Copyright 2002 Ha'aretz
Ha'aretz
June 24, 2002
HEADLINE: Batya Arad, mother of missing airman Ron Arad, dies at 68
BYLINE: Amos Harel and Yam Yehoshua
Batya Arad, the mother of captured Israeli Air Force navigator Ron
Arad, and in recent years a tireless campaigner in efforts to work
for the rescue of the long-missing aviator, died Sunday night at the
age of 68.
Captain Ron Arad was taken captive on October 16, 1986, after his
Phantom fighter went down of Lebanon due to a technical fault. Both
Arad and the pilot parachuted safely to the ground. The pilot was
rescued by a special IDF rescue unit, while Ron was taken captive by
Amal, a Lebanese Shi’ite militia group lead by Nabih Berri.
A teacher and former school principal, Batya Arad led efforts by the
Arad family to rescue Ron. In the past few years the family has
criticized the political echelon in its handling of the affair,
especially the lack of action by the government of then-prime
minister Yitzhak Shamir in the first two years after Ron Arad's
capture.