Our Spiritual Homeland

Following is from an organization called the FLAME. I support them and urge you to as well. Info following is good to help understand the situation in the Holy Land.

Israel responds in self-defense to five years of Hamas rocket attacks on civilians . . . and of course, Arabs and the U.N. are "outraged"
Dear Friend of FLAME:

Since 2003, Hamas terrorists have been launching rockets from Gaza into the Western Negev desert town of Sderot and more recently the larger city of Ashkelon---well over 5,000 missiles have landed in Israel to date, hundreds of which were launched in the last week, including one recent day in which 80 rockets hit Israel. This is clearly war, initiated by Hamas. Predictably, the Arab world is "outraged" at Israel's response, and the U.N. security council has called for both parties to cease fire.

Imagine how the U.S., Germany, Italy, Turkey or China would respond to attacks like this. How long would these countries permit daily cross-border rocket attacks on their civilians to continue without definitive, crushing response? Yet Israeli response until this weekend has been restrained, limited to occasional targeted retaliation on individual Hamas rocket-launching teams, when they could be located.

Israel cannot delay any longer. Its citizens plea for a stop to the attacks and a return to security. Now is the time for Israel to protect its cities through a military response against the terror infrastructure in Gaza. It's called self-defense.

Israel turned Gaza over to the Palestinians five years ago to create an opportunity for peace. In return, the Hamas terror organization took control of Gaza and is using its citizens as cover while it a) deliberately targets Israeli residential communities, b) espouses destruction of the state of Israel, and c) rejects every peace overture offered by Israel and the international community. For example, Israel agreed to a truce with Hamas through Egypt, which was violated by Hamas through continued rocket attacks, attempts to plant improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Israel, imprisonment of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, and smuggling of increasingly deadly arms through tunnels to Egypt and by sea.

Even Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas declared this weekend that he had reached out to Hamas, urging them to continue the recent ceasefire with Israel. Even Abbas says that Hamas is responsible for Israel's forceful response. Why then does the international community put the onus on Israel (as it did during the Lebanon war in 2006) to end the fighting?

Imagine this: Despite everything, Israel continues to allow shipments of medical and other humanitarian materials into Gaza, it treats Palestinian victims of misaimed Hamas rocket attacks, and it attempts to avoid or minimize harm to Palestinian civilians, hundreds of thousands of whom live in neighborhoods and buildings in which Hamas has located its operations headquarters.

Unfortunately, Hamas cynically abuses its own civilian population and uses their suffering for propaganda purposes. Clearly, the responsibility for harm to Palestinian civilians lies with Hamas.

Hamas is a terrorist organization, supported by Iran, which does not represent the legitimate national interests of the Palestinian people. Rather, it advocates a radical, global Islamist agenda that seeks to impose fundamentalist religious law (Sharia) upon its people and all other people in the Middle East.

While confronting Hamas, Israel continues to believe in a two-state solution and remains committed to negotiations with the legitimate Palestinian Authority in the context of the peace process, launched at Annapolis. In defiance of the international community, Hamas has consistently and categorically rejected this path to peace.

Israel deserves our support---as well as that of the European Union, the U.N. and the rest of the international community---as it confronts the agents of global terror and fights for all those who hope that a spirit of peace and co-existence will determine the agenda of this region.

Best regards,

Jim Sinkinson
Director, FLAME

P.S. Now that the Israeli Army has finally decided to act with force in Gaza---hundreds of fighter jet sorties, dozens of Hamas operation centers destroyed, and more than 200 Palestinian terrorists killed---it's critical that we get Israel's message out as to why this operation is happening. Believe me, the outcry from the Arab street, Muslim states, the U.N., Europe and even factions in American society will become hysterical, demanding that Israel give up its right to self-defense. Pressure will mount on members of Congress and President-elect Obama to force Israel to make unreasonable concessions. To counter this propaganda, FLAME will be sending out thousands of explanatory email messages like this one to its supporters. I hope you'll pass this and future messages along to your friends, colleagues and fellow congregants.

To make sure Americans clearly understand the issues and stakes surrounding the issues in Gaza, FLAME continues to publish its hard-hitting position papers in media nationwide. That's why we recently published "Rockets Over Sderot: What should Israel do to stop this outrage?" This piece has appeared in dozens of publications, including college newspapers, in recent months and has reached tens of millions of Americans. We've also mailed it to every member of Congress. I encourage you to print this article out and pass it on to others. Most of all, if you agree that this kind of public relations---I call it "truth-telling"---on Israel's behalf is critical, I urge you to support us. Remember: FLAME's powerful ability to influence public opinion comes from individuals like you, one by one. I hope you'll consider giving a donation now, as you're able---with $500, $250, $100, or even $18? (Remember, your year-end donation to FLAME is tax deductible.) To contribute online, just go to http://www.factsandlogic.org/make_a_donation.html. Thanks for continuing to help us keep the flame alive: Am Yisrael Chai! (Israel Lives!)


P.P.S. I think you'll also appreciate a recent piece we just posted on our website, by commentator Barry Rubin: "Liar, liar, pants on fire"---which explains in detail the cynical, self-destructive (and even stupid) strategy of Hamas in escalating the violence against Israel at this time. Rubin outlines the implications of Hamas's ceasefire rejection on Israeli elections, Palestinian power struggles and Barack Obama's Middle East policy. It's an excellent piece for Zionist insiders. If you support FLAME in our efforts to publicize fearlessly the truth about the enemies of Israel and the U.S., please take a minute now to make a year-end donation to FLAME---online at http://www.factsandlogic.org/make_a_donation.html. Remember, FLAME receives 95% of its financial support from committed supporters of Israel, one by one, like you.