‘Worse than Abbas’ words are his deeds’

Letters

Alex Grobman is right to expose the falsity of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ “moderation” (“Moderates are always at a discount,” Jan. 20).

In addition to Abbas’ recent call for Palestinians to turn their guns on Israeli Jews, Abbas calls Israel the “Zionist enemy,” has said of Palestinian suicide bombers that “Allah loves the martyr,” and has described Palestinian terrorists wanted by Israel as “heroes fighting for freedom.” He has explicitly supported the so-called “right of return” and thus the elimination of Israel by inundating it with hostile Palestinian refugees and their millions of descendants, as well as declaring his fidelity to Arafat’s goals “until we fulfill all his dreams.” He has stated on Palestinian television that neither Fatah nor Hamas need recognize Israel.

But worse than Abbas’ words are his deeds — he co-founded with Arafat Fatah, whose constitution still calls for Israel’s destruction (Article 12) and the use of terrorism (Article 19). He served as Arafat’s deputy for forty years, funded the Munich massacre, and wrote a doctoral dissertation and book denying the Holocaust. Last year, Abbas endorsed the so-called “Prisoners’ Plan,” a document produced by jailed Palestinian terrorists, that endorses continued terrorism against Israel, legitimizes the murder of Jews, does not accept Israel’s existence as a Jewish state, abrogates Palestinian obligations under the signed Oslo agreements and the 2003 Roadmap peace plan, and insists on the “right of return.” In December 2005, Abbas approved legislation mandating financial benefits to be paid to families of killed Palestinian terrorists. He has provided funds for armed units belonging to Hamas.

Are these words and deeds evidence of Mahmoud Abbas’ moderation, or the very opposite?

The Zionist Organization of America, founded in 1897, is the oldest pro-Israel organization in the United States. The ZOA works to strengthen U.S.-Israel relations, educates the American public and Congress about the dangers that Israel faces, and combats anti-Israel bias in the media and on college campuses. Its past presidents have included Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis and Rabbi Dr. Abba Hillel Silver.