New York – The ZOA strongly praises President Bush for his Churchill-like stance in confronting the evil of radical Islamic terrorism. In last night’s State of the Union address, President Bush said the following: “In a time of testing, we cannot find security by abandoning our commitments and retreating within our borders. If we were to leave these vicious attackers alone, they would not leave us alone. They would simply move the battlefield to our own shores.
“There is no peace in retreat. And there is no honor in retreat. By allowing radical Islam to work its will — by leaving an assaulted world to fend for itself — we would signal to all that we no longer believe in our own ideals, or even in our own courage. But our enemies and our friends can be certain: The United States will not retreat from the world, and we will never surrender to evil.”
ZOA President Morton A. Klein urged Israel to heed Bush’s theme and apply it to its own circumstances. The ZOA believes that Israel should use this Bush/Churchill approach in confronting its own radical Islamic terrorists that are attempting to or actually murdering Jews every day in Israel. Applying Bush’s thesis, Israel also should not “leave these vicious attackers alone” because the terrorists will not leave Israel alone. What President Bush says with respect to America applies to Israel.
“If Israel does not strongly confront the terrorists, they will continue to move the battlefield towards Israel’s population centers. To paraphrase the President, “there will be no peace by Israel’s retreat from Gaza, Judea Samaria or Jerusalem. And there is certainly no honor in Israel’s retreat and promise of more retreats, i.e. unilateral withdrawals.” If Israel allows Hamas, Fatah and other radical Islamic groups to “work their will” without a strong military response, Israel is simply signaling to the Palestinian Arab terrorists that Israel no longer has the courage to protect its people by whatever means necessary.
“Israel must send a clear message to its enemies and friends that it will never retreat from Hamas, Fatah or Palestinian Islamic Jihad and will do all it can to defeat the enemies of Israel and its people. We urge Israel to apply Bush’s strategy that promotes America’s interest. We also urge President Bush to urge Israel to follow the compelling Bush strategy for defeating radical Islam, which is the enemy of America, Israel and the West.
“Israel must make no further unilateral withdrawals. This will only encourage the enemies of both Israel and the US. Just as it is right for the US to combat terrorism around the world and not to cut and run in Iraq, something that would only empower aggressive and dangerous enemies, so too it is right for Israel to fight terrorism without making concessions that only strengthen its enemy. “