Redeeming Captives:
The Mitzvah of Pidyon Shevuyim
OUR ISRAELI MIA'S:
ISRAEL'S MIA'S / PIDYON SHEVUYIM Teacher's
Background Information
This background information was primarily compiled from a report by the State of Israel's Ministry of Justice.
Captain Ron Arad
Captain Ron Arad, a navigator with the Israeli Air Force, was captured on October 16, 1986, after parachuting out of his Phantom jet. He landed in the area of Say'da in southern Lebanon and was captured by members of the Islamic fundamentalist AMAL Militia. Captain Arad was brought to Beirut and personally held by the then head of security of Amal, Mustafa Dirani*. The leader of the Amal Militia, Nabi Berri, announced that he was holding Arad and proposed an exchange for Shiite and Lebanese detainees.
In early 1988, Dirani severed his ties with Amal due to ideological differences and took Ron Arad with him. That year, he formed a new group, called the "Resistance of the Believers" . Arad was held captive by Dirani's group until the beginning of 1989. After negotiations between "Resistance of the Believers" and the Iranians, Arad was handed over to the Iranian "Revolutionary Guards" in exchange for a large sum of money. Sources in Israel believe that Captain Ron Arad is still being held by this group - and according to an April 8, 1993 edition of the "Jerusalem Report", he is now held captive somewhere in Iran**.
Ron Arad was born in Israel on May 5, 1958, the son of Batya and the late Dov Arad. Ron and his wife Tami have a seven-year old daughter, Yuval. Before his capture, Ron was a student of chemical engineering at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, entering his second year of studies.
Sgt. Zachary Baumel, Staff Sgt.
Zvi Feldman, Sgt.
Yehuda Katz
On the morning of June 11, 1982, in the Sultan Ya'akub area of Lebanon, a battle occurred between a Syrian Army unit and a tank force of the IDF. Upon completion of this battle, six Israeli sodiers were missing. Three of the six were ultimately found - however, Zachary Baumel, Zvi Feldman and Yehuda Katz are still missing.
Sources in Israel claim that terrorists who were in the Sultan Ya'akub area, including the Fatah and Syrian affiliated Sai'qa, organized a parade in the village of Ayta Al-Fawkhar on the very day these three Israeli soldeirs were reported missing. There were reports that Israeli soldiers - or possibly bodies of Isreali soldiers - were displayed during the parade. That same afternoon, the Sai'qua organization held a procession in Damascus, which featured an Israeli tank captured in the Sultan Ya'akub battle. There were reports that Israeli POW's were being displayed in this parade; others suggested that there were three corpses on the tank. On July 4, 1982, the Syrians held a funeral in the Jewish cemetery in Damascus for four IDF soldiers. The coffins were provided by the Sai'qa organization, and attached to them were Hebrew documents that were left behind in Israeli tanks from the battle in Sultan Yaa'kub.
Under the auspices of a prisoner exchange in 1984, these four coffins and documents were transferred to Israel. It was discovered that only one of these coffins contained an Israeli body (Captain Zohar Lifschitz). The Israeli documents attached to them actually belonged to Israeli soldiers who are alive and well in Israel. In December of 1991, a team of Red Cross pathologists re-examined the bodies and confirmed that three of the bodies sent by Syria were not Israelis.
There are some who speak of two other Israeli MIA's: YOSSI FINK and RAHAMIM ALSHIKH. The Israeli Govermnment has received evidence that these men are dead. Although the Israeli Government still demands the return of Fink's and Alshikh's remains from their captors, the Zionist movement has focused its campaign efforts on behalf of the four MIA's believed to still be alive.
PIDYON SHEVUYIM: REGARDING
"RANSOMING" CAPTIVES
Note: The Mitzvah of Pidyon Shevuyim goes into greater detail than provided in this unit - further discussion exists in the MISHNEH TORAH and in the TALMUD - see "Texts for Further Study" and the text provided by USY...
In the Middle Ages, Jews often paid ransom to redeem the captives of their community. Dilemmas arose over how to proceed if the community's monetary resources were limited and guidelines were established.
It is important to note that the need to pay money to ransom Jewish captives did not end in the Middle Ages. Prior to and during the early years of the SHOAH (Holocaust), the world Jewish community had the opportunity to secure the safe passage from Germany of Jews living under Hitler's regime. There were attempts, even by the World Zionist Organization, to pursue these opportunities; some were succesful. Although this kind of monetary ransom has not brought the freedom of contemporary Jewish captives, it is possible that such circumstances may confront us in the future.
Syrian President Hafez al-Assad stated to U.S. Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, that he will try to find out more information on the whereabouts of Israel's missing servicemen within the framework of the current peace process ("The New York Times", December 6, 1993). A U.S. Congressional delegation also visited Israel and Syria to engage in a search for the MIA's.
* Dirani - captured in a daring raid by the IDF, 1994
** Iran denied this at the UN, 1994.
A Unit for Jewish Schools & Groups prepared by Fred Greene American Zionist Movement