Born: May 5th 1958
Birthplace: Israel
Parents: Dov & Batya (Deceased)
Wife : Tami
Children: One daughter, Yuval
Captured: October 16, 1986
Last Contact: September, 1987


Prisoner of War: Last known to be held by the Shiite organization Amal
-The story: On October 16 1986, The Israeli air force navigator, Captain Ron Arad, bailed out of his plane on a mission in Lebanon and was captured by members of the Iranian-backed Shiite group, Amal. Since then, Ron has been held captive by a various of factions and groups, all of them extremist Shiite groups, backed by Iran.


It is known from a letter he wrote that Ron was not in good health after he was captured. Since May 1988, however, nothing is known about him...his state of health, his whereabouts, his captors...nothing.

The Winograd commission set up in 2002 by Israeli defense minister Shaul Mofaz and chaired by the respected Supreme Court Judge Wingograd concluded that there is no evidence that Ron Arad is not alive and recommended acting upon the assumption that he is still alive and being held in captivity.
At the time of his capture in October 1986, the then 28 year old Ron Arad was a newly wed first year student of chemical engineering at the Technion Institute of Technology and had a new born baby.

He was captured after answering a call for reserve duty as a navigator in the Israeli air force. Ron was forced to bail out of his plane over the city of Sidon in Lebanon and was captured by members of the Iranian backed Shiite Amal organization. Since then, Ron has been held captive by several groups, all of them extremist Shiite groups, backed by Iran.

There have been constant and intense cross inter-governmental diplomatic efforts to obtain information on Ron for nearly 20 years. None have been successful. This has only increased the value of obtaining information.

It is known from letters received just after his capture that he was not in good health, but for almost 20 years nothing is known of his present state of health, or, for that matter anything else about him except for unverified reports. The International Red Cross has not been permitted to send or receive letters. The Israeli authorities presume that he is still alive.

Soon after his capture, there was a series of negotiations for Ron’s release. The first round broke down in 1988. It is believed that Arad was then “sold” by Amal security chief Mustafa Dirani to other Iranian backed forces in Lebanon. Since then, contradictory reports abound. By May 1988 he had disappeared completly.

In October 2003, the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported that three former Iranian diplomats and intelligence officials, currently residing in Europe, claimed that Ron Arad is alive and being held in a prison near Tehran. The source also said that Arad was hospitalized twice for heart problems and was deliberately paralyzed after he tried to escape from prison.
Israeli intelligence also believes Arad is being held in Iran or Lebanon by Iranian backed forces. The Iranians have never publicly admitted to holding Ron or to having any information regarding his condition or location.

Ron has a teenage daughter whom he knew only as a baby.