agenda. Gallup polls have demonstrated that ICMIS represents the broadest consensus in Israeli society in demanding that the MIA issue be resolved first in any peace negotiations with Israel's Arab neighbors. Over the last eight years Israel has released thousands of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails - the time has now come for all of Israel's captive sons to return home.

Attachment 6 - A History of the MIAs and Prisoners

• June 1982:
• Israeli MIAs in Syrian Controlled Lebanon:
  On June 11, 1982, Israeli soldiers Zachary Baumel, Tzvi Feldman, and Yehuda Katz go missing in a battle with Syrian and Palestinian forces near the Lebanese village of Sultan Yaqub. Two other captured Israelis, Hezi Shai and Aryeh Lieberman, are later freed in prisoner exchanges in 1984 and 1985.
• Israeli Soldiers Paraded in Damascus:
  Several hours after the battle, Time Magazine, AP, and La Stampa report three Israeli prisoners on display in a "victory march" in Damascus. The account was also reported by the Syrian media and western diplomats.
• CBS Reports Damascus Parade:
  CBS television broadcast the "parade" of a captured Israeli tank and crew being paraded through the village of Ayta, near Damascus.
• July 1982:
• Burial in Damascus:
  Three weeks after the battle, Palestinian military personnel and members of the Syrian secret police deliver four bodies to the Jewish cemetery in Damascus for burial. The Syrians claim that the bodies were those of the missing Israeli soldiers. (This claim is later refuted - see 1983)
• August 1982:
• Interview Outside Damascus:
  CBS cameraman Ricky Romano is invited by PLO officer Abu Nidal to interview Israeli prisoners northeast of Damascus. Access denied by Ahmed Jibril's Syrian sponsored PFLP-GC (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command), claiming that Abu Nidal has no authority to show the prisoners.
• November 1982:
• PLO Officer:
  "We Have Israeli Prisoners" - Allan Pizzey of NBC interviews Colonel Abu Ziad who claims that Palestinians are holding at least five more prisoners in addition to the six acknowledged.
• 1983:
• East-West Security Council:
  "Baumel is Alive" - John Mroz, head of the East-West Security Council, learns from Palestinian sources that Baumel is alive.
• French Dignitary:
  "Israeli MIAs are Alive" - Mme. Mendes France tells the Katz and Feldman families that the Quai d'Orsay has information that the men are alive.
• Damascus Graves Exhumed:
  On September 17th , the Red Cross exhumes the four bodies, which Syria had buried in the Damascus Jewish cemetery, claiming they are the Israeli MIAs. Only one body belongs to an Israeli soldier - Zohar Lipschitz - who was killed at the battle of Sultan Yaqub. "We sent Israel the bones of dogs, and Israel may protest as much as it likes." (Mustafa Tlass, Syrian Defense Minister, in an interview in Al- Majalla, London based Saudi weekly, August 4-10,1984)
• 1984:
• Sultan Yaqub MIA Returns Alive:
  Israeli MIA Aryeh Lieberman, captured by Syrian troops in Sultan Yaqub, is freed and returns to Israel. Lieberman was in the same tank as Zachary Baumel, Tzvi Feldman, and Hezi Shai - all of whom are missing in action at this time.
• BBC: "Baumel is Alive"
  Stuart Young of BBC relays information that Baumel is alive.
• Assad's Brother:
  "There Are More Israeli Prisoners" - Rifat Assad, brother of Syrian President Hafez Assad, is quoted in the Lebanese newspaper Monday Morning, that there are other Israeli prisoners of war.
• Syrian Official: "More Israelis Held by Jibril"
  Mustafa Tlass, Syrian Defense Minister, tells Franz Joseph Strauss that there are three more Israeli prisoners in addition to the 3 being held by Ahmed Jibril's Syrian sponsored PFLP-GC (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command).
• Princess Dina Brings Wax Copy of Baumel Dogtag:
  Princess Dina of Jordan presents Israeli journalist Aharon Barnea with a newly made wax impression of Zachary Baumel's complete dog tag.
• 1985:
• Second Sultan Yaqub MIA Returns Alive:
  Sultan Yaqub MIA Hezi Shai, originally presumed dead by Israeli authorities, is freed in a prisoner exchange between Israel and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC, headed by Ahmed Jibril). Shai was the commander of the tank carrying MIAs Feldman and Baumel. Aryeh Lieberman, the fourth crewman, was returned to Israel in a prisoner exchange in 1984.
• Drug Dealer Saw Israeli POWs:
  Yona and Miriam Baumel (parents of MIA Zachary), and Ori Slonim (Israeli attorney and advisor to the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin), locate an Arab drug dealer in Denmark, who had served time in the Tadmor Prison in Syria. (Israelis had been secretly held in Tadmor Prison in the 1950's.) He claims he saw Israeli prisoners of war in Tadmor after the Lebanon War.
• Jordanian TV: "Baumel Seen in Captivity"
  Jordanian TV Hebrew language news anchor, Haroun Machamid, announces on Jordanian television that Zachary Baumel is alive and is being held by Palestinians. When interviewed in Amman before U.S. consular officials, he described seeing Israeli captives in the Bekka Valley (winter 82-83). He said he was warned by Jordanian secret service to discuss only Baumel.
