Op-Ed: Why Hamas is Still Holding Out

There are six differences between Israel and Hamas that have a role to play in addition to the bravery and initiative of the IDF.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/15428#.U9ozUPmSyYQ

Thousands Rally in Rome: 'Israeli Flag is the Pledge of Freedom'

Il Foglio journalist, at 1000-strong pro-Israel rally in Rome, accuses West of turning terrorism into a human right.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183561

IDF Soldiers Were Killed in Booby-Trapped UN Building

Three IDF soldiers killed when explosives detonated within a booby-trapped UN building in Gaza. UNRWA yet to comment.

IDF troops overnight Wednesday eliminated a Hamas terrorist who tried to fire an anti-tank missile at IDF soldiers in southern Gaza. On Wednesday, three soldiers were killed when an explosive went off in a booby-trapped house "while soldiers were uncovering an offensive tunnel shaft in a residence in the southern Gaza Strip. The house and the tunnel were booby trapped with two explosive devices that were detonated against the soldiers," the IDF said in a statement.”

Op-Ed: Obama's Walter Cronkite Moment

Obama's policies, Israel's actions and Middle America.

President Lyndon B. Johnson knew the Vietnam War was a lost cause when Walter Cronkite, America's most respected television news anchor, turned against it--symbolizing, for Johnson, that a large portion of the American public had likewise turned negative.

President Barack Obama may have just had his own "Walter Cronkite Moment," involving the Gaza War and the Washington Post.

The date was February 27, 1968. Cronkite, the anchor of the CBS Nightly News, was the most-watched, and most-admired newsman in America. He concluded an update on the Vietnam situation by declaring his opinion that "we are mired in stalemate…it is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could." Cronkite's message was crystal clear: America could not win, and therefore should negotiate its withdrawal from the region.

President Johnson, who was watching the broadcast live in the White House, reportedly said to his aides, “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America.” Without "Middle America"--without broad public support--Johnson could not prosecute the war successfully. The handwriting was on the wall for America's defeat in Vietnam, because no democratic country can long wage war if most of its public opposes it.

Barack Obama's Walter Cronkite Moment has been provided by theWashington Post, the “nerve center” of the nation’s capital.

In two remarkable lead editorials, less than a week apart, the Post has come down squarely for the policies of Israel’s prime minister, and against the Obama administration, in the Gaza war.

On July 18, the lead, unsigned editorial in the Post focused on Hamas's vast network of tunnels, which it noted "have only one conceivable purpose: to launch attacks inside Israel." It condemned "the outside world" (implicitly including much of the news media) for wrongly "blam[ing] Israel for the civilian casualties it inflicts while attempting to destroy the tunnels," pointing out that Hamas deliberately built the tunnels under homes, mosques, schools and hospitals.


The only time Obama or Kerry mention disarming is in the context of some vague, distant goal that would be part of a complete solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
In two important respects, the Post took issue with the Obama administration's positions.

First, the Post warned that the Hamas demand (endorsed by the Obama administration) to end the Israeli blockade of Gaza "would allow Hamas to import more missiles and concrete for new tunnels."

Second, the Post urged that any concessions to Hamas and the Palestinian Authority must be linked to "the disarmament of Hamas."

Six days later, the Post presented Obama's Cronkite Moment, Part 2. In its lead, unsigned editorial on July 30, the Post asserted that Israel has "good reason" to have rejected Secretary Kerry's recent ceasefire plan. The Obama administration has only "rhetorically endorsed" the Israeli demand for disarming Hamas, the Post pointed out. The administration "doesn't seem to regard [disarmament] as feasible in the short term."

Exactly right. The only time Obama or Kerry mention disarming is in the context of some vague, distant goal that would be part of a complete solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Taking Israel's side, the Post argued that the disarming of Hamas needs to take place now, not later. It suggested a trade of "steps that would enable Gaza's economic development" in exchange for "Hamas's surrendering of its missiles."

The publication of these two editorials, by a newspaper never known to be particularly supportive of Israel, is a groundbreaking development. It demonstrates to the Obama administration that a significant portion of elite Washington opinion sides with Israel in this conflict, not Hamas.

