NEW YORK- The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has sent a telegram to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, pointing out that the U.S. Congress and public would support a strong Israeli response to this week’s massacre of 16 Israelis in Beersheba.
The Jerusalem Post reports (Sept. 1, 2004) that Prime Minister Sharon and his advisers have decided that the Israeli Army “is not going to launch any large-scale action” in response to the massacre of 16 Israelis in the Beersheba bus bombings. The Israeli daily Ha’aretz reports (Sept.1, 2004) that the Army entered Hebron today to dismantle the homes of the two suicide bombers, but then held back from demolishing one of them because of “the danger of damage to nearby apartments.”
In a telegram to Sharon, ZOA National President Morton A. Klein, chairman of the board Dr. Alan Mazurek, and chairman of the National Executive Committee Dr. Michael Goldblatt wrote:
“Israel is at war. For the past four years, the Palestinian Arabs have waged daily warfare against Israel, in which more than one thousand Israelis have been murdered and more than ten thousand wounded.
“If any country would refrain from defending itself in war because civilians might be harmed, it would mean allowing tyrants and terrorists to triumph. The tragic reality is that every war involves some risk to civilians. But the risk here is caused by the Palestinian Arabs, who, in blatant violation of the Geneva Convention, place their forces in civilian areas so as to use the civilians as human shields.
“Israel’s war against militant Islamic terror is the same as America’s war against militant Islamic terror. That war is undermined if one flank is left partly unguarded — that is, if the terrorists believe they can attack Israelis without fearing any significant military consequences.
“If the prime minister or the Israeli public are concerned that world public opinion will criticize Israel for hitting back at the terrorists, we want to reassure them, based on our extensive contacts in Washington and around the country, that the U.S. Congress and public would, in fact, support a strong Israeli response to the massacre.”