• 1986:
• Captain Ron Arad Captured:
  On October 16th 1986, Israeli Air-Force navigator Ron Arad bails out of his damaged Phantom over Lebanon and is captured by Amal - a Lebanese Shi'ite militia led By Nabih Berri, today the speaker of the Lebanese parliament.
• 1987:
• Letter from Arad:
  A Lebanese Shiite businessman, code-named the "Scout" by Israeli authorities, produces letters and a picture from Arad confirming that the missing airman is alive and in Amal hands. (Ha-aretz)
• Yugoslav Ambassador: "Baumel is Alive"
  Ivan Tosevski, Yugoslav Ambassador to Finland, and head of the UN Working Committee on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances, reports to Israeli ambassador Lador that he knows Baumel is alive.
• AP Bureau Chief: "Baumel is being held in Syria"
  Louis Farres, AP Bureau Chief in Damascus, tells BBC reporter Gerald Butt that Baumel is alive and is being held in Syria.
• Syrian Eyewitness: "I Saw Baumel Alive"
  A Syrian, working for Israeli intelligence, reports to Israel that Baumel is alive. The source is later executed by the Syrians. (Reported in "Missing Intelligence" by Steve Rodan, Jerusalem Post International Edition, June 25, 1994)
• 1988:
• Amnesty International: "Reports of MIAs in Syrian Custody"
  The 1988 Amnesty International Report states (page 254): "Reports were received in mid-1987 suggesting that three Israeli soldiers who "disappeared" in 1982, following their capture after a battle in eastern Lebanon, were alive and in Syrian custody.
• East German Intelligence Sources: "Zachary Baumel is alive."
• Arad "Sold" to Iranians:
  Israel's negotiations with Amal break off. Arad is "sold" to Iranian forces in Lebanon by Amal official Mustafa Dirani.
• 1989:
• Proposed Exchange Arad for Soviet Spies:
  Israeli attorney Amnon Zichroni representing Marcus Klingberg, a Soviet agent apprehended by the Israelis, receives permission to negotiate an agreement in which East Germany and the Soviet Union would exchange Soviet spies Klingberg and Kalmanovitch for hard information regarding Arad. The deal falls through with the collapse of the Eastern Bloc.
• 1990-1991:
• Episcopalian Clergyman Samir Habiby: "Israelis being held in Syria."
• Eastern Orthodox Clergyman Reports:
  Baumel and Feldman were moved from the Damascus area to the Beirut area.
• Jibril on CNN: "Three Israeli soldiers are alive."
• 1992:
• Egyptian Sources: "Baumel is Alive."
• Confirmation of 1988 East German reports on Baumel.
• 1993:
• Time Magazine Reporter Confirms Eyewitness Account:
  Time correspondent Dean Brelis confirms his eyewitness account of Israeli soldiers being paraded along with captured tanks, through Damascus shortly after the Battle of Sultan Yaqub. Deposition submitted to the Red Cross.
• Russian Near East Expert Reports:
  Two Israeli soldiers are alive and being held in southern Lebanon.
• Arafat Returns Half of Baumel's Dogtag:
  Yasser Arafat delivers half of Baumel's dogtag to Jacques Nerieh, advisor to Prime Minister Rabin. Arafat promises that more information will be forthcoming. Nothing further is heard on the issue from Arafat.
• Iranian Source: "Arad is Alive"
  Information placing Arad alive and in Teheran, is given high credibility rating by Israeli intelligence. (Ha'aretz)
• 1994:
• US Congressional MIA Committee:
  Syria allows a U.S. Congressional Committee on Israeli MIAs to visit Lebanon and Syria to investigate. After discovering no new information on the MIAs the Committee requests to make a return visit to the region. The Syrians refuse.
• Prime Minister Rabin: "Arafat Knows"
  "Rabin also told the Russian Premier that... Arafat had promised him more information about Israeli MIAs, but has not been forthcoming... fearing it would complicate his relations with Syria." (Jerusalem Post April 26, 1994)
• Jacques Chirac: "Assad Knows"
  "I spoke to my friend, the Prime Minister of Lebanon, and he told me in no uncertain terms that only Assad knows what happened to the [Israeli] POWs." (Jacques Chirac, Ma'ariv April 24, 1994)
• 1995:
• Jordanian Journalist Confirms Eyewitness Account:
  At a Jerusalem press conference, Jordanian journalist Haroun Machamid gives details of his visit to the Bekka valley in 1983 where he claims he saw Zachary Baumel in captivity.
• Congress Includes MIAs in MEPFA:
  (September) The U.S. Congress passes the Middle East Peace Facilitation Act (MEPFA). One of the clauses stipulates that the PLO must provide the United States with information regarding American nationals known to have been held at any time by the PLO or its factions, as a condition to receiving $500 million of American aid. U.S. Senator Jesse Helms states from the floor of the Senate that the only American national known to have been held by forces connected to the PLO is Israeli MIA and American citizen, Zachary Baumel.