Coming on the heels of polls showing the majority of Americans supporting Israel, and strong pro-Israel statements from leading Democratic congressmen, Obama must now face political reality: not only Republicans, but many Democrats, including key opinion-shapers such as the Post, want to see Israel victorious and Hamas defeated and disarmed.

When it comes to Israel and Hamas, Obama has not only lost "Middle America" (President Johnson's term) but most of America. And a foreign policy position that most Americans so strongly oppose is simply not sustainable.

[Moshe Phillips and Benyamin Korn are members of the board of the Religious Zionists of America. This article is part of a series. 
 

Son of Hamas Founder: Israel Needs to Finish Off Hamas

In a TV interview, Mosab Hassan Yousef said that the only way to save the lives of Gazan civilians was to destroy Hamas.

First Publish: 7/31/2014, 9:34 AM

Mossab Yousef

In an interview on Fox News Channel Wednesday, Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of Hamas founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, praised Israel for fighting against Hamas, saying it was the only way to prevent future wars and save the lives of civilians in both Israel and Gaza. Yousef has appeared on other news channels in recent days, including CNN (see link below) discussing the issue.

Yousef, 36, was born in Ramallah and was raised as part of the burgeoning Hamas terror movement. In a 2010 autobiography, Yousef said that he was first arrested at age ten for throwing rocks at IDF soldiers, and was arrested several times afterwards as well. After he was arrested in 1996, he said he began to have doubts about Palestinian terrorism and Islam in general. He agreed to become an Israeli informant, eventually converting to Christianity and moving to California, where he was granted provisional political asylum in the US.

In the interview, conducted by Sean Hannity of the Fox News Channel,Yousef discussed the issue of Hamas' “humanitarian” activities. Speaking Sunday, House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi described how she had been told by Qatari officials that “we have to confer with the Qataris, who have told me over and over again that Hamas is a humanitarian organization,” although there were terrorist elements in the group as well, she added.

Yousef said that there was no way Hamas could be considered “humanitarian. It is a terrorist organization with a humanitarian face to it. Basically Hamas hijacked the Palestinian cause to push their political and religious ideological agenda. Even if Israel were to come tomorrow and offer Hamas the 1967 boundaries, Hamas wouldn't care. It doesn't have boundaries to its ideological agenda. It wants to destroy Israel and any country that does not agree with its ideology,” he said.

As far as Qatar is concerned, that Gulf country is responsible for the many deaths in Gaza because of its support for Hamas.
The Qataris are responsible in part for what is going on, and so is Turkey,” he said. “Qatar has been funding Hamas for years and in Turkey lives one of Hamas' top leaders, Salah al-Arouri, who gave the command to kidnap and slaughter the three Israeli teens in Hevron. Hamas organization is simply a terrorist organization and it does not care about the lives of Palestinians or Israelis,” he said.

When asked by Hannity why he was speaking out, Yousef said that he had had enough of Palestinian politics. “We paid a high price for the sake of Hamas and Palestine,” he said. “I witnessed the violence and the dirty politics behind it growing up and I decided to go my own way. But now I feel I need to speak up. The children of Gaza remind me of myself 20 years ago, how we were crying in the streets, and the politicians were sending us to die. When the children of Gaza stop dying many people will be out of business. This is the time to speak up and unmask the faces of Hamas and the others promoting terror.”

And instead of pressing Israel to accept a cease-fire, said Yousef, US PresidentBarack H Obama should “make a hard leadership decision. It's true that the children of Gaza are suffering, but how many more wars will there be if Hamas is allowed to continue? Israel is in the middle of the job; let's help them to uproot Hamas. Without this there will be more Gaza wars and more Gaza children being killed. This is not the first Hamas war, it is the fourth and there will be many more.

“So I am asking the President: As the supreme power he has the responsibility to see this through. It is not about siding with Israel,” Yousef added. “I have a lot of family in Gaza and I feel for them. But Israel is doing them the biggest favor by fighting against Hamas.”

Op-Ed: The Real Reason

They want to erase all evidence of those Jews who carried that sacred ark into Jerusalem filled with the rule of universal law.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/15411#.U9iLqfmSyYQ

Jewish Blood is cheap according to many in the world

Op-Ed: No Economic Aid to Hamas-Ruled Gaza

The world should not be rewarding the most extreme Palestinians for violence and terror. The US efforts to bribe Hamas into behaving (while suspending aid to Egypt), are probably against American laws dealing with terrorist organizations.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/15417#.U9iEuvmSyYQ

Op-Ed: IDF, Don’t Take Your Foot Off the Gas Pedal

We must deliver a knockout to Hamas.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/15414#.U9iGQvmSyYQ

  

Op-Ed: The Outburst of Dutch Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israelism

A close up of one country in an increasingly ugly Europe.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/15415#.U9iIXPmSyYQ

Oh Sorry, It was only Kerry & Obama who are 

Anti-Israel/Pro-Hamas

Congress Scrambling to Approve Iron Dome Boost

Democratic and Republican members of Congress scrambling to seal a $225 million boost to Iron Dome before their recess.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183506#.U9iGKPmSyYQ

Lets see who is concerned about Civilian lives

UNRWA HQ in Gaza

Flash 90

The IDF on Sunday confirmed firing a mortar round into a Gaza UN shelter where 15 people died on Thursday, but denied killing anyone at the site, according to AFP.
Briefing journalists on the findings of an internal military enquiry into the incident at a UN school in Beit Hanoun, spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner said that terrorists "in the vicinity" of the school fired mortar rounds and anti-tank rockets at Israeli forces.
The army responded with mortar fire, sending a stray round into the compound.
"A single errant mortar (round) landed in the courtyard of the school," Lerner was quoted as having said.
"The courtyard was completely empty" at the time of the incident, he added.
"We reject the claims that were made by various officials immediately following the incident, that people were killed in the school premises as a result of (Israeli army) operational activity," Lerner said, according to AFP.
Following Thursday’s incident, the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) which runs the school laid blame for the civilian deaths on the IDF, claiming it never received approval from the IDF for an evacuation from the facility.
Multiple IDF sources later rejected UNRWA’s claims and characterized them as outright falsehoods.
“For two days we were trying to move people out of that school in particular and the Beit Hanoun area in general,” said an IDF official who was involved in the interactions between the IDF, UNRWA, and International Red Cross (ICRC) leading up to the incident.
An official IDF statement had said that “the IDF authorized a humanitarian time window for evacuation between 10:00-14:00 IDT earlier today. Hamas prevented the civilians from leaving it and once again used their infrastructure and international symbols as human shields. In the course of the afternoon, several rockets launched by Hamas from within the Gaza Strip landed in the Beit Hanoun area.”
An AFP photographer who went to the scene saw blood spattered on the ground and Gaza emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said 15 people died in the blast and at least another 200 people were injured.
"Many have been killed -- including women and children," UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement, adding that he was "appalled".
Lerner suggested the victims may have been hit in fighting raging elsewhere and "brought to the compound after injury" for first aid or shelter.
Hamas has openly boasted about the "success" of its strategy of using civilians as human shields during Operation Protective Edge, and the IDF has published extensive evidence of the practice.
By contrast, the IDF has dropped leaflets, sent phone messages, and issued general warnings to all civilians within range of upcoming airstrikes to prevent further harm.

Massive Hamas Mega-Attack Planned for 

Jewish New Year Through Gaza Terror Tunnels

UNRWA – the UN agency who’s schools have been stockpiling Hamas weapons. UNRWA – the UN agency whose schools that have been teaching, advancing and promoting the Jihad against the Jews. The UN – arm of the global jihad.

One  of the captured Hamas terrorists that was questioned a couple of days ago days ago apparently told the IDF that Hamas had a grand plan to attack Israeli civilians on the perimeter of Gaza via the underground tunnels. Their D-day was supposed to be our high holiday of Rosh Hashana – the New Year, Sept 24,  2014. 

