Majdi Halabi

Majdi Halabi
Born	Daliyat el-Karmel, Israel
Allegiance	Israel
Rank	Private

Majdi Halabi (Arabic: مجدي حلبي‎, Hebrew: מג'די חלבי‎; born 1985), alternatively Majdy Halabi or Majdi Halaby, is an Israeli Druze soldier from the village of Daliyat al-Karmel, located on the slopes of Mount Carmel,^[1] who disappeared on duty near Haifa in May 2005.^[2]

Halabi disappeared on May 24, 2005, aged 19, while attempting to hitchhike from his home town to his Ordnance Corps camp near Tirat Carmel.^[2][3] At the time of his disappearance, he had served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for five months.^[4] The IDF initially considered him to be an absentee,^[5] and so his family learned about his disappearance only when his commanding officer came to their home to inquire about his whereabouts.^[6] Over the next days, more than one hundred volunteers participated in search efforts in the Mount Carmel area.^[6] Halabi was formally declared to be missing in action (MIA) on June 6.^[2][3]

Compared to captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Halabi's disappearance received relatively little coverage in the Israeli media.^[7] According to a 2007 article in Israel Today, his case was "all but forgotten" nationally and internationally.^[4] In response, on May 24, 2007, the two-year anniversary of Halabi's disappearance, Halabi's family and residents of Carmel City held a gathering to raise awareness of Halabi's case and call for increased efforts to locate him.^[7] Subsequently, the Born to Freedom Foundation offered a reward of USD10,000,000 for information leading to Halabi's location.^[8]

In a 2007 interview with The Jerusalem Post, Halabi's uncle, Samih Halabi, a retired IDF colonel and chairman of the Campaign to Find Missing Soldier Majdi Halabi,^[7] expressed the belief that Halabi had been abducted by an Islamic "terrorist organization" and was "being held in Syria, Lebanon or possibly even in Nablus or Jenin in the West Bank".^[4]

On July 2, 2008, Halabi's family received a telephone call from an inmate in Damon Prison who claimed that Halabi had been abducted and was being held in the vicinity of Nablus in the West Bank. Police officials maintained that the inmate had "no substantial information" regarding Halabi's disappearance, but the Halabi family disputed this claim.^[9]

No group has ever claimed responsibility for Halabi's disappearance.

See also

• Israeli MIAs

References

1. ^ "Daliyat el-Karmel". Ministry of Tourism, State of Israel. http://www.tourism.gov.il/Tourism_Euk/Tourist+Information/Discover+Israel/Cities/Daliyat+el-Karmel.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Israeli MIAs". Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State of Israel. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2004/1/Israeli+MIAs.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Majdy Halabi". 10million.org. Born to Freedom Foundation. http://www.10million.org/ShowDoc.asp?DynamicContentID=316&SubSectionID=73&Page=MIAs. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} "Israel's other missing soldier: Majdi Halabi". Israel Today. 2007-05-09. http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=12650. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
5. ^ Rudge, David (2005-06-16). "Family appeals for help to find Druse soldier missing for three weeks". The Jerusalem Post. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-110160179.html. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Kaplan, David E (2007-05-02). "Whatever happened to Majdi Halabi?". The Jerusalem Post. http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1178020748895&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} Kaplan, David E (2007-05-27). "Gathering reignites campaign to locate missing Druse soldier". The Jerusalem Post. http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1178708694747&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
8. ^ Raved, Ahiya (2007-08-06). "$10m reward for Halabi's whereabouts". Ynet. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3434496,00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
9. ^ Rabinovsky, Tal (2008-07-04). "Prisoner claims to know Majdi Halabi's whereabouts". Ynet. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3563987,00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 

Persondata
Name	Halabi, Majdi
Alternative names	Halabi, Majdy; Halaby, Majdi
Short description	Israeli MIA soldier
Date of birth	1985
Place of birth	Daliyat el-Karmel, Israel
Date of death
Place of death