ZOA Mourns Deaths Of Three Israeli Youths Kidnapped & Murdered By Palestinian Terrorists
News Press Release
June 30, 2014

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) mourns the deaths of the three Jewish Israeli youths –– Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Fraenkel, 16 –– snuffed out by Palestinian Arab terrorist murderers who abducted them earlier this month near Hebron. The corpses of the three teenagers were discovered earlier today by Israeli police, bound and partially buried, in an open field at Wadi Tellem near Hebron.

 The kidnappers have been identified by Israel as Marwan Kawasmeh and Amar Abu-Eisha, who belong to Hamas, which calls in its Charter for the worldwide murder of Jews and with which Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah/Palestinian Authority (PA) formed a new government last month. The ZOA has called on President Barack Obama to terminate U.S. taxpayer-funded aid to the Hamas/Fatah unity regime.

 The ZOA condemns this heinous crime committed by the Palestinian Arab terrorists and is also deeply critical of the fact that President Barack Obama did not condemn the kidnapping of the youths at any time during the 18-day ordeal, even though one of the youths, Naftali Frankel, was a dual American-Israeli citizen.

 ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “The ZOA mourns the lives of these three Jewish teenagers, mercilessly and viciously snuffed out by their Palestinian terrorist abductors. Our hearts are grief-stricken and go out to their families, who have endured an unimaginable nightmare, only to awaken to utter horror and loss.

 “We condemn this unspeakable crime, one which Hamas has ghoulishly praised and welcomed, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal saying, ‘Blessed be the hands that captured them.’

 “We now call upon Abbas to terminate his Fatah/PA unity regime with Hamas, especially in view of the PA’s statement earlier this month that it would do so if Hamas was involved in the kidnapping.

 “We also condemn Abbas for his criticism of Israel having mounted extensive, house-to-house searches for the kidnapped youths. This is what any self-respecting country does when its citizens are victims of terrorism. When the Boston Marathon was bombed by radical Muslim terrorists, the Boston police locked down half the city and conducted house-to-house searches until they located the perpetrators. Why would or should Israel do any less?

“We condemn this unspeakable crime, one which Hamas has ghoulishly praised and welcomed…”

 “We are also critical of President Obama throughout this crisis. In 18 days, he uttered no criticism or condemnation of the kidnapping of the three youths, one of whom is an American citizen; he merely expressed concern. Condemnation of this terrorist act came only from Secretary of State John Kerry ––  after several days had passed. We believe it is grossly inadequate for an American president to fail to condemn this kidnapping, involving an American citizen.

 “Did not President Obama say on May 23 at the National Defense University that the U.S. needed to conduct ‘a series of persistent, targeted efforts to dismantle specific networks of violent extremists that threaten America’? Surely this should mean cutting off a regime which includes just such a terrorist network?

 “We call upon President Obama to demand that Abbas terminate his unity regime with Hamas, failing which he will cut relations and aid to the PA. In particular, he should immediate announce the cancellation of nearly $500 million recently announced to the Hamas/Fatah regime.”

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