The plan was for hundreds of Hamas jihadists to access Israel via the terror tunnels to wage a simultaneous attack  and slaughter as innocent civilians as possible from those tunnels. Machine gun down as many innocent  civilians as they could, and then to take a large number hostage and hold them in the underground tunnels as human shields against Israeli retaliation. All the while, they would launch a massive rocket attack on as many points in Israel as possible.

Ramadan kill-a-thon.

Hamas Mega-Attack Planned through Gaza Terror Tunnels,” Gates Institute, July 25, 2014 (thaks to Eli)

IDF Excavation of the tunnels has resulted in the seizure of tons of Hamas supplies as well as the discovery of plans for future operations.

Hamas had apparently been preparing a murderous assault on Israeli civilian targets for the coming Jewish New Year Holiday, Rosh Hashanah, which begins on September 24, according anonymous sources in the Israeli security services, as reported today by the Israeli daily Maariv.

The Hamas plan consisted of what was to be a surprise attack in which 200 fighters would be dispatched through each of dozens of tunnels dug by Hamas under the border from Gaza to Israel, and seize kibbutzim and other communities while killing and kidnapping Israeli civilians.

 

Israeli soldiers already frustrated a surprise assault by Hamas through one tunnel from Gaza into the Eshkol district of Israel on July 19. The Hamas fighters escaped back into the tunnel, but the clash cost the lives of two Israel Defense Force [IDF] troops.

Israel has reportedly discovered at least 30 tunnels, and has destroyed several of them by employing bulldozers. IDF excavation of the tunnels has resulted in the seizure of tons of Hamas supplies, as well as the discovery of plans for future operations. Clearly, the network of tunnels — using hundreds of tons of concrete that might otherwise have been used by the Palestinians for building homes, shopping malls, parks, schools, hospitals and libraries — indicates that Hamas had been preparing for an ongoing conflict for at least a year. According to the reports, each tunnel has arteries, veins, offshoots, and offshoots of the offshoots in intricate and complex arrangements. As one Israeli spokesman said, “There are two Gazas, one above ground and one below ground: an underground terrorist city.”

Guess what country supports Israel?

SIXTH LESSON OF GAZA WAR:
OBAMA SHOULD LEARN FROM THE CANADIANS
By Moshe Phillips and Benyamin Korn

Israel long ago learned that you can tell who your real friends are when the chips are down. The Gaza war is proving that again.

During the 2012 election campaign, when polls showed that President Barack Obama might lose a significant portion of the Jewish vote in key electoral states, he declared that he “will always have Israel’s back.”

But this past week, as hundreds of Hamas rockets rained down upon the Jewish state, and Israel really needed an ally to have its back, President Obama called Prime Minister Netanyahu to demand that Israel show “restraint.”

That was followed the next day by a phone call from Secretary of State John Kerry to Netanyahu, warning against “escalating tensions” and pressing Israel to let him “mediate a truce.”

The last thing Israel needs is a “truce” with Hamas. The Israelis have had two of those already. A “truce” means Hamas gets several more years to build up its supply of rockets, in preparation for the next round.

And with every new round, Hamas has new rockets, that can reach even further and cause even more devastation.

By pressing for “restraint” and a “truce,” Obama and Kerry are, in effect, trying to save Hamas from being crippled or destroyed by Israel. Is that their idea of “having Israel’s back” ?

Now contrast the Obama-Kerry line that with the words of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper this week:

– “The indiscriminate rocket attacks from Gaza on Israel are terrorist acts, for which there is no justification.”

– “It is evident that Hamas is deliberately using human shields to further terror in the region.”

– “Failure by the international community to condemn these reprehensible actions would encourage these terrorists to continue their appalling actions.”

– “Canada calls on its allies and partners to recognize that these terrorist acts are unacceptable and that solidarity with Israel is the best way of stopping the conflict.”

There was really nothing controversial in Harper’s words. They were simple statements of fact. But in today’s upside-down world, it is remarkable when a world leader simply tells the truth about Israel and the Palestinians.

