Simon Wiesenthal Center: 800 Missiles Later - It Is Clear That Palestinian Terrorists, Not Israel, Are Responsible For All Civilian Casualties

May 11, 2023

The Simon Wiesenthal Center condemns the continuing onslaught of hundreds of rockets targeting Israeli civilians launched by Palestinian terrorists. An Israeli man was killed, and nine others injured when one missile slammed into a private home in Rehovot. It is the first Israeli fatality since the start of Israel’s “Operation Shield and Arrow” against Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action at the SWC, issued the following statement:

“Once again, Israel faces criticism for its actions to root out the terrorist infrastructure and leadership whose sole goal is the murder Jews and destroy the Jewish State. Critics point to the fact that Palestinian casualties in Gaza includes women and children. The responsibility for those unfortunate deaths lies with the terrorists and their Iranian sponsors, not the State of Israel

Concerns have been raised by the European Union, the US, the UN, and others. Each of them should ask themselves the following question: what would you do as a sovereign state when the civilian communities in your country are pummeled by hundreds of rockets from a fully identified terrorist organization? Would you act differently than Israel? The honest answer is absolutely not. These nations would do exactly the same or maybe even a undertake more draconian measures. This crisis wasn’t created by Israel. It was spawned by the cancer of terrorism and corruption that still dominates the Palestinian people, by groups like Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and the Palestinian Authority itself who have a pay-to-slay-Jews policy in place.” 

For further information, please email Michele Alkin, Director of Global Communications at malkin@wiesenthal.com or Shawn Rodgers at srodgers@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed. 

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is a Jewish global human rights organization researching the Holocaust and hate in a historic and contemporary context. The Center confronts anti-Semitism, hate and terrorism, promotes human rights and dignity, stands with Israel, defends the safety of Jews worldwide, and teaches the lessons of the Holocaust for future generations. With a constituency of over 400,000 households in the United States, it is accredited as an NGO at international organizations including the United Nations, UNESCO, OSCE, Organization of American States (OAS), and the Council of Europe.