[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12803]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 12803]]

                     A TRIBUTE TO THE ISRAELI MIA'S

 Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, around this time every year I 
deliver this speech to the House of Representatives and now I am 
privileged and honored to deliver it to the Senate. I rise today to pay 
tribute to the capture of several Israeli soldiers who were taken 
prisoner by the Syrians in the 1982 Israeli war with Lebanon.
  On June 11, 1982, an Israeli unit battled with a Syrian armored unit 
in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. The Syrians succeeded in capturing Sgt. 
Zachary Baumel, 1st Sgt. Zvi Feldman and Cpt. Yehudah Katz. Upon 
arrival in Damascus, the identified tank and crew were paraded through 
the streets draped in Syrian and Palestinian Flags.
  Since that terrible day in 1982, the Israeli and the United States 
Governments have been working to obtain any possible information about 
the fate of these missing soldiers, joining forces with the offices of 
the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations and 
other international bodies. According to the Geneva convention, the 
area in Lebanon where the soldiers first disappeared was continually 
controlled by Syria, therefore deeming her responsible for the 
treatment of the captured soldiers. To this day, despite the promises 
made by the Syrian Government and by the PLO, very little information 
has been forthcoming about the condition of Zachary Baumei, Zvi 
Feldman, and Yehudah Katz.
  June 11 marks the anniversary of the day that these soldiers were 
reported missing in action. Sixteen pain-filled years have already 
passed since the families of the MIA's have last seen their sons, and 
yet President Assad has still not revealed their whereabouts.
  One of these missing soldiers, Zachary Baumel, is an American citizen 
from my district in Brooklyn, N.Y. A dedicated 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 study 
psychology. But fate had unfortunately decreed otherwise and on June 
11, 1982 he vanished.
  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 Jewish Congregation of America, the American 
Coalition for missing Israeli Soldiers, and the MIA Task Force of the 
conference of Presidents of major American Jewish organizations. The 
Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls forged a project that has 
increased awareness and support for the MIA's plight for freedom. These 
groups have been at the forefront of this pursuit of justice. I want to 
recognize their devoted efforts and ask my colleagues to join me in 
commending their efforts. These families have been without their 
children for sixteen years. Answers must be found.

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