It’s almost as if we surprised when a world leader turns out not to be a hypocrite, a political coward, or an appeaser. We’re so used to the international community’s outrageous double standards, that it becomes remarkable when a national leader acts like a mensch.

The sixth lesson from the Gaza war: Israel has a true friend in Ottawa. The White House could learn a thing or two from Stephen Harper about what it really means to have someone’s back.

FIFTH LESSON OF GAZA WAR:

U.S. ACTIONS WOULD SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS
By Moshe Phillips and Benyamin Korn

“I cannot condemn strongly enough the actions of Hamas in so brazenly firing rockets in the face of a goodwill effort to offer a ceasefire,” Secretary of State John Kerry declared on July 15.

Actually, there are a number of things Secretary Kerry could be doing beyond issuing statements expressing dismay. The Obama administration could take meaningful actions to show Hamas that there is a political price to be paid for its terrorism against Israel.

Let’s start with the money.

The United States gives $500-million each year (over $10-billion since 1994) to the Palestinian Authority regime. Even after the PA earlier this year created a new unity government with Hamas – long designated by Washington to be a terrorist organization – the Obama Administration keeps writing the checks.

How do they justify maintaining a half billion dollars annual subsidy to a PA-Hamas coalition? By pretending that Hamas, the coalition partner, actually has nothing to do with the coalition. The individual functionaries in the government are not Hamas members but “technocrats,” the administration insists. That’s the favorite new word of U.S. Mideast policymakers. Their theory–as absurd as this may sound–is that if someone is appointed by Hamas, but does not actually carry a laminated Hamas membership card in his wallet, then he’s just a “technocrat,” not a Hamas appointee.

State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki took this absurdity to a new level in her daily press briefing on July 7, by converting “technocrat” from a noun to a proper noun.  She twice referred to the PA-Hamas regime as “the Technocratic Government,” as if that is its official name.

So here’s our first action item for Secretary Kerry: admit that Hamas is part of the PA-Hamas government, and stop giving it American taxpayer dollars.

What else could the Obama Administration do, aside from professing outrage at Hamas? Plenty.

– Obama could insist that Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas carry out a real crackdown on the Hamas terror cells that operate in PA-controlled territories. The New York Times reported on March 23 that Israeli troops entered the Jenin refugee camp in pursuit of terrorists because although Jenin is under the “full control” of the Palestinian Authority, “the Palestinian [security forces] did not generally operate in refugee camps.” Yet those camps are the worst incubators of Hamas terrorist activity.

– Secretary Kerry could also be calling America’s allies, to demand that they make their financial aid to Gaza conditional on Hamas ceasing its terrorism.

– The Obama Administration could stop pressuring Israel to remove security checkpoints in the Judea-Samaria (West Bank) territories, checkpoints which help capture Hamas terrorists.

– The administration could stop pushing Israel to ease up on its blockade of Gaza, a blockade that has prevented weapons and dual-use materials from reaching the Hamas regime.

– The administration could offer a reward for information leading to the Hamas terrorists who kidnapped and murdered three Israeli teenagers, one of whom was an American citizen. For some inexplicable reason, the Rewards for Justice website, www.rewardsforjustice.net, still makes no mention of the kidnap-murder of 16 year-old Naftali Fraenkel. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-California) have introduced bipartisan legislation requiring such a reward. It shouldn’t take Congress to force the Obama administration to take such a simple and obvious step.

Strongly-worded condemnations of Hamas make for good sound bites, but unless backed by real action, they’re meaningless.

The fifth lesson from the Gaza war: It’s time for the Obama Administration’s actions against Hamas to speak louder than its words.

FOURTH LESSON FROM THE GAZA WAR:

BODY COUNTS ARE HAMAS PROPAGANDA

By Moshe Phillips and Benyamin Korn

News media coverage of the Gaza war increasingly is focusing on the body count.

It’s an easy way to make Israel look bad. And it tends to obscure who is the real aggressor in this conflict, and who is the real victim.

