Negotiating With Terror: Why Ron Arad Matters

In the past several weeks, a variety of news items out of Israel have exemplified the difficulty that democracies face when fighting terrorism. New reports suggest Israel has been conducting an investigation into whether its soldiers acted with excessive brutality during military operations in Gaza from December 2008 to January 2009. Meanwhile, information has surfaced that Israel may resume targeted assassinations of Hamas leaders and block visits to Palestinian prisoners currently held in Israeli jails.

Israel has also been attempting to reduce Hamas’ demands for a 400 to 1 prisoner swap while pressing the group to allow visits to Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier kidnapped by militants in June 2006. Without context, these assorted developments may be difficult to piece together and fully comprehend. But to many who have lived and worked in this complex region, much of this should come as no surprise. Israel’s approach to its dealings with Iranian-supported terror groups such as Hamas and Hizballah has been shaped by a difficult history—and Israel's actions are in many ways guided by its citizens’ personal tragedies and hardships.

The case of Israeli Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Ron Arad illustrates this point. His is a story that began over twenty years ago, and one that continues today without resolution. On October 16, 1986, Lieutenant Colonel Arad was on a mission to attack Palestinian Liberation Organization targets near Sidon, Lebanon. Arad, a weapons officer flying in an F-4 Phantom, as well as the accompanying pilot were forced to eject after their aircraft was damaged. Though the pilot was recovered by Israeli forces, Arad was captured by the Lebanese militia group Amal—one of the dominant Shi’a Muslim militias during the Lebanese Civil War.

In an effort to recover Arad in 1989, Israel would snatch a leading member of Lebanese Hizballah, Sheik Addul-Karim Obeid. This effort failed to unearth any details on Arad’s whereabouts or his physical state. For eight long years, the Israeli military, Israeli government officials and Arad’s family waited to hear word of his condition.

New information on Arad would not be uncovered until 1994. A long-awaited breakthrough came with the capture by Israeli forces of Amal’s head of security, Mustafa Dirani. In captivity, Dirani recounted how his militia group turned Arad over to Lebanese Hizballah who, in turn, passed him to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. This information provided hope but it did not lead to further action. While the United States and its European allies cut deals for the release of Western hostages held by Hizballah during this time frame, Ron Arad was again forgotten to all but his countrymen. In Israel, songs were written in Ron Arad’s honor and events marking the day of his capture became part of popular culture. Meanwhile, Ron Arad’s wife, Tami, continued a brave fight to raise awareness of his circumstances in the hope of resolving the fate of her husband.

Additional evidence surfaced periodically in subsequent years. In the 1990s, a photo of Lieutenant Colonel Ron Arad, bearded and with sunken eyes, was released to the public. In 2006 the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation aired new footage of Arad believed to have been shot in 1988. And In 2007, Israel received a two decade-old letter written by Arad to his family. But just last year, United Nations negotiator Gerhad Konrad reported to the Israeli government that Arad was dead. No final ruling has been decreed and the Israeli public continues to speculate. Though Obeid and Dirani have been freed as part of a POW swap, no additional information on Arad has ever been provided directly by Hizballah or Iran.

Ron Arad’s case continues to haunt the Israeli public to this day. It also shines light on the uncompromisingly brutal methods used by elements of Hamas and Hizaballah. For though Israel has captured hundreds of Hizballah and Hamas terrorists during combat and counter-terrorism operations, those prisoners are regularly visited by their family members and the International Committee for the Red Cross. In contrast, Israeli prisoners that fall into the hands of organizations like Hamas and Hizballah receive no such visits and suffer horrible abuse. Such was the case with Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.

In 2006, Lebanese Hizballah crossed Israel’s northern border and captured these two Israeli soldiers. This was the spark that set off the 34-day Israeli-Hizballah War of 2006. During negotiations held toward the end of the conflict, Hizballah refused to confirm the status of Goldwasser and Regev. Two years later, the Israeli government concluded an agreement within a negotiation framework that allowed for the release of five Hizballah terrorists in return for these 2 young Israeli soldiers. But the Israeli public would be horrified to learn that instead of receiving their young men alive in the exchange as expected, Hizballah presented Israel with their dead bodies. The Israeli government was criticized by its public for this betrayal, but the Olmert government had felt compelled to make the deal in the hope that at least one of them was alive. This was not the case.

This brings us to the issue of non-stop pressure by the international community to force Israel to reopen Gaza check points and allow Hamas and its Palestinian subjects to begin reconstruction. We are all mindful that Palestinians in Gaza are in need of humanitarian assistance. Unfortunately, they are led by the killers of Hamas and this group must not be rewarded in any way until it abides by a minimum level of civilized behavior. As a start, that behavior should include providing Red Cross access to Gilad Shalit. Where are the international voices calling for the protection of his human rights and his protection from torture and abuse? The reactions to the photos of Iraqis naked and in humiliating positions, taken at the Abu Ghraib military prison, caused widespread criticism and severe disapproval around the world. There have been reports that Gilad Shalit has been restrained with explosives tied to his body as a means of ensuring that no Israeli rescue is attempted. Yet no universal condemnation has resulted from these horrid reports. Inexplicably, only the side in the fight not recognized by the United Nations—terrorist groups Hamas and Hizballah—has received protection under the Geneva Convention.

Resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an admirable stated goal of the Obama administration. An important first step toward that end will be Hamas’s adherence to basic international norms relative to human rights. A second step will be to abrogate the horrible double standard that has long defined the plight of Israeli combatants that fall into the hands of their enemies. The missing Israeli navigator, Ron Arad, is little known to most Americans but the last haunting photo of him—and his long-standing suffering—is seared into the consciousness of Israelis. It hardens even the most peace-loving of individuals. His case and others like his undoubtedly guide Israel’s most important decisions regarding how the nation deals with its enemies and how it chooses to negotiate with terror.