
Stephen M. Flatow is President of the Religious Zionists of America (RZA) He is the father of Alisa Flatow, who was murdered in an Iranian-sponsored Palestinian terrorist attack in 1995 and the author of A Father’s Story: My Fight for Justice Against Iranian Terror. Note: The RZA is not affiliated with any American or Israeli political party.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American citizen taken captive on October 7th, and five other Israelis, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Ori Danino were found murdered in a Hamas tunnel deep underground. Their bodies were recovered by the IDF as it battles Hamas in southern Gaza.
Make no mistake: some would have you believe that these souls were “killed” as if they died in a traffic accident, but, no, they were callously and brutally murdered by cowards who hide in tunnels or behind civilians on Gaza’s streets or in the basement of UNWRA schools, hospitals, and mosques. They were shot in the head from close range, murdered while politicians force Israel to negotiate for a cease fire with their murderers.
The response of Washington officialdom to the news of the murders is more than disappointing. Referring to Hersh Goldberg-Polin, American Vice President Kamala Harris said in her Saturday evening statement, “His body was recovered today in the tunnels under Rafah, along with five other hostages.” Remember that’s the same Rafah that President Biden and Harris had been publicly and loudly warning Israel for months not to go into.
“Hamas is an evil terrorist organization,” said Harris. She continued, “With these murders, Hamas has even more American blood on its hands.” Welcome to reality, Ms. Harris. So, I ask, what’s next on your agenda?
Will the Biden administration’s off-again on-again delay in shipping munitions to Israel continue? Will the administration continue in its attempts to limit Israel’s actions as it goes about eliminating a terrorist organization with “American blood on its hands?” Will America, at long last, take steps to eliminate the threats posed by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah? Or will it continue to sit on its hands as more people are murdered by bullets, missiles and bombs in Israel?
I fear the latter.
The time has come for the U.S. to take off its gloves and get into the fight. And that fight has to be brought to the door of the nation that leads the world in sponsoring terror – the Islamic Republic of Iran. But American blood is not only on the hands of Iran but on those of its cheerleaders- Qatar and Turkey which daily spew venom at Israel either directly or through their media. A hard reset of American relations with them is needed.
And let’s not leave Egypt out of the equation. The recipient of $1.5Billion in aid from the U.S. in 2023, tunnels that begin in Egypt and run through Rafah and the Philadelphi corridor are the source of Hamas armaments and the flow of cash. To those who think that can happen without Egypt’s military and political leadership not being aware of it, I say “wake up.”
As Ira Stoll notes in his comments on the Harris statement, “it’s not just “American citizens in Israel” who are threatened by Hamas but American citizens in America and all over the world who are threatened by the radical Islamist anti-capitalist and anti-American terrorist ideology of which Hamas is just one variety. Hamas is ISIS, as Prime Minister Netanyahu explained immediately after October 7, 2023. Hamas is Al Qaeda. Hamas is the Iranians who seized the American embassy in Tehran in 1979.”
More than 150 Americans have been murdered by terrorists from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and others over the years. How can the Biden administration and Ms. Harris continue to stand by with their hands in their pockets? Press statements won’t bring back Hersh Goldberg-Polin or my daughter Alisa. Their physical presence is lost to us forever, but their memories should drive each and every one of us to urge our leaders and lawmakers to bring the fight to terror’s doorstep. Civilization as we know it in the west is at risk if we don’t.