“Many people feel more in control and safer if they can blame a democratically elected government which will respond to pressure, rather than facing the cold ruthlessness of the enemy directly,” said AMCD co-chair Tom Harb. “The same thing happened after 9/11 when many Americans preferred to blame the U.S. itself for being attacked. U.S. policy can be influenced; the jihadi fanatics cannot.”
“It’s extremely disturbing how many western students and intellectuals swallow Hamas’ propaganda whole,” added AMCD co-chair John Hajjar. “They seem to have no historical knowledge of the rise and spread of that conquering faith nor any knowledge of the history of antisemitism and its consequences. The ignorance of these so-called educated elites is shocking.”
“A deal was put forward and rejected by Hamas, but even if they had accepted it, Hamas, for all practical purposes, was only obligated to release corpses in exchange for Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza,” added said Gazelle Sharmahd, daughter of German-American Journalist Jimmy Sharmahd, who was kidnapped to Iran and is being held hostage since 2020. “This means Hamas could (and would) simply retake the areas they have already lost, re-arm, and re-supply with the promised financial aid in phase 3 (of the deal) and then launch yet another terrorist attack as they have promised their base. Every time a cease-fire has been negotiated, it has always led to more civilian deaths, more hostages, and more destabilization for the state of Israel.”
“Leftist groups which have allied with jihadists in the past, for example, communists who allied with the Ayatollah prior to the Iranian revolution, were quickly liquidated upon the assumption of power by the Islamists,” said former AMCD executive director, Rebecca Bynum. “Islamists, like the communists before them, view these naïve left-wingers as ‘useful idiots.’ “
“In recent weeks, Iranian government actors have sought to opportunistically take advantage of ongoing protests regarding the war in Gaza, using a playbook we’ve seen other actors use over the years,” said U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines in a statement. “We have observed actors tied to Iran’s government posing as activists online, seeking to encourage protests, and even providing financial support to protesters.”
“Instead of pressuring the government of Israel to abdicate to Hamas, demonstrations should pressure Mr. Netanyahu to end the jihadi militias, said AMCD senior advisor, Dr. Walid Phares. “More importantly, they should focus their demands on the U.S. Administration and international community to pressure Qatar to force Hamas to release the hostages and even deter the Islamic Regime from incentivizing Hamas to seize hostages by stopping any transfer of money to the Ayatollahs. In this way, progress might actually be made toward peace.”
Rebecca Bynum
The American Mideast Coalition for Democracy
+1 615-775-6801
rebecca@americanmideast.com
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