IV
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 417
Commemorating the 20th anniversary of the capture of Zachary Baumel,
a United States citizen serving in the Israeli Defense Forces, and calling
on the Governments of Syria and Lebanon to provide an accounting
for, and to secure the release of, Zachary Baumel and all other Israeli
hostages held under Lebanese or Syrian control.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 12, 2002
Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. CANTOR, Mr. GILMAN, Mr.
WEINER, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. BERMAN, and Mrs. MALONEY
of New York) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Commemorating the 20th anniversary of the capture of
Zachary Baumel, a United States citizen serving in the
Israeli Defense Forces, and calling on the Governments
of Syria and Lebanon to provide an accounting for, and
to secure the release of, Zachary Baumel and all other
Israeli hostages held under Lebanese or Syrian control.
Whereas Zachary Baumel, a United States citizen serving in
the Israeli military forces, has been missing in action
since June 11, 1982, when he and fellow soldiers Yehuda
Katz and Tzvi Feldman were captured by forces affiliated
with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) fol-
•HCON 417 IH
lowing a tank battle with Syrian forces at Sultan
Ya’akub in Lebanon;
Whereas these three soldiers were last known to be in the
hands of a Palestinian faction operating in Syrian-occu-
pied territory in Lebanon, thus making this a matter
within the responsibility of the Government of Syria;
Whereas in December 1993 PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat
delivered one-half of Zachary Baumel’s dog tag to Israeli
Government authorities;
Whereas Israeli Air Force navigator Ron Arad was captured
on October 16, 1986, in Lebanon by Amal, a Lebanese
Shiite organization, after ejecting from his damaged air-
craft;
Whereas Israel received pictures and letters from Ron Arad
before he disappeared in 1988 after falling into the hands
of Iranian backed forces in Lebanon;
Whereas Guy Hever, an Israeli soldier, reportedly last seen
near the Syria-Israel border, disappeared after leaving his
base on August 17, 1997;
Whereas on October 7, 2000, Hizballah units, in clear viola-
tion of international law, crossed the Lebanese border
into Israel and kidnaped three Israeli soldiers, Adi
Avitan, Binyamin Avraham, and Omar Souad;
Whereas on October 15, 2000, Hizballah announced that
Israeli civilian Elchanan Tannenbaum, missing after
traveling to Belgium, was being held by Hizballah;
Whereas Adi Avitan, Binyamin Avraham, Omar Souad, and
Elchanan Tannenbaum are being held by Hizballah in
Lebanon;
•HCON 417 IH
Whereas the 2001 Department of State ‘‘Patterns of Global
Terrorism’’ Report states that Syria provides Hizballah
refuge, basing privileges, substantial amounts of financial
assistance, training, weapons, explosives, and political,
diplomatic, and logistical support;
Whereas the 2001 State Department terrorism report also
states 
that 
the 
Lebanese 
Government 
condones
Hizballah’s actions against Israel and has recognized
Hizballah as a legal operation and allows Hizballah to
maintain offices in Beirut;
Whereas Syria, a non-permanent United Nations Security
Council member, has recently assumed the rotating Pres-
idency of the Security Council;
Whereas the taking of hostages or participating as an accom-
plice in the taking of hostages is considered an act of ter-
ror under the International Convention Against the Tak-
ing of Hostages;
Whereas Syria, Lebanon, and Iran voted in favor of the Uni-
versal Declaration of Human Rights in the United Na-
tions General Assembly;
Whereas the International Committee of the Red Cross and
other international bodies have had no access to any of
the aforementioned individuals;
Whereas the Governments of Syria, Lebanon, and Iran have
refused to cooperate with previous United States efforts
to secure the release of the aforementioned individuals;
Whereas section 2 of Public Law 106–89 directs the Sec-
retary of State to raise the issue of missing Israeli sol-
diers Zachary Baumel, Yehuda Katz, and Tzvi Feldman
with officials of Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Author-
ity and other governments in the Middle East and speci-
•HCON 417 IH
fies that, in deciding whether or not to provide United
States assistance to any government or authority which
may have information concerning the whereabouts of
these soldiers, the President should take into consider-
ation the willingness of these governments and authori-
ties to assist in locating and securing the return of these
soldiers;
Whereas section 3 of Public Law 106–89 directs the Depart-
ment of State to report to Congress on the efforts de-
scribed in the preceding clause;
Whereas diplomatic efforts to secure the release of these indi-
viduals have been unsuccessful; and
Whereas Zachary Baumel is a United States citizen and sei-
zure of a United States citizen as a hostage anywhere in
the world is a crime under section 1203 of title 18,
United States Code: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That Congress—
(1) calls on the Governments of Syria and Leb-
anon to immediately and unconditionally take all
necessary measures to provide the fullest possible ac-
counting for, and to secure the release of, United
States citizen Zachary Baumel and all other Israeli
hostages held under Lebanese or Syrian control;
(2) encourages the Secretary of State to vigor-
ously carry out the provisions of Public Law 106–
89;