JORDANIAN MCGILL PEACE PROGRAM MEMBER BRINTERVENED ON CAPTIVE’S BEHALF

Jordanian McGill peace program member <BR>intervened on captive’s behalf

By JANICE ARNOLD   

Friday, 06 February 2004

The fact that Elchanan Tannenbaum was able to emerge alive from more than three years of captivity in Lebanon may be attributed to connections made in Montreal through the McGill Middle East Program in Civil Society and Peace Building (MMEP), says its director Jim Torczyner.

The Israeli businessman was kidnapped in October 2000 and held by Hezbollah.

Torczyner said credit should be given to Jordanian Mohammad Al-Hadid, who two months ago was elected president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, for working behind the scenes to obtain basic information about Tannenbaum and to secure assurances that he was treated according to the rules of international law.

Al-Hadid became a member of the MMEP’s international executive committee about five years ago, when he was president of the Jordanian Red Crescent Society, one of the partner organizations of the MMEP.

Also on that committee is Jimmy Weinblatt, rector of Ben-Gurion University – another MMEP partner – whose son is married to Tannenbaum’s daughter.

Weinblatt and Al-Hadid met in Montreal at an MMEP meeting several months after Tannenbaum went missing in Lebanon in October 2000, Torczyner said. Weinblatt was reluctant to ask Al-Hadid for help, and turned to Torczyner who had a personal relationship with Al-Hadid.

Torczyner knew Al-Hadid was open to exchange with Israel. Torczyner had earlier in their relationship arranged for him to meet with the Israeli ambassador in Amman and to visit Israel and make contact with Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s emergency and blood service.

Al-Hadid subsequently became an advocate for the MDA’s admission into the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which was part of his platform when seeking its presidency, Torczyner said.

A series of other fruitful exchanges between Torczyner and Al-Hadid took place prior to Tannenbaum’s abduction. Torczyner helped arrange for Israelis to train the Jordanian Red Crescent’s paramedics and to build the intensive care unit at Jordan’s Red Crescent Hospital. Al-Hadid was involved in obtaining the release of the president of the Palestinian Red Crescent from Israeli custody and getting medicine to the Palestinians while they were under an Israeli blockade.

After Tannenbaum’s disappearance, it was unclear whether he was even alive, Torczyner said. The family was desperate to ensure, in the first instance, that he receive the medication he needed for his diabetes.

Al-Hadid had contacts in the Lebanese government who were seeking medical supplies. According to Torczyner, they made a deal whereby the Lebanese would get what they wanted in exchange for information about whether Tannenbaum was alive and, if so, a promise that he would get his medication, the family would be able to contact him and he would be treated humanely, in compliance with the Geneva Convention on civilian detainees, Torczyner said.

Although it is not the role of the MMEP to get involved with matters such as this, Torczyner believes what happened illustrates what is possible when positive relationships are established between Israelis and Arabs, which is the main goal of the MMEP.

“The program is about developing trust among civilly-minded people. The program provides the context where such people can get to know each other,” he said.

Founded six years ago by Torczyner, a social work professor, the MMEP brings Israelis, Jordanians and Palestinians to McGill for a year to study ways to improve social conditions in their respective homelands and to serve as role models for peaceful coexistence. In their second year, the students work at special practice centres set up by the MMEP in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.