Copyright 2001 Jerusalem Post
Jerusalem Post
January 12, 2001
HEADLINE: New York politicians promise to work for release of kidnapped Israelis in Lebanon
BYLINE: Heidi J. Gleit
A delegation of New York politicians pledged last night to work for the
release of the four Israelis kidnapped by the Hizbullah.
'We pledge ourselves, when we return to the United States to do everything
in our power through the Congress and the new administration [to pressure
Syria, Iran, and Hizbullah to provide information about the condition of the
kidnapping victims and] to secure their speedy release from captivity,'
Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) declared after meeting with the families
of soldiers Adi Avitan, Benny Avraham, and Omar Sawayid and businessman
Elhanan Tanenbaum at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.
The US has always stood for certain norms of conduct and it is intolerable
that an organization kidnap soldiers, that it does not allow the
International Red Cross to visit the captives, and that it refuses to
provide any information on the condition and health of the captives, he
said.
Nadler, who was accompanied by fellow congressmen Joseph Crowley and Anthony
Weiner, Speaker of the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver, and Libby
Pataki, wife of New York Gov. George Pataki, described the meeting as moving
and emotional.
After the families described to the group, here as guests of the Foreign
Ministry, the torture they have undergone since their relatives were
kidnapped in October, they discussed ways in which they could work together
in Israel and the US to bring about their release.
Haim Avraham said that the entire free world must work together to pressure
Hizbullah to provide information about his son Benny and his comrades.
The Foreign Ministry is providing the congressmen with blue ribbons to
distribute to all of their colleagues in the House and Senate, ministry
Director-General Alon Liel said. All Israeli diplomats also are being sent
blue ribbons and will be instructed to wear them at all official events as a
reminder of the kidnapp victims.
In addition to the campaign to keep the issue in the public's eye, there
also are continuous, intensive diplomatic efforts to bring about their
release, Liel said, though he declined to elaborate.