New York, NY, July 11, 2007 … On the anniversary of the kidnapping of two Israeli reservists by the terrorist group Hezbollah in a cross border attack that led to the 2006 war in Lebanon, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) renewed its call for the immediate and unconditional release of Israel's captive soldiers.

On Monday, July 16 at Noon, ADL will join a coalition of New York and national Jewish organizations at a rally in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, across from U.N. Headquarters, to raise awareness to the plights of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, the Israeli soldiers kidnapped by the terrorist group Hezbollah on July 12, 2006, and Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped by Hamas.

"The international community must demand the immediate release of Israel's soldiers," said Glen S. Lewy, ADL National Chair, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.  "Their continued captivity after one year with no word as to their fate is unacceptable and a clear violation of international protocol."

In a letter to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, ADL called on the United Nations to make the unconditional release of Israel's soldiers a top priority for the international community.

U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which set the terms of an Israeli-Hezbollah cease fire, called for the "unconditional release" of the soldiers.  Yet the captors of Goldwasser and Regev have refused to provide any information to international relief agencies regarding their whereabouts or condition.

Hezbollah has also repeatedly denied requests by the International Red Cross for access to the captives.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.