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| Sgt. First Class, Zachary Baumel (TOI) |
Zachary was an Orthodox American Jew who made Aliyah to Israel with his family. He joined the IDF as part of the Hesder program which divides time between Torah study and military duties. Zachary split his time between studying at Yeshivat Har Etzion and the I.D.F. Armored Corps, eventually becoming a tank commander. When the first Lebanon War broke out in 1982 he was called into action.
Near the end of his deployment, on June 11, 1982, just hours before a cease-fire was declared, Zachary was sent into battle where he and two fellow soldiers were apparently captured. They were declared missing in action (MIA) by the Israeli government. There was not a trace of him anywhere - alive or dead. This is where things stood until a few days ago.
It was Zachary’s mother, Miriam Baumel, who approached Rav Ahron and asked him to make that plea back then. She was undeterred even after so many years to find her her son. And keeping his name in the public eye. Ever the Baal Chesed - Rav Ahron agreed to make a plea. Which as noted I was asked to record.
After the video recording was completed, she thanked Rav Ahron and me and left shortly after. I will never forget Mrs. Baumel. Her face had the look of both sadness and determination. She refused to give up even after many years had passed without any hint about whether he was alive or his whereabouts. I recall Rav Ahron telling me after she left that he doubted Zachery was still alive. But that did not deter him from honoring the request of a heart-broken woman trying to get her son back.
A few days ago, Mrs. Baumel’s son’s remains were found. Russian President Vladimr Putin, with whom Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had established good personal relations, informed him that the Russian army in coordination with the Syrian army had found Zachary’s remains along with 20 other people. As noted inWikipedia:
The Israeli-Russian cooperation was part of a two-year military operation called Operation Bittersweet Song, which endeavored to locate remains of missing Israeli soldiers buried in Syrian territory formerly controlled by ISIL.
I hope that this offers Mrs. Baumel some degree of comfort (and closure - if that’s even possible). Zachary’s father, Yona, passed away in 2009.
I know a lot of people hate Netanyahu. Not the least of whom are his political opponents that have spared no effort to unseat him. Which they believed would be accomplished by recently announced indictments of him on a variety of corruption charges. They hope and pray that he is defeated in the election next week.
I personally doubt that he will... not after what just happened. Be that as it may, I believe that Netanyahu deserves credit for this long overdue discovery of a military hero missing in action for decades (37 years!) with little hope of ever finding him or his remains.
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| Israeli soldiers salute the grave of Zachary Baumel (TOI) |
Sgt. First Class Zachary Baumel was laid to rest yesterday with full honors at a military funeral at Mount Herzl, Israel’s military cemetery. The funeral was attended by thousands of people. He was eulogized by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. From the Times of Israel:
“Zachary, after 37 years, a few days before the battle where you fell, you wrote to your parents, ‘Don’t worry, everything’s alright, but it looks like I won’t be home soon,'” Rivlin said in his eulogy. “Thirty-seven years have elapsed, but today you returned home. You returned to our homeland, to Jerusalem.”
Like many Israelis, (Netanyahu) said, “I got chills when I heard that Zachary was back home. We’ve been waiting for this for 37 years.”
“Bringing our sons back home touches the deepest part of our identity as Jews and Israelis,” Netanyahu said. “In the name of these values, and out of love for Israel, Zachary went to war.”
And perhaps even more poignant is what Osna Haberman, Zachary’s sister said:
“All of our prayers during these 37 years went to one place and we’re here. I thought about what I would do here in this place. I can’t even embrace you. So I thought to turn to the ground and ask the land to embrace you. After a few minutes I understood that I don’t even need to ask.”
“The land embraces you so strongly. And why? Because there is absolute love between the son that gave everything for the land and the land itself, and there is a perfect union here. You are together now,”