• Close Friend of Assad: "Baumel is Alive"
  Ibrahim Suliman, a Syrian-American close to Syrian President Hafez Assad, reports there is information in Damascus that Baumel and Arad are alive. (Channel 1 interview with Ehud Ya'ari)
• 1997:
• Empty Graves in Damascus (again):
  U.S. government officials tell the Baumels that graves in Damascus reported to contain the remains of Israeli MIAs, had been exhumed. The "MIA graves," located with PLO information, were found to be empty. The graves contained the bones of animals.
• Palestinian General: " We Captured Living Soldiers"
  Palestinian General Abdul al Chai, tells Arab Knesset Members visiting Syria, that his forces captured live Israeli soldiers in Sultan Yaqub.
• 1998:
• Sultan Yaqub Tanks in Moscow:
  Russian TV reports that the Syrians had shipped an Israeli tank to Moscow. After further investigation it was confirmed that the tank had been captured in the Battle of Sultan Yaqub. The tank is presently on display in a Russian military museum. (Ha'aretz, Jerusalem Post, Ma'ariv, Yediot Ahronot, May 19 - 22)
• Palestinian Prisoner: "Live Prisoners Captured in Sultan Yaqub"
  A Palestinian freed from a Syrian jail reports hearing that live Israeli soldiers were captured in Sultan Yaqub, and have been transferred from one militia group to another.
• Hizbullah Leader Nassarallah: "Arad Last Seen in Good Health"
• Damascus Jews: "Passover Foods Provided for MIAs in 1983"
  Yosef Kalish, a former Jewish resident of Damascus, tells ICMIS reps that in 1983 Mustafa Ahmed Issa, son of the Fatah commander in Damascus, approached a Syrian Jew, Luz Matzliah, with a request for several "kosher for Passover" meals for the Israelis they were holding captive - almost ten months after the battle. After providing the materials, he was severely tortured by angry Syrian officials. (Ma'ariv - June 2)
• 1999:
• U.S. Congress Passes MIA Bill:
  The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate pass HR 1175 - "A Bill to Locate and Secure the Release of Zachary Baumel, a U.S. Citizen and other Israelis Missing in Action." The measure, which eventually passed both houses unanimously, stipulates that the State Department raise the issue on "an urgent basis" with the relevant Arab governments in the region. The bill also conditions American aid to Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, and other governments in the region to their willingness to "assist in locating and securing the return of the soldiers." The bill was introduced by Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA).
• President Clinton Signs MIA Bill:
  President Clinton signs HR 1175 - "A Bill to Locate and Secure the Release of Zachary Baumel, a United States Citizen, and Other Israeli Soldiers Missing in Action." HR 1175 becomes Public Law 89-106. (November 8, 1999)
• President Bill Clinton Supports HR 1175:
  "...I have signed the Act [H.R. 1175] into law. I believe it will send a powerful message of solidarity with the families of the missing soldiers and of our determination to do everything possible to resolve their cases. We will pursue every concrete lead to ascertain their fate; we will continue to consult closely with the families and the government of Israel; and we will raise the issue with other governments and with the Palestinian Authority...." (From a letter to American Jewish leaders, November 14, 1999)
• Hillary Rodham Clinton Supports HR 1175:
  "I was privileged to announce during the course of my lecture [the Rabin lecture, in Israel] that the President had signed the MIA legislation that will make Israeli MIAs a signal part of American foreign policy, and I think now is the time to press as hard as we possibly can to get answers and force accountability, and I agree with that and will do whatever I can." (OU Dinner, New York, December 14, 1999)
• MIA Bill Introduced in Knesset:
  Likud MK Danny Naveh introduces a bill in the Israeli Knesset that stipulates that no agreement with Syria can be signed by Israel without Syria disclosing all information regarding Israel's MIAs. The bill has the support of nine parties from the governing coalition and the opposition. The first reading of the bill was scheduled for mid-February 2000.
• Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister: "MIAs Captured Alive"
  Israel Deputy Foreign Minister Nawif Masalha, reports his meeting in Syria, with Col. Salah Ma'ani, the commander of the Syrian supported A'saika (Palestinian) units. Ma'ani was the commanding officer for the Palestinian forces which had participated in the Battle of Sultan Yaqub. Ma'ani told him that he had captured living but injured Israeli soldiers, who were then transferred to the Syrian authorities. Masalha says that he believes that the MIAs could be alive. (December 31, 1999, Israel Radio - Reshet Beit, Bahatzi Hayom 12:11)
• 2000:
• Ibrahim Suliman: "Baumel is Alive"
  Prof. Ibrahim Suliman, a Syrian-American national, and a close friend of Syrian President Assad, states once again that MIA Zachary Baumel is alive. (January 5, 2000)
• Hizballah Leader: "Arad May Be Alive"
  Sheikh Hassan Nassarallah states that his organization is continuing to aggressively search for Ron Arad. The Hizbullah leader states that it is still possible that Arad is alive. (Jan. 13, 2000 - Kol Yisrael News 07:00)

Attachment 7 - Internet Links:
For more information on the MIAs and Prisoners, go to the following sites:

• The International Coalition for Missing Israeli Soldiers.