Dear friends,

It is now over a year since was kidnapped by Hamas in southern , and since and were kidnapped by Hizbollah in northern Israel. Hamas recently released a video in which 21 year old Gilad says his health "is deteriorating." Eldad has missed the chance to mark the anniversary of his mother’s passing, and Ehud’s young wife has spent two-thirds of her married life without her husband.

The Jewish High Holidays are approaching. This is a time of year when Jewish families celebrate their New Year together with their loved ones. It is a time for renewal and return, in every sense, through reflection and prayer. There is no better time for us to decide to take action in order to bring Israel’s sons home. This is the greatest gift you can give to their families for the New Year, as concerned and passionate supporters of Israel.

We are asking you to join us in seeking the timely release of these three soldiers, as well as the other Missing In Action Israeli soldiers, kidnapped while protecting the borders of the State of Israel: Ron Arad has been missing since 1986. Guy Hever was last seen in his army barracks on 17 October 1987; on 1 June 1982 Zachary Baumel, Yehuda Katz and Zvi Feldman were taken prisoner during a battle in the Sultan Yacoub area of .

The international community is demanding more information about the kidnapped soldiers, since the Red Cross has been denied access to them and their fate and condition is therefore unknown. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon recently told the Israeli Foreign Minister and Israeli journalists that the issue is at the top of his agenda, and Gordon Brown wrote to Board of Deputies President, Henry Grunwald QC, calling for the ‘immediate, unconditional and safe release of these captured Israeli soldiers’. Now is the time to increase this momentum. At the very least, the MIA’s families, who live in an ongoing state of anxiety and uncertainty, should be given firm news of where the soldiers are and how they are being treated.

You can help by writing a letter to your Member of Parliament. MPs really do take notice of personally written letters from their constituents; and the more they receive, the more they will take notice of the issue and be obliged to respond. If you do not know the name of your MP, you can you can get this from Constituency Locata online (http://www.locata.co.uk/commons/), or your local public library, local town hall, Citizens Advice Bureau or the local political party offices. You might also like to try: www.TheyWorkForYou.com, or the online service www.FaxYourMP.com, which has a search engine to locate your MP based on postcode, and an online form where you can write and send your fax. All letters should be addressed to:

[MP's name], House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA Address your MP by their first and surname to avoid confusion. It makes no difference if your MP is a Government Minister.

Alternatively you can write a letter to your national daily newspaper: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] All letters emailed to newspaper editors should include a full address and day-time telephone number (these will not be quoted if you ask them not to be published).

We thank you for your concern and wish you a Happy and Peaceful New Year.

Jon Benjamin Chief Executive Board of Deputies