The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is critical of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s strong public pressure on Israel to expedite the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza and claiming that Israel was foot-dragging on the issue. A senior US official was quoted as telling Israeli authorities “Israel is not making enough effort to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza” while reports indicate that Clinton intends to make this a major issue on her forthcoming visit to the region. Israel refuses to reopen its crossing points into Gaza until and unless Hamas releases Corporal Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas operative from Gaza two years ago. Hamas rejects the quid pro quo. Clinton is scheduled to visit Israel on Tuesday, a day after attending a summit of 80 countries that are pledging aid to rebuild Gaza following Operation Cast Lead, launched in December by Israel to put an end to Hamas’ incessant rocket fire into Gaza. (Andy Soltis, ‘Hill hammers Israel over Gaza aid crisis,’ New York Post, February 26, 2009).
The United States is giving $900 million in U.S. taxpayer money to aid Gaza, an entity controlled by Hamas and which voted in large numbers for Hamas (Article 15), a recognized terrorist organization that calls in its Charter for the destruction of Israel and the murder of Jews (Article 7). Hamas has claimed the lives of over 500 Israelis in eight years of suicide bombings and other terror attacks deliberately targeting Israeli civilians. Hamas officials have called for America’s destruction and the murder of all Americans.
Some recent Hamas statements on the United States & the West:
· Hamas spokesman Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rantisi: “I think that the West’s arrogance will lead it to its sure end if it is determined to act with aggression and terror against the Islamic nation, and that its first defeat will be in Iraq” (‘Hamas Spokesman: Iraq Must Establish a Suicide Army,’ Middle East Media Research Institute, January 8, 2003).
· Hamas Leader Khaled Masha’al: “America will be defeated in Iraq. Wherever the [Islamic] nation is targeted, its enemies will be defeated, Allah willing … I say to the [European countries]: Hurry up and apologize to our nation, because if you do not, you will regret it. This is because our nation is progressing and is victorious. Do not leave a black mark in the collective memory of the nation, because our nation will not forgive you” (‘“Hamas Leader Khaled Mash’al at a Damascus Mosque: The Nation of Islam Will Sit at the Throne of the World and the West Will Be Full of Remorse – When It’s Too Late,”’ Middle East Media Research Institute, February 7, 2006).
· Hamas statement on death of Al-Qaeda’s Abbas Musab al Zarqawi: In similar vein, a Hamas statement later mourned Zarqawi: a “brother fighter… who was martyred at the hands of the savage crusade campaign which targets the Arab homeland, starting in Iraq.” (‘Who’s sad about Zarqawi?,’ Jerusalem Post, June 8, 2006); Hamas ‘Foreign Minister’ Mahmoud Zahar: “We are dead sure that assassination of any of the people (like al-Zarqawi) who are resisting will not … end the resistance.” (‘Zahar: Zarqawi’s death will not end resistance,’ Jerusalem Post, June 8, 2006).
· Abu Abdullah, a leader of Hamas’ Izzedine al-Qassam Martyrs Brigades: “Asked which U.S. targets Hamas would hit, Abu Abdullah replied, ‘Do you think that I can give you an answer to this question? I can say that the Middle East is full of American targets and the world has had the occasion to learn what are the weapons of the anti-American forces in the region.’” (‘Hamas threatens attacks on U.S. Terrorist warns ‘Middle East is full of American targets,’ World Net Daily, December 22, 2006).
· Hamas’ Ahmed Bahar, Speaker of the PA legislature: “Allah, take hold of the Americans and their allies… Allah, count them and kill them to the last one and don’t leave even one.” (‘PA Leader calls for killing all Jews and Americans,’ Palestinian media Watch, April 20, 2007).
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “The ZOA believes that Secretary Clinton is taking a fundamentally misconceived approach to the Arab war on Israel. By giving priority to aiding Gaza, an entity controlled by Hamas which is distinguished for its genocidal anti-Semitism and fervent anti-American hatred, she is pressuring Israel to go beyond its already generous provision of supplies and aid to a hostile entity which is simply unprecedented in history. Can Secretary Clinton name another case in which humanitarian supplies are given to an entity with which one is at war? Did America give aid to German civilians in World War Two? Did we give aid to North Korea during the Korean War? Why then is Secretary Clinton insisting that Israel do more than it has already done? Clearly, she would not be making these critical statements without the approval and knowledge of President Obama. Therefore, we urge them both to rethink their approach to the Arab war on Israel.
“First on Secretary Clinton’s agenda should have been the ending of the incitement to hatred and murder that permeates the Hamas-controlled (as well as the PA-controlled) media, mosques, schools, and youth camps. Senator Clinton rightly won praise for taking on this issue some years ago and speaking about the absolute need for the ending of this poisonous Palestinian culture of hatred and aggression that dooms any prospect of negotiated peace, yet Secretary Clinton is silent on this now.
“The Obama Administration says it want to bring about peace. How can it reasonably expect to have any success in this task if the Palestinian culture of glorification of terror and incitement to hatred and murder is not even on its agenda?
“Secretary Clinton is now in a position to do something about an issue she herself promoted as senator. We are concerned that we can no longer give credence to her past strong words of support for Israel. In this context, it is notable that Mortimer Zuckerman, publisher of the New York Daily News and member of the NYC Jewish Community Relations Council has said, ‘I am very surprised, frankly, at this statement from the United States government and from the secretary of state,’ while NY Assemblyman Dov Hikind, (D-Brooklyn) said, ‘I liked her a lot more as a senator from New York … Now, I wonder as I used to wonder who the real Hillary Clinton is.’”
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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.
