Inviting Syria To Annapolis Would Violate U.S. Law /  Stuart Ditchek, 

As the U.S. gears up for the Annapolis Middle East conference, an invitation and enticement for the Syrians to join is being carried out. While including the Syrians in a peace conference might be a political consideration, it would constitute a violation of United States Public Law 106-89 (“The Zachary Baumel Law”).

Zachary Baumel is an American-Israeli citizen who was captured by combined Syrian and Palestinian forces during the Lebanon War’s battle of Sultan Yakoub in 1982. He has been held by the Syrians with no reports of his whereabouts since he and his tank crew were beaten and paraded through the streets of Damascus on the day of the battle. His parents, American citizens, live in Jerusalem and along with me have carried out a 25-year campaign to gain information on his status, dead or alive.

To date the Syrians and Palestinians have stonewalled all efforts.

Several years ago, information was gained which indicated that Zack was alive and being held in a Syrian military instillation. Efforts were renewed to pressure the Syrians to cooperate but without results. As Zachary Baumel’s legal guardian in the United States, I have since filed a hallmark lawsuit against the president and government of Syria in Washington, DC district court under the exception of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. The Syrians have never responded to the lawsuit. We will soon be pursuing the State and Justice Department to freeze and liquidate all Unite States based Syrian assets.

In November 1999, “The Zachary Baumel Law” was passed by Congress and signed into law by then President Bill Clinton. The law clearly states that the Secretary of State must continuously raise the issue of Baumel and his crew with all governments and authorities involved, specifically the Palestinian Authority and the Syrians until they cooperate with inquiries. It further details that no assistance can be provided to these entities until they cooperate. I would specify that during the Oslo accords, Yasir Arafat was pressured to hand over half of Baumels’ dog tags to Yitzchak Rabin and promised to tell Rabin what Zack’s status was as soon as he got everything he wanted from the negotiations. He never followed through on the promise.

The United States government has been in frequent violation of this law since providing the Palestinian Authority with material assistance for years. Should they greet the Syrians at Annapolis, this will compound these violations. The catch lies in the subtle “precatory” exception written into the law. This means that if the president of the United States decides that the law should not be enforced, it can be ignored. The question must be raised as to why a law would be written with such an exception other than to satisfy political expedience. The answer lies in the sometimes not fully forthcoming foreign policy of the United States government as it pertains to the Palestinian Authority.

Giving the Syrians a seat at Annapolis would require President Bush to allow Secretary of State Rice to utilize this Presidential precatory exception. His conscience should not allow him or any other president to do so.

My commitment as Zack’s friend is to be the voice of one who cannot speak for himself. In a resounding voice of Zachary Baumel, he and his family say no! The fact that the Palestinian Authority has been given a pass for all these years since Oslo is painful enough for the family of an MIA and a United States citizen. Allowing the Syrian government that is holding Baumel to the Annapolis summit would be an insult that they could not and should not bear. 

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