Each day, journalists report an ever-higher number of Gazans who have been killed, comparing it to the number of Israeli fatalities, which is still, thank G-d, zero. This kind of simplistic reporting creates a sympathetic portrayal of the Palestinians, who are shown to be genuinely suffering, while the Israeli public just seems a little scared.

But there are important reasons why there are so many more Palestinian casualties than Israeli casualties.

The first is that the Israeli government has built bomb shelters for its citizens, so they have places to hide when the Palestinians fire missiles at them.  By contrast, the Hamas regime in Gaza refuses to build shelters for the general population, and prefers to spend its money buying and making more missiles.

It’s not merely that Hamas has no regard for the lives of its own citizens. But even worse: Hamas deliberately places its civilians in the line of fire, in the expectation that Palestinian civilian casualties will generate international sympathy.

On July 10, the Hamas Ministry of the Interior issued an official instruction to the public to remain in their apartments, and “and not heed these message from Israel”
that their apartment buildings are about to be bombed.

A New York Times report on July 11 described in sympathetic detail how seven Gazans were killed, and many others wounded, in an Israeli strike despite multiple advance warnings by Israel to vacate the premises. In the 18th paragraph of the 21-paragraph feature, the Times noted, in passing: “A member of the family said earlier that neighbors had come to ‘form a human shield.’ ”

Isn’t that outrageous? Israel voluntarily gives up the advantage of surprise in order to warn Palestinian civilians and save their lives. Hamas responds by trying to ensure that Palestinian civilians get killed. And the international community chastises Israel for the Palestinian fatalities!

Another reason there are so many more Palestinian casualties is that Hamas deliberately places its missile-launchers and arms depots in and around civilian neighborhoods. Hamas hopes that Israel will be reluctant to strike such targets because of the possibility of hitting civilians. Hezbollah does the same thing in southern Lebanon. This is by now an old Arab terrorist tactic, going back more than three decades.

“One must understand how our enemy operates,” Prime Minister Netanyahu pointed out at the most recent cabinet meeting. “Who hides in mosques? Hamas.

Who puts arsenals under hospitals? Hamas. Who puts command centers in residences or near kindergartens? Hamas. Hamas is using the residents of Gaza as human shields and it is bringing disaster to the civilians of Gaza; therefore, for any attack on Gaza civilians, which we regret, Hamas and its partners bear sole responsibility.”

The final reason the Palestinian casualty toll is higher than that of Israel is that Israel has a superior army, and it’s winning this war. Those who win wars almost always have fewer casualties than those who are defeated. In Israel’s case, that’s a good thing. Israel need not feel guilty or defensive about winning. It’s a lot better than losing, as the Jewish people have learned from centuries of bitter experience as helpless victims.

Anyone with knowledge of history can appreciate how misleading casualty statistics can be. In World War II, the United States suffered about 360,000 military deaths. The Germans lost 3.2-million soldiers and 3.6-million civilians. Does that mean America was the aggressor, and Germany the victim?  Japan estimates that it suffered 1 million military deaths and 2 million civilian deaths. Does that mean America attacked Japan, and not vice versa?

The fourth lesson from the Gaza war: The body count is a form of Arab propaganda, which actually conceals who is the aggressor, and who is the victim. 

Living under Rocket fire

Living under the constant hammering of rockets is a real shocker. It costs $100,000 for each rocket interception. First let me say that, I thank Hashem that we have not been hit by rocket fire. Imagine having to explain these attacks to your kids. Americans could not guess what it feels like with constant sirens and warnings of rocket fire. Israel did not start this aggression and if Hamas would stop bombing, Israel would stop too.

