Israeli MIA's (1993)

WHEREAS, Israeli soldiers Tzvi Feldman, Zachariah Baumel and Yehuda Katz have been missing since June 11, 1982 when they were captured by a Syrian armored unit in the Bekaa Valley, and their fate remains unknown; and

WHEREAS, Israeli Air Force Captain Ron Arad was captured by members of the Amal militia on October 16, 1986, was transferred to Beirut and is believed to be held by an extreme Shiite organization somewhere in Lebanon; and

WHEREAS, all efforts by the government of Israel to obtain information as to the fate of these missing soldiers, including utilizing the good offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross, have yielded no results; and

WHEREAS, all requests by world leaders and representatives of international bodies to President Assad of Syria for information regarding the fate and whereabouts of these soldiers have not produced any such information; and

WHEREAS, it is believed that Iran, Syria, Lebanon and other nations can play constructive roles in the effort to learn the fate of these men and bring about their release.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that THE UNITED SYNAGOGUE OF CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM calls upon the leaders of the United States and Canada to raise the issue of all Israeli MIA's at all meetings with Syrian and Lebanese officials; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that THE UNITED SYNAGOGUE OF CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM calls upon all of its affiliated congregations to participate in the on-going full-scale effort to help bring about the release of all Israeli MIA's and POW's by organizing letter-writing campaigns to the American President, Secretary of State and Members of Congress, and to the Canadian Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and Members of Parliament, as well as posting information about the missing men on synagogue bulletin boards and writing op-ed articles for local newspapers; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that THE UNITED SYNAGOGUE OF CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM calls upon members of its affiliated congregations to write letters to the families of the Israeli MIA's as an expression of solidarity.