[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 83 (Thursday, June 14, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6314-S6315]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 REMEMBERING THE MIA'S OF SULTAN YAQUB

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join 
me in remembering the Israeli soldiers captured by the Syrians during 
the 1982 Israeli war in Lebanon.
  On June 11, 1982, an Israeli unit battled with a Syrian armored unit 
in the Bekaa Valley in northeastern Lebanon. Sergeant Zachary Baumel, 
First Sergeant Zvi Feldman, and Corporal Yehudah Katz were captured by 
the Syrians that day. They were identified as an Israeli tank crew, and 
reported missing in Damascus. The Israeli tank, flying the Syrian and 
Palestinian flag, was greeted with cheers from bystanders
  Since that terrible day in 1982, the governments of Israel and the 
United States have been doing their utmost by working with the office 
of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations, 
and other international bodies to obtain any possible information about 
the fate of the missing soldiers. According to the Geneva Convention, 
Syria is responsible for the fates of the Israeli soldiers because the 
area in Lebanon where the solders disappeared was continually 
controlled by Syria. To this day, despite promises made by the 
government of Syria and by the Palestinians, very little information 
has been released about the condition of Zachary Baumel, Zvi Feldman, 
and Yehudah Katz.
  Monday marked the anniversary of the day that these solders were 
reported missing in action. Nineteen pain-filled years have passed 
since their families have seen their sons, and still Syria has not 
revealed their whereabouts nor provided any information as to their 
condition.
  One of these missing soldiers, Zachary Baumel is an American citizen, 
from my home of Brooklyn, NY. An ardent basketball fan, Zachary began 
his studies at the Hebrew School in Boro Park. In 1979, he moved to 
Israel with other family members and continued his education at 
Yeshivat Hesder, where religious studies are integrated with army 
service. When the war with Lebanon began, Zachary was completing his 
military service and was looking forward to attending Hebrew 
University, where he had been accepted to study psychology. But fate 
decreed otherwise and on June 11, 1982, he disappeared with Zvi Feldman 
and Yehudah Katz.
  Zachary's parents Yonah and Miriam Baumel have been relentless in 
their pursuit of information about Zachary and his compatriots. I have 
worked closely with the Baumels, as well as the Union of Orthodox 
Jewish Congregations of America, the American Coalition for Missing 
Israeli Soldiers, and the MIA Task Force of the Conference of 
Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. These groups have 
been at the forefront of this pursuit of justice. I want to recognize 
their good work and ask my colleagues to join me in supporting their 
efforts. For nineteen years, these families have been without their 
children. Answers are long overdue.
  I am not only saddened by the plight of Zachary Baumel, Zvi Feldman, 
and Yehudah Katz, but I am disheartened and angered by the fact that 
even as we continue to search for answers about their welfare, we must 
add more names to the list of those for who we have no knowledge of 
their location, health, or safety.
  In a clear-cut violation of international law, three Israeli soldiers 
were abducted by Hezbollah on October 7, 2000 while on operational duty 
along the border fence in the Dov Mountain range along Israel's border 
with Lebanon. The soldiers--Sergeant Adi Avitan of Tiberias, Staff 
Sergeant Binyamin Avraham of Bnei Brak, and Staff Sergeant Omar Souad 
of Salma--are believed to have been wounded during the incident.
  According to an investigation by the IDF Northern Command, Hezbollah 
terrorists set two roadside bombs, then

[[Page S6315]]

crossed through a gate near the fence, pulled the three soldiers out of 
their jeep and fired anti-armor missiles at the empty vehicle. The 
solders were then taken by the terrorists to the Lebanese side of the 
border. Although the United States has called on Syria to assist in the 
timely release of these three soldiers, no information has been given 
as to their conditions or whereabouts. The International Red Cross has 
also been requested to intervene by attempting to arrange for a visit 
with the three kidnapped IDF soldiers in order to ascertain their 
status.
  The agony of the families of these kidnapped Israeli solders is 
extreme. They have not heard a word regarding the fate of their sons 
who are being held captive for political ransom. We must pledge to do 
our utmost to bring these soldiers home, for the sake of peace, decency 
and humanity.

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