Israeli Prime Minister in Personal Plea to Wiesenthal Center: "This is Not a War We Sought...We Must Defend Our Citizens"

January 11, 2009

In a phone call earlier today, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reached out to Simon Wiesenthal Center Dean and Founder, Rabbi Marvin Hier to urge the 400,000 members of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, North American Jewry and Americans to rally behind Israel's just cause. "This is not a war we sought," Mr Olmert said, adding "We [Israel] did not start this, but we must defend our citizens. We cannot accept any more
rocket firing into southern Israel by Hamas," the Prime Minister told Rabbi Hier.

Prime Minister Olmert's phone call came hours before Rabbi Hier attended a large pro-Israel rally in Los Angeles where he told the news networks: "Enough is enough. Israel stood by for months as Hamas pummeled Israel's southern civilian communities with thousands of rockets. She is finally doing what any country -the U.S., Canada, Mexico, France would do when its civilians are targeted. Hamas started it - let Israel finish the job if the international community is unable or unwilling to guarantee that the terrorist group won't quickly be rearmed with more deadly missiles by its Iranian patron," he added

For more information, contact the Wiesenthal Center's Public Relations Department, 310-553-9036.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe