Born on December 20, 1923,[1] Weir, who with his wife Carol served as missionaries in Lebanon with the Presbyterian Church (USA) for nearly 30 years, was kidnapped off the streets of Beirut in May 1984.[2] The kidnapping was done by an Islamic fundamentalist group, Islamic Jihad, that later evolved into Hezbollah. He was freed 16 months later in exchange for US anti-tank weapons, as part of the Iran-Contra Affair. Shortly thereafter he was elected moderator of the 1986 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, the highest elected office in that denomination.
He remained one of the world's most respected voices for peace and reconciliation in the Middle East for the past 30 years.
The book Hostage Bound Hostage Free tells the story of his captivity from his perspective as well as his wife's.
benjamin, weir, december, 1923, october, 2016, american, hostage, lebanon, 1985, born, 1923, december, 1923u, diedoctober, 2016, 2016, aged, oakland, california, occupationchristian, missionaryknown, forbeing, kidnapped, lebanon, 1984background, editborn, dece. Benjamin Weir December 20 1923 October 14 2016 was an American hostage in Lebanon in 1985 Benjamin WeirBorn 1923 12 20 December 20 1923U S DiedOctober 14 2016 2016 10 14 aged 92 Oakland California U S OccupationChristian missionaryKnown forBeing kidnapped in Lebanon in 1984Background editBorn on December 20 1923 1 Weir who with his wife Carol served as missionaries in Lebanon with the Presbyterian Church USA for nearly 30 years was kidnapped off the streets of Beirut in May 1984 2 The kidnapping was done by an Islamic fundamentalist group Islamic Jihad that later evolved into Hezbollah He was freed 16 months later in exchange for US anti tank weapons as part of the Iran Contra Affair Shortly thereafter he was elected moderator of the 1986 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church the highest elected office in that denomination He remained one of the world s most respected voices for peace and reconciliation in the Middle East for the past 30 years The book Hostage Bound Hostage Free tells the story of his captivity from his perspective as well as his wife s While a student at the University of California Berkeley Weir was initiated into the Beta chapter of Alpha Gamma Omega a Christ centered fraternity citation needed Later he attended San Francisco Theological Seminary citation needed Weir died on October 14 2016 in Oakland California 3 See also editList of kidnappings List of solved missing person casesReferences edit Weir crowell com Archived 2007 10 19 at the Wayback Machine Benjamin Weir s Secret Passage Time 1985 09 30 Archived from the original on April 20 2008 Retrieved 2010 01 27 Former PCUSA Moderator Benjamin Weir dies 14 October 2016 Religious titles Preceded byElder William H Wilson Moderator of the 198th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA 1986 1987 Succeeded byElder Isabel W Rogers nbsp This article about a member of the Christian clergy in the United States is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This United States biographical article related to crime is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Benjamin Weir amp oldid 1220922197, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