Israel has been taking rocket fire for years now with an occasional retaliation. It all happened following the kidnapping and murder of three Yeshiva boys. Israel decided it will not be bullied by terrorists. Hamas is a terrorist organization and unfortunately Hamas was voted in as the leader of the Palestinian people in Gaza. The Palestinian people knew that they were “thugs” but voted them in power anyway. Unfortunately these leaders only follow their own agenda of hate, WHICH IS NOT THE PEOPLES INTEREST. Their only industry is war. The leaders take money that the US or the EU gives them and buys weapons. They let their people live in poverty. They hate us because their leaders feed them lies about their oppression. They provoked this war and Israel is ending it. The US or Russia would react much stronger than Israel is reacting. Israel put its soldier’s life at constantly at risk by trying to guard their enemy’s lives. Israel has bomb shelters to protect our children, and Hamas has these same shelters to protect their bombs. Anyway, it is very hard to live under fear. Actually Israelis live their life as usual; they are not scared of war or the enemy. The enemy can shake and shake, and the people will stay strong. They can blame us for every bad thing in their lives but they are the masters of their own future. Can you understand how a person feels when you are a nation that is always blamed for defending themselves? Where is the accountability for the one who is actually trying to kill citizens? It is like blaming a woman for killing her rapist. Yes, blame us for retaliations, but also give us credit for warning when and where, and what time we are going to attack to avoid civilian casualties. Blame Hamas for telling their people to ignore the leaflets and phone calls. I am sorry that we deploy the iron dome and we are not being killed as much as our enemy is. (Tongue in cheek- for CNN). I am glad that the people stand for the perpetrators (see picture.)

ZOA President Klein addresses Knesset about the importance of language in fighting BDS

