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Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) President Morton A. Klein and ZOA Director of Research and Special Projects Liz Berney, Esq. released the following statement:
The ZOA welcomes home the innocent Jewish and foreign hostages released over the past three days – namely, twenty-two innocent Jewish toddlers and children (including three-year-old American-Israeli orphan Avigail Idan, who witnessed Hamas murdering her parents on October 7th); eight Jewish mothers; nine elderly Jewish women (almost all in their 70s to mid-80s, including an 84-year-old in critical condition); a Russian-Israeli released at Putin’s request; eighteen Thai nationals and a Filipino citizen. These innocent hostages suffered living in absolute darkness in terror tunnels with minimal food. Gazan civilians and/or terrorists pummeled with rocks the vehicles taking the hostages out of Gaza. The hostages will have a long road to recovery. Hamas and PIJ murdered and/or are continuing to hold captive close family members and neighbors of these hostages. Hamas and PIJ are still holding almost 200 more hostages (including 18 more innocent babies, toddlers and children and 43 women).
At the same time, ZOA is extremely concerned about the following aspects of the hostage deal:
• The deal risks causing people to lose sight of the primary goal and imperative to destroy the genocidal terror Islamist organization Hamas. Destroying Hamas is the only way to dramatically reduce the likelihood of more October 7ths. Top Hamas official Ghazi Hamad declared that Hamas will repeat the October 7th attack, again and again, until Israel is annihilated. Crushing Hamas is also the best way to obtain more hostage releases. If Hamas is not destroyed, it will also not be safe to return to and rebuild southern Israel, or live anywhere in Israel that Hamas’ rockets can reach. A further pause would thus be a mistake.
In a recent interview, brilliant Nobel laureate and game theory expert, Hebrew University Professor Yisrael (Robert) Aumann explained that the hostage and ceasefire deal was the wrong decision because it sent a strong signal that obtaining the return of the hostages is the main objective (rather than destroying Hamas); showed Israeli weakness of resolve to destroy Hamas; and will ultimately cause more dead Jews. Prof. Aumann added that Israeli weakness of resolve may enable Israel’s enemies to wipe out Israel.
Distinguished British journalist Melanie Phillips condemned the Biden administration for forcing Israel to make the hostage deal and pressuring Israel not to finish the war; and wrote: “The only realistic prospect of getting most of [the hostages] back . . . is if the IDF destroys Hamas as fast as possible. Instead, the deal makes an eventual victory for Hamas more likely. Having agreed to this ceasefire, Israel will find itself under increasing pressure from America and the west for additional and longer ceasefires 'to get more of the hostages out.' That’s the way Hamas will survive to carry out its threat to repeat the October 7 massacres 'again and again'.”
JNS Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Tobin similarly wrote that the hostage deal is “a terrible agreement from the viewpoint of [Israel’s] national security.” Tobin explained that what happens next is critical: “If Washington pressures Israel not to resume the fighting and to make subsequent deals for more halts to the Israel Defense Forces' operations, . . . that would mean that Hamas will not just be allowed to get away with mass murder. It would also emerge, however battered and bloody, as the victor of the war this genocidal movement began on Oct. 7.”
ZOA thus urges President Biden, Congress and the American public to strongly support Israel’s post-pause immediate resumption of a full-scale offensive to dismantle and destroy Hamas. And Biden, Blinken and Lew must stop pressuring and threatening Israel to accept policies detrimental to the sovereign state of Israel’s security.
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