In Defence of Israel and Against Terrorism

Declaration by Board Members of “Friends of Israel Initiative”

July 14, 2014

Since 8 July, the Israeli Defence Forces have been drawn into another major conflict against Hamas, an internationally condemned, terrorist organization, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. The current escalation, though, has been preceded by the tragic kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers by Hamas members, still fugitive, and followed by the also dramatic killing of a Palestinian boy by Israeli extremists -who are already arrested and under the full extent of the law.  

Hamas has dominated the Gaza Strip since 2006, and has fully controlled it since in summer 2007 expelled al-Fatah members after a civil war between two organizations; the claim than an Israeli “occupation” of Gaza is the reason for Gaza-based rocket attacks on cities throughout Israel has no basis in reality. Were there no rocket fire from Gaza, there would be no acts of self-defense by Israel, and there would be no Palestinian victims. As is too often the case, too much of international public opinion has blamed Israel for a humanitarian crisis that is, at root, caused by Hamas and its lethal actions.

In light of this distortion, Friends of Israel Initiative proposes, once again, that this conflict be examined more objectively, with intellectual honesty and sound historical and political judgment. Thus we call on all persons of good will to unhesitatingly condemn Hamas and those other extremist organizations that make the quest for peace in the Middle East virtually impossible, and that, to our great sorrow, act in such a way that the price for their extremism is paid by the Palestinian citizens of Gaza. It is Hamas, not Israel, that is primarily responsible for the lack of economic and cultural development in Gaza, for it is Hamas that diverts generous international humanitarian aid to the purchase of rockets, mortars, and military infrastructure while fostering a lethal climate of hatred against Jews and the Christians.  

Hamas’s rocket attacks against Israel over the past decade have disrupted life in Israel for far too long: because of these constant attacks, children cannot go to school, business cannot function, and the elderly and sick become prisoners in shelters. And these terror attacks have but one purpose: to kill civilians – an aim frustrated in part by Israel’s effective civil defense system and its “Iron Dome” system of missile defense.  

Hamas, by contrast, demands that the people of Gaza act as human shields, as the Hamas’ spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri has encouraged, and at the same time is hiding military infrastructure amidst schools, hospitals, and private homes, which has led, sadly, to civilian deaths in Gaza. Every innocent civilian killed, regardless on which side, is a terrible outcome, however it is a goal pursued by Hamas in order to protect its arsenal and to gain international legitimacy as victims. Actually, before Israel forces attack legitimate targets, Israel, through leaflets and personal telephone calls, has asked thousands of Palestinian civilians to leave their homes and to save their families. Again, by contrast, and with clear intent to deceive international public opinion as to who is ultimately responsible for Palestinian deaths in Gaza, Hamas has built no civil defense system and no shelters, on the contrary, as noted, has encouraged civilians to disobey Israeli warnings.  

Even as we hope that the parties to the Gaza conflict will come to a quick cease fire, we also urge policy makers, international institutions, the UN, and the European Union, to see reality for what it is: there is an unaccountable terrorist aggressor, Hamas; and there is a democratically elected and accountable government in Israel that has a duty to defend its people from aggression. Ill-informed condemnations of Israel do not contribute to building peace; they do strengthen the hand of terrorists, and by doing so, condemn the people of Gaza to further suffering. The international community must take therefore the necessary steps to stop the continuous attack of Hamas on Israel; to eliminate Hamas’s arms-smuggling and propaganda; and to call to account Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, who, by accepting Hamas into a coalition government, has assumed a responsibility that must now to met by effective work for peace. The international community must also have the courage to condemn Hamas for its evident will to destroy Israel while affirming Israel’s right of self-defence.

The Friends of Israel Initiative believes that such by international organizations will both help build peace in Gaza and help meet the challenge of anti-democratic terrorism throughout the world, which daily claims more victims.  

José María Aznar, Former President of Spain

John R. Bolton, Former US Representative to the UN

Lord William David Trimble, First Minister, Northern Ireland, 1998 to 2002 Nobel Peace Prize in 1998

Luis Alberto Lacalle, Former President of Uruguay

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, Former Minister of Defence of Germany

Giulio Terzi, Former Foreign Minister of Italy

Richard Kemp, Former British Military Commander

George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center

Andrew Roberts, British historian and writer

Roberto F. Agostinelli, Managing Director at Rhône Group, Rhone Capital

Fiamma Nirenstein, Italian politician, journalist and author Carlos Bustelo, Former Industry Minister of Spain

Carlos Alberto Montaner, Exiled Cuban author and journalist

Rafael L. Bardají, Executive Director