Transcript of ZOA President Morton Klein addressing Knesset: First of all, I want to say many things have been said about Mike Huckabee. I want to say that I'm honored to be his friend and I would argue that Mike Huckabee is the greatest friend of Israel of any of the major political figures of America and I'll go further and say if Mike Huckabee was a member of the Knesset, he'd be the Knesset's greatest friend in Israel. I hear this nonsense about, "Well, I have nothing against Jews, it's just the Jewish state that I have something against." What I would like to say, could I ever possibly say, "I have nothing against the Italians, but I think that Italy should be destroyed." Do you think, maybe, I have hostility toward Italians because I'm calling for Italy to be destroyed? Well, of course, I do. This is the type of rubbish that we need to endure. ZOA President Klein addressing Knesset about the importance of language in fighting Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) I want to say a couple of quick things. First of all, words matter [inaudible 00:01:23] of delegitimization. We should be using the right words, the accurate words, that tell the truth as opposed to the words that the media and our enemies want us to use. We should not say "Arab/Israeli conflict". There is none. The Jews would have peace with the Arabs in a minute simply [inaudible 00:01:41]. We should say the Arab war against Israel because that is what it is. And, please, stop using the word "peace process", "negotiating process" maybe. We know this isn't leading the peace. Don't give it that legitimacy by using that term. We shouldn't say "We don't have a partner." That gives some legitimacy, that he's just a partner and not a [inaudible 00:02:09]. We should say that Abbas is an enemy who doesn't want peace. We're dealing with an enemy, not someone who isn't a partner. He's a man who supported the kidnapping of Shalit. He named schools and streets and sports teams after Jew-killing terrorists. He doesn't outlaw terrorist groups. He has parades glorifying terrorists. He's a holocaust denier, a terrorist praiser. This is a horrible man. This is not some man in a suit who's a decent moderate at all. We have to demonize this holocaust denying hater of Israel and Jews, Mahmoud Abbas. And please, please for God's sake, stop using the term "two-state solution". Israel is already a state. By using that term, it's as if east side is getting something. You want to say the "fraud Palestinian state solution", at least you're not acting as if Israel is not a state yet and we know, of course, a Palestinian state is not a solution because every time the Arabs have been offered a state requiring them to support Israel, they've said "No" forever. In 1937, the Peel Commission, they offered the Arabs a state on 95% the rest of Palestine, they said "No". In 1981, they offered the Palestinians a state, essentially half or the rest of Palestine, they said "No" and invaded Israel. In 2000, Ehud Barak, and in 2008, Ehud Olmert offered them states on virtually all of the disputed territories and half of Jerusalem and they said "No". Between '48 to '67, when the Arabs controlled Judea and Sumeria, they controlled Gaza and half of Jerusalem, did they establish a state? No, because their goal is not statehood. Let's stop this myth saying that what they need is a state. That is not what they want. That's not what their desire is. So, let's stop using Palestinian state solution or two-state solution when, in fact, this is simply an Arab war to destroy Israel and nothing will work until they realize that it's hopeless to try and destroy the state and that time hasn't come yet. Also, stop using the word "West Bank". Menachem Begin came to America. He came to America. He begged the Jewish leaders to stop using the work "West Bank". That was a term made up by the Arabs to de-Judeaize the area of Yehuda VeShomron and we should be using "Judea Sumeria. Never use the term "West Bank". Never use the term "settlements", for God's sake. These are Jewish communities in Yehuda VeShomron. They are not settlements, which makes it look like there are a bunch of tents all on top of a hill somewhere. And let's call it racism. When people are saying that the 350,000 Jews in Judea Sumeria should not be allowed to live there, why on earth can't 350,000 Jews live among the million Arabs, when 1.5 million Arabs live among 6 million Jews in Israel. Anyone that says Jews can't live there, it's racism and anti-Semitism, and we should call it that. And stop saying that Jerusalem is holy to Muslims. That is a propaganda lie. The word Jerusalem doesn't appear in the Koran ever. It appears 700 times in our Jewish holy books. No Arab leader visited eastern Jerusalem when they controlled it from '48 to '67. They allowed it to remain a slum. It's not in the [inaudible 00:05:18] Charter. Let's stop acting as if they have some right to Jerusalem. They have no religious, historic, or political right to Jerusalem and stop acting like we have to make a deal about Jerusalem. I'm sick and tired of their lies about Jerusalem. You know, when I gave a speech about this at a major synagogue in LA, the Rabbi became very angry and said "The Arabs will decide what's holy for them, not you, Mort Klein." And I said, "Well, suppose, tomorrow," to this Rabbi, "they decide LA is holy to them. We have to give them half of LA?" If there's no basis, if there's no basis for their arguments, they have no right to make their arguments. And, please, let's stop helping BBS by using the word occupation. For God sakes, there is no occupation. Israel has given away almost half of Judea Sumeria. That's where 99% of the Arabs live. They are running their own lives there, except for security. If they weren't constantly developing terror cells to murder Jews, Israelis wouldn't even half to be in Judea Sumeria and the areas that Israel has given away. And let's make it clear to the world that only of all the Jewish communities in Judea Sumeria, they comprise only 3% of Judea Sumeria, 3%. The images, they are all over the place. I wish it were true, but it's not true and we should make that clear. There hasn't been a single new Jewish community built since Oslo began in 1993. Not a single one. There has been Jewish homes built within the boundaries of the legal, existing communities and Israel captured this land in a defensive war in 1967. Jordan, illegally, occupied this from '48 to '67. The UN never recognized it and King Hussein, himself, in 1988, probably relinquished all claims to Judea Sumeria. This is unallocated, international land. Of course, there is no occupation. The Jews have a greater legal, political, historic and religious claim to this than any Arab or Muslim ever did. And, by the way, polls, recent polls, show that Americans, not Jews, Americans support the right of Jews to live in Judea Sumeria by 3 to 1. So, we have the support of the American people on this issue. What I'm saying are all facts. This is not editorializing. Let me just end by saying we should condemn, with all of our hearts and souls, this new alliance by Hamas and Fatah, which is an alliance with a Nazi group, whose Charter in Article 7 calls for the murder of every single Jew and what America, the European Union and the world has done is nothing short of diplomatic Kristallnacht. It is a diplomatic Kristallnacht. Not only have they not criticized it, they have embraced this alliance. They said they will negotiate with this alliance and they said they will fund this alliance. So, let's use the right term for this. It is nothing less than diplomatic Kistallnacht. I've had Democrats calling me and Obama supporters screaming at me for using this term, but it's the right term. It not Kristallnacht in that that Jews are being killed directly, but it's a diplomatic Kristallnacht. And let me, finally, end and say, and I will end, we should make it clear that this is called the Promised Land and we should ask everyone, "Who promised this land and to whom did he promise it?" God promised this land to the Jews and God does not break his promises.