Terrorist Hamas’ Stunning Victory Poses a Grave Threat for Israel

Dear Felice,            

I’m sure you were as horrified as I was when the terrorist organization Hamas won a shocking 76 out of 132 seats and gained an absolute majority in the Palestinian Parliament.

Hamas’ founding Charter states, “There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time”…is blatant in its antisemitism, saying that Jews “...were behind World War I…They were behind World War II…There is no war going on anywhere, without having their finger in it.” …and declares Zionism to be “behind the drug trade and alcoholism in all its kinds.”

Beyond rhetoric, Hamas has launched thousands of terror attacks against Israel with some 50 ‘successful’ suicide bombings that left 430 innocent Israelis dead and thousands maimed.

(Members of the Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, parade in the streets of the northern town of Beit Lahia as they celebrate the radical Islamist movement's win this week in the parliament poll, 27 January 2006.
AFP International Photo)

The Center needs you to join a massive campaign to demand that governments, international organizations and religious leaders effectively isolate Hamas from the world community unless and until it renounces terrorism and Jew-hatred, and recognizes the State of Israel’s fundamental right to exist. We have already begun pressing world leaders on this critical issue. 

Please sign the Urgent-Action Petitions to U.S. President George W. Bush and European Union Secretary General Javier Solana urging them to withhold the billions of dollars of aid until Hamas lays down its arms and to stand firm in the policy that there will be no place at the table for a terrorist organization committed to the destruction of the State of Israel.

Help us carry our campaign to world capitols and decision-makers by sending a contribution to the Simon Wiesenthal Center today. Your timely support is essential as Center representatives play a vital role in demanding that Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists are not bestowed international funding and legitimacy even as they pose  an existential threat to the people of Israel.

To date, despite warnings from world leaders, Hamas’ top candidate has declared that the now-ruling party will continue its efforts to destroy the Jewish State. In fact, the most beloved member of Hamas’ newly won parliamentary group is a woman who celebrates the ‘heroism’ of her three sons, each of whom became a suicide bomber.

The Wiesenthal Center was the first to translate Hamas’ genocidal antisemitic Charter in 1988 and have helped debunk claims that there has ever been any structural difference between Hamas’ terrorist and social activities. Today, we are using high-level contacts with leaders at the European Parliament in Strasbourg and officials in the United States and Canada, urging them to bar normal diplomatic relations with and financial support for the Palestinians until Hamas abandons its genocidal agenda against the Jewish State.

There are those who are calling for cooperation with Hamas, citing it as the Palestinians’ legitimate leadership choice.  Let us not forget that Adolf Hitler also gained power through Germany’s democratic process.

There is no doubt that Hamas can and will utilize its control of Palestinian education and media to create new generations of youthful suicide bombers. Already, the Hamas-run summer camps teach children warfare tactics and Jew-hatred. And their charter explicitly states that Hamas aspires to “instill the spirit of Jihad in the heart of the nation so that they would confront the enemies and join the ranks of the fighters.”

Now, it is time for civilized nations to suspend all diplomatic relations and stop all funding -- billions of dollars in aid -- of the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority unless and until it renounces its twin covenant of terrorism and genocidal hatred of the Jewish people.

Hamas must choose the uniform it is going to wear. They cannot be parliamentarians by day and terrorists by night. The choice is before them.

Please join with us in making your voice heard in this crucial fight today.

Rabbi Marvin Hier
Founder and Dean
Simon Wiesenthal Center