Tel-Chai Nation

The body of Zachary Baumel, a IDF soldier murdered by jihadists during the 1982 Lebanon war, has been found after 35 years:

The body of Israeli soldier Zachary Baumel, an immigrant from the United States who went missing in Lebanon some 37 years ago, was returned to Israel.

Baumel disappeared on June 10, 1982, in a battle at the beginning of the Lebanon War along with two other Israeli soldiers, Sgt. Yehuda Katz and Sgt. Tzvika Feldman. Feldman was in the same tank as Baumel when he was killed.

Israel has negotiated for the repatriation of their bodies for decades.

Baumel’s body was transferred to an El Al plane via an unnamed third country in an operation by Israeli intelligence agencies, according to the Israel Defense Forces. It was not repatriated as part of a deal with any other country.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement broadcast live in Israel said that in addition to recovering Baumel’s remains, his tzitzit — a ritual Jewish garment — and his tank jumpsuit also were recovered.

“He was considered missing for 37 years,” Netanyahu said. “For all those years, the State of Israel had invested immense resources to resolve the riddle of his fate.”

“The operation to bring Zachary Baumel back to Israel is a supreme expression of the mutual guarantee and the soldierly’ brotherhood that characterizes us as a people, an army and a state. It is the redemption of a moral debt to the fallen IDF soldiers and to their families,” he said.

The bodies of all three soldiers were believed to be held by Palestinian organizations in Syria. A tank from the Battle of Sultan Jacoub was returned to Israel from Russia in June 2016. The Israeli media reported that Russia was involved in the retrieval of the remains, though it was not officially confirmed.

According to this brief article:

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday at the start of his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that "as you know, it was our military personnel who located missing IDF soldier Zachary Baumel's grave in coordination with the Syrian army."

Netanyahu replied, "Two years ago, I turned to you with a personal request that you help us find the remains of the soldiers, including Zachary Baumel's, and you responded immediately."

"You have done outstanding work and even endangered Russian soldiers for this purpose. I want to thank you, in my name and that of the people of Israel, for what you did, and for the courageous friendship. it is important to us and our relationship," added Netanyahu.

Baumel had gone missing during the Battle of Sultan Yaqub in the 1982 Lebanon War. After 37 years, it was announced yesterday that his remains had been brought back to Israel.

If Russia provided help, that's something to give them credit for too. Here's more about the subject.

Labels: anti-semitism, islam, Israel, jihad, Lebanon, military, Russia, syria, terrorism, United States, war on terror