I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1175
To locate and secure the return of Zachary Baumel, an American citizen,
and other Israeli soldiers missing in action.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 18, 1999
Mr. LANTOS (for himself, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. ABERCROMBIE,
Mr. ACKERMAN, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. BURTON
of Indiana, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr.
DIAZ-BALART, 
Mr. 
DIXON, 
Mr. 
DREIER, 
Mr. 
ENGEL, 
Mr.
FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. FORBES, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts,
Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey, Mr. FROST, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. GREEN of
Texas, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr.
HOLDEN, Mr. HORN, Mr. HOYER, Mrs. KELLY, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr.
LAZIO, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LEWIS of California, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mrs.
LOWEY, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr. MASCARA, Mrs. MCCARTHY
of New York, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. MEEHAN, Mrs. MEEK
of Florida, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MOORE, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. NADLER,
Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PITTS, Mr. PORTER, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. RODRIGUEZ,
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. SALMON, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr.
SHERMAN, Mr. SHOWS, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. STUMP, Mr.
SWEENEY, Mr. TALENT, Mr. TANCREDO, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi,
Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. WEINER, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania,
Mr. BENTSEN, Mr. BRYANT, Mr. HINCHEY, and Mr. ROTHMAN) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Inter-
national Relations
A BILL
To locate and secure the return of Zachary Baumel, an
American citizen, and other Israeli soldiers missing in action.
HR 1175 IH
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(a) Zachary Baumel, an American citizen serv-
ing in the Israeli military forces, has been missing
in action since June 1982 when he was captured by
forces affiliated with the Palestinian Liberation Or-
ganization (PLO) following a tank battle with Syr-
ian forces at Sultan Ya’akub in Lebanon;
(b) Yehuda Katz and Zvi Feldman, Israeli citi-
zens serving in the Israeli military forces, have been
missing in action since June 1982 when they were
also captured by these same forces in a tank battle
with Syrian forces at Sultan Ya’akub in Lebanon;
(c) these three soldiers were last known to be
in the hands of a Palestinian faction splintered from
the PLO and operating in Syrian-controlled terri-
tory, thus making this a matter within the responsi-
bility of the Government of Syria;
(d) diplomatic efforts to secure their release
have been unsuccessful, although PLO Chairman
Yasser 
Arafat 
delivered 
one-half 
of 
Zachary
Baumel’s dog tag to Israeli Government authorities;
and
HR 1175 IH
(e) in the Gaza-Jericho agreement between the
Palestinian Authority and the Government of Israel
of May 4, 1994, Palestinian officials agreed to co-
operate with Israel in locating and working for the
return of Israeli soldiers missing in action.
SEC. 2. ACTION BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
(a) The Department of State shall raise the matter
of Zachary Baumel, Yehuda Katz, and Zvi Feldman on
an urgent basis with appropriate government officials of
Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, and with other
governments in the region and other governments else-
where which in the Department’s view may be helpful in
locating and securing the return of these soldiers.
(b) Decisions with regard to United States economic
and other forms of assistance to Syria, Lebanon, the Pal-
estinian Authority, and other governments in the region
and United States policy towards these governments and
authorities should take into consideration the willingness
of these governments and authorities to assist in locating
and securing the return of these soldiers.
SEC. 3. REPORT BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
(a) Ninety days after the enactment of this legisla-
tion, the Department of State shall deliver a report in
writing to the Congress detailing its consultations with
governments pursuant to section 2(a) of this Act and
HR 1175 IH
United States policies affected pursuant to section 2(b)
of this Act. This report shall be a public document. The
report may include a classified annex.
(b) After the initial report to the Congress, the De-
partment of State shall report in writing within 15 days
whenever any additional information from any source re-
lating to these individuals arises. Such report shall be a
public document. The report may include a classified
annex.
(c) The reports to the Congress identified in para-
graph (a) and (b) above shall be made to the Committee
on International Relations of the House of Representa-
tives and to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate.
Æ