Secretary of State to press the governments of Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority and others in
the region to provide information to help determine the whereabouts of Zachary Baumel, an American
citizen, and two other missing Israeli soldiers.
"This month marks the 17th anniversary of the capture of Zachary Baumel and his fellow soldiers," said
Feingold. "The United States government should do everything it can to secure information regarding
Zachary's whereabouts and to finally provide some sense of closure for the families of these three brave
men."
Baumel moved to Israel from New York with his family in 1970 and later Joined the Israeli army. He
and four other soldiers were captured in Lebanon in June 1982. Two of the soldiers were later released,
but Baumel and two others, Yehuda Katz and Zvi Feldman, remain missing.
The bill, S. 676, calls on the Secretary of State to discuss the cases of these missing soldiers with
governments in the region and says that cooperation in this matter should be taken into account with
respect to determinations of economic and other assistance to these countries. The bill also requires that
regular progress reports be submitted to the Congress.
S.676, which was introduced by Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO), currently has 23
cosponsors. It has been referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, of which Feingold is a
member. Companion legislation in the House of Representatives, H.R. 1175, which was introduced by
Representative Tom Lantos (D-CA), currently has 88 cosponsors.