ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA NEWS RELEASE   Why AIPAC’s and Others’ Refusal to Meet Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich is a Harmful Mistake If AIPAC and the Conference of Presidents and Other Jewish Groups Can Meet With Terrorist Jew-Haters Arafat and Abbas, They Can Surely Meet With Israeli Patriot Minister of Finance Smotrich   Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton A. Klein released the following statement: The refusal of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other Jewish groups (e.g., the Conference of Presidents, Reform and Conservative movements, AJC, ADL) to meet with Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is an unjustified mistake that harms Israel, the Jewish people, and AIPAC’s and others’ stated mission of “advancing the U.S.-Israel relationship.” AIPAC and other Jewish groups meet with the Palestinian regime’s terrorist dictator, Jew-hater Mahmoud Abbas, who pays Arabs to murder Jews, names schools and streets after Jew-killers and praises them as martyrs, calls Jews “filthy,” and condemns Israel’s very existence, yet they won’t meet Minister Smotrich? They’ve met with arch Jew-killer Yasser Arafat, yet won’t come near Smotrich? ADL meets with antisemite Al Sharpton, but Smotrich isn’t kosher. What irrational hypocrisy. AIPAC’s and other Jewish groups’ boycott of Minister Smotrich also sends a false and dangerous message that the democratically-elected Israeli government and its top ministers are so horrible, worse than Abbas and Arafat and PLO officials, that even an organization that calls itself “America’s pro-Israel lobby” is refusing meetings. It further makes AIPAC look hypocritical, inasmuch as AIPAC recently met with unrepentant terrorist and terror financier Hussein al-Sheikh (the PLO Executive Committee Secretary-General and PA Minister of Civil Affairs), who vowed to continue making “pay to slay” payments to murder Jews, even if this took the PA’s last penny, and glorified Jew-killers as our “loftiest precious jewel.” By contrast, Minister Smotrich repeatedly apologized for misspeaking against Palestinian Arabs in Hurawa during a moment of enormous emotional grief and misery due to the continual murder of young innocent Jews – including two Jewish brothers in a family he knew. Minister Smotrich did call for calm and not taking the law into one’s own hands; and repeatedly clarified that he was only speaking about the government acting against terrorists – and not against civilians. AIPAC’s refusal also gives the hostile-to-Israel Biden administration “cover” for disparaging and refusing to meet with Minister Smotrich, and for possibly even denying Minister Smotrich entry into the United States, further eroding the U.S.-Israel relationship. Background on Recent Palestinian Arab Terror Attacks on Innocent Jews...     READ MORE   Share on Twitter   Founded in 1897, ZOA played a key role in the Jewish State's re-establishment. Today, ZOA is the leading major American Jewish organization courageously defending Israel and the Jewish people; fighting against all forms of antisemitism, including anti-Jewish boycotts; and promoting the Jewish people's lawful right to live in and settle historic Jewish lands. ZOA exposes that a Palestinian state would endanger Israel's existence; presents the facts about the Arab/Islamic war against Israel; and combats the anti-Israel lie that Israel is an "occupier" of her own land. ZOA spearheaded long battles to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, and apply civil rights protections to Jewish students. ZOA provides free legal assistance and programs to pro-Israel students at numerous college campuses. ZOA's bold, unapologetic voice has a significant impact on public discourse and policy. DONATE NOW Copyright © Zionist Organization of America 2023, All rights reserved. Zionist Organization of America | 633 Third Ave, 31 B, New York, NY 10017 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]