N EWS
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Wife Of MIA
Visits Iranians
United Nations (JTA) —
The wife of missing Israeli
airman Ron Arad emerged
from a meeting here with
the outgoing U.N. secretary-
general saying she is confi-
dent he is doing all he can to
bring home her husband.
Tami Arad said the U.N.
chief, Javier Perez de
Cuellar, told her he
"believes my husband is
alive and that he will make
a very large effort for his
release."
Earlier in the week, Mrs.
Arad had criticized the
United Nations for not doing
enough to win the release of
her husband, who was cap-
tured in October 1986 after
his aircraft exploded over
Lebanon. He is believed to
have been transferred to pro-
Iranian forces in 1989.
Joining Mrs. Arad at the
meeting were families of
other Israeli soldiers miss-
ing in Lebanon. The meeting
represented a heightening of
the public campaign for the
MIA's release now that the
last U.S. and British
hostages in Lebanon are
free.
Another step in that cam-
paign was a demonstration
held last week across from
the United Nations and a
march to the Iranian Mis-
sion, where Mrs. Arad suc-
ceeded in presenting a letter
asking for her husband's
freedom to a surprised Ira-
nian official.
Mrs. Arad said Perez de
Cuellar, whose term ends
Dec. 31, promised that he
would continue his efforts,
and those of special envoy
Giandomenico Picco, past
the new year if necessary.
Mr. Picco is currently in the
Middle East for discussions
with the Iranians.
Also meeting with the sec-
retary-general were mem-
bers of the Israel's U.N. Mis-
sion, including Ambassador
Yoram Aridor, and the
parents of missing Israeli
soldiers Zvi Feldman and
Yehuda Katz. Mr. Katz and
Mr. Feldman, along with
Zachary Baumel, are believ-
ed to have been captured by
the Syrians following a tank
battle in June 1982.
Syria has consistently de-
nied knowledge of their
whereabouts, and Israeli
hostage negotiators are not
optimistic that they remain
alive.
Nevertheless, Joseph Katz
said he remained confident
his son was alive. "The sec-
retary-general said we
should not believe all kinds
of bad evidence," he said.
At the rally across from
the United Nations, spon-
sored by the New York Jew-
ish Community Relations
Council, Sen. Alfonse
D'amato, R-N.Y., criticized
the Bush administration's
rapprochement with Syria
"so long as Syria holds
Israeli soldiers captive."
Following the rally, Mrs.
Arad, the other MIA
families and JCRC leaders
marched to the Iranian Mis-
sion to present the ambas-
sador with the letter calling
for her husband's release.
They originally were told
they could not proceed up to
the mission offices, but after
insisting they had an urgent
message to deliver, they pro-
cured two passes enabling
Mrs. Arad and a
photographer to ascend.
"You're holding my hus-
band hostage," Mrs. Arad
told a surprised Iranian re-
ceptionist, giving her the
envelope containing the
letter and photographs of
her husband, before being
returned downstairs by
security personnel.
At the Syrian Mission,
Mrs. Arad left a similar
package at the front desk.
Race-Norming
Ban Hailed
Washington (JTA) — The
Anti-Defamation League
has welcomed what it sees as
the first tangible benefit of
the 1991 Civil Rights Act: a
Labor Department ban on
race-norming.
The Labor Department
announced recently that
state employment service of-
fices and Labor Department
contractors who use the
department's general ap-
titude test battery will no
longer be able to adjust test
scores based on the basis of
race or ethnicity.
This practice, known as
race-norming, was con-
demned by the ADL in a
letter to President Bush last
May.
"When minority ap-
plicants are ranked only
within their own particular
racial or ethnic group, the
implication is they cannot
compete against the general
applicant pool," the ADL
said in a statement issued by
Melvin Salberg, ADL na-
tional chairman, and
Abraham Foxman, its na-
tional director.
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