THE INTERNATIONAL COALITION FOR MISSING ISRAELI SOLDIERS
"I want to applaud the efforts of the International Coalition for
Missing Israeli Soldiers for spearheading the grassroots effort to
bring this bill to passage.
(Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA), original sponsor of H.R. 1175)

Washington -- On November 8, 1999, U.S. President Clinton signed H.R. 1175 --
"A Bill to Locate and Secure the Release of Zachary Baumel, an American
Citizen and Other Israelis Missing in Action
" -- into law. The presidential
signing followed two years of lobbying by representatives of the International
Coalition for Missing Israeli Soldiers. The precedent setting legislation has
been hailed by major American Jewish organizations and leading political
figures in the United States. The bill stipulates that the State Department raise
the issue on "an urgent basis" with the relevant Arab governments in the region,
and links U.S. economic assistance to those governments to their cooperation in
helping to locate the missing soldiers.

· President Bill Clinton: "...I have signed the Act [H.R. 1175] into law. I believe
  it will send a powerful message of solidarity with the families of the missing
  soldiers and of our determination to do everything possible to resolve their cases.
  We will pursue every concrete lead to ascertain their fate; we will continue to
  consult closely with the families and the government of Israel; and we will raise
  the issue with other governments and with the Palestinian Authority
...." (From a
  letter to American Jewish leaders, November 14, 1999)




· Hillary Rodham Clinton: "I was privileged to announce during the course of
  my lecture [the Rabin lecture, in Israel] that the President had signed the MIA
  legislation that will make Israeli MIAs a signal part of American foreign policy,
  and I think now is the time to press as hard as we possibly can to get answers and
  force accountability, and I agree with that and will do whatever I can.
" (New York
  December 14, 1999)