Copyright 1995 The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
October 23, 1995
HEADLINE: RALLIES HELD IN LONDON, TEL AVIV SHOW SUPPORT FOR RON ARAD
BYLINE: Itim
BODY:
Rallies for the release of missing IAF navigator Ron Arad were held simultaneously in London and Tel Aviv yesterday, nine years to the day after he was shot down over Lebanon.
Environment Minister Yossi Sarid, Arad's mother, brother, uncle, and dozens of members of the Israel Association for Ron Arad participated in the Tel Aviv rally.
Sarid said that over the past nine years, Arad has become not only the son of one particular family, but the son of every family in the country, and that the battle for his freedom is the battle of the entire nation.
"Faith and hope, that is our message," he said. "Ron Arad will return to us one day."
The London rally, opposite the Iranian Embassy in Hyde Park, was attended by MPs, public figures, and hundreds of people. Chen Arad delivered a message to the embassy, asking that Iran work for his brother's release.
MP John Marshall told the rally that "what has happened to Ron Arad is an international scandal."
The ambassador asked the London police not to allow the rally, but his request was rejected.
Giant screens in London and Tel Aviv enabled participants in each rally to see and hear what was going on at the other.