Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton A. Klein released the following statement:
It is extraordinarily dangerous that, while Israel is under massive attack on seven fronts, the Biden administration again this weekend threatened Israel that if Israel does not dramatically increase aid shipments to the enemy Gazans (shipments that Hamas always seizes), the Biden administration will cut off arms to Israel. Such an arms embargo could cause a massacre of Jews. (See also discussion of previous October 13 Biden administration letter threatening to cut off arms to Israel at: “ZOA Condemns Biden Pressuring Israel Not to Attack Iran’s Oil and Nuclear Facilities, and Threatening an Arms Embargo Against Israel,” Oct. 16, 2024.)
The last time there was a U.S. arms embargo against Israel, in 1948, over one percent of Israel’s Jewish population (over 6,000 Jews, or the equivalent of 70,000 Jews today) was killed in Arab attacks on the Jewish nation. Is this what the Biden administration wants? Is Biden potentially facilitating the murder of Jews?!
The Biden administration’s renewed dangerous threats were made even after Israel surged aid to enemy Gazans in recent days; and even after left wing Israeli news outlet Channel 12 reported that Hamas is seizing control of vast amounts of the aid, hides the aid in warehouses and then sells it to Gazans for a huge profit, and that Hamas has earned half a billion dollars from selling the aid, and that Hamas uses these ill-gotten earnings to recruit new terrorists and pay salaries to existing terrorists. In addition to seizing aid, Hamas has been levying taxes on aid brought in by commercial vendors.
Why is the Biden administration pressuring Israel to enrich designated terror organization Hamas?
Notably, Israel is not responsible for stopping aid. Israel merely tried to stop humanitarian aid from falling into Hamas’ hands, by asking UN relief agencies moving aid from Jordan to Gaza to sign a customs form providing passport details and accepting liability for any false information on a shipment. The UN agencies disputed and refused to sign the forms.
Israel has facilitated an enormous amount of aid into Gaza since Hamas and enemy Gazan civilians murdered over 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped another 250 Israelis on October 7, 2023. As of October 30, 2024, Israel has facilitated over one million tons (1,094,337 tons of aid, in 55,375 trucks and 9,979 pallets) into Gaza.
An expert nutritional assessment of the aid pouring into Gaza in May 2024 found that the food aid for each man, woman and child in Gaza was 4,198 calories per day, including 124 grams of protein, 71.6 grams of fat, and 30.3 mg of iron. This is more than double the recommended nutritional requirements for most Americans! (The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services and USDA recommendation for women is 1,600 to 2,000 calories; and for men is 2,000 to 2,400 calories – dropping to 2,000 calories for men over age 50; and for children is 100 to 2,200 calories per day, depending on age.
It is unheard of for nations to help enemies bent on murdering their citizens the way that Israel is helping Gazans. Is America expressing concern about Russian civilians being killed by Ukraine in their war?! Is Ukraine sending or facilitating food to Russia? Did the U.S. send aid to Iraqi civilians during the U.S.-Iraq war against Saddam Hussein, or to civilians in the areas where we fought Al Qaeda? What is going on here?
ZOA again demands that the Biden administration stop its unconscionable threats and demands on Israel which endanger millions of Jewish people.