Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau will send Passover kits containing wine, matza, and the ‘Haggadah’ (traditional Passover service) to nine Israeli captives, via Israeli representatives of the International Red Cross. In an effort to increase awareness of their plight, the Chief Rabbi called on persons around the world to send similar packages to local Red Cross representatives for the captives.



The nine include the soldiers of the 1982 Sultan Yaakub battle - Tzvi Feldman, Zechariah Baumel, and Yehuda Katz - as well as navigator Maj. Ron Arad, Sgt. Guy Chever, and the soldiers abducted and taken into Hizbullah captivity in October 2000: Sgt. Adi Avitan, St.-Sgt. Avraham Binyamin, St.-Sgt. Omer Souad, and Col. (res.) Elchanan Tanenbaum. The website of the Israeli MIAs presents the stories of each soldier, and calls upon visitors to sign an on-line petition on their behalf.