F L A M E : Dear Friend of Israel, dear Friend of FLAME

“From the earliest grades in school, children are systematically indoctrinated to hate Jews and Israelis and to find their greatest glory in becoming shahids (martyrs) as suicide bombers and in killing as many Jews as possible in the process.”

February, 2005

Dear Friend of Israel, dear Friend of FLAME:

The Romans had a saying that only good things should be said about someone who has died. The Bible has a different take on that. In Proverbs 11:10, we learn that “When the wicked perish, there is shouting.” We shall follow that advice and state, without doubt and without hesitation, that the world should rejoice that Yasser Arafat, who was one of the worst monsters of this and the last century, has finally gone to his “reward.” He was a truly evil and wicked man. While he was not able to operate on that large a plane, he was certainly in the same evil league as Adolf Hitler or Josef Stalin.

This is not the place to enumerate the many crimes that Arafat has committed and that were committed at his specific orders. Some of the “highlights” were the murder of eleven Israeli athletes at the Munich 1972 Olympics; the cold-blooded killing of 25 people -- 21 of them children -- in the northern Israeli city of Ma’alot; the murder of American diplomats in Sudan; the bombing of civilian airliners; and, of course, the countless suicide bombers that left over 1,000 Israelis killed and many thousands wounded – many of them maimed for life.
And that is just a tiny fraction, just a sampler of the horrors that this evildoer inflicted – in fact, introduced – to the world.

Do you realize that, were it were not for Arafat, you would today be able to just board an aircraft – without yourself and your luggage having to go through meticulous and time-consuming inspection? Apart from the inconvenience, delay and annoyance that it causes, think of the billions of dollars it costs our country, our tax payers – you and me – every year!

Under the circumstances, it boggles the mind that presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers and other envoys from many countries paid homage at this fiend’s funeral. Even our president – we suggest that he was seriously misguided and ill advised – found it necessary to dispatch a representative of our country to this function. At least, he sent a low-level functionary, rather than a top diplomat.

While the world was still enthusing about Arafat as a great leader, a peace maker, father of his country – an Arab George Washington, we realized from the beginning what a scoundrel he really was. Even before the first Gulf War, we published in major national media our hasbarah (educational and clarifying) message “Hussein and Arafat – Birds of a Feather,” which caused much comment at the time. Some years later, on the tenth anniversary of the ill-fated Oslo Accord, we pub-lished our message “Oslo and Arafat – Ten Years Later,” in which we clearly revealed the treachery and duplicity of this evil man. Just as a reminder, we include copies of both of these messages. We also include our “obituary” message about Arafat, which is running this month in major national media. I hope that you will agree with our assessment of this evil man.

Without taking too much credit for it, we have reason to believe that our bringing those (and many other related messages) to the American people has done a great deal to clarify public opinion about this and other matters in the Middle East and to create a favorable climate for Israel.
The eyes and hopes of the world are now directed to Mahmoud Abbas, who seems to have emerged as successor to Arafat, as the leader of the Palestinians. The world hopes that he will indeed be a “partner for peace,” and that, with his leadership and the ever-willing readiness of the Israelis to make “concessions” and compromises, peace between Jews and Arabs will finally be achieved.

Yes, that is the hope, but is it a realistic one? We try to be optimistic, but I really can’t be very sanguine about this. We can’t disregard that this man was Arafat’s assistant and second-in-command for almost thirty years. Sure, he seems to have a better tailor and a better barber then his mentor and he is also better educated – he graduated from a Soviet university. But he wrote his doctoral thesis on why the Holocaust never took place. Imagine that!

He has also already declared and put himself on record that he will never rescind the demand that the Palestinian “refugees” (who miraculously have now increased to number 4 or 5 million), must be allowed to return to Israel. And that, of course, is unacceptable, because it would mean the end of the Jewish state. But Mr. Abbas, or whoever will ultimately emerge from the inevitable power struggle, is not really the problem. If it is going to come to pass at all, it will take a long time for peace to come to this part of the world. The reason for that is that two generations of Palestinians (and of other Arabs) have been poisoned with hatred against Jews and against Israel. From the earliest grades in school, children are systematically indoctrinated to hate Jews and Israelis and to find their greatest glory in becoming shahids (martyrs) as suicide bombers and in killing as many Jews as possible in the process. And that was all Arafat’s doing.

Are you aware that in Arab (and not just Palestinian) textbooks and atlases Israel or Israeli cities are never mentioned? They just don’t exist. Israel is described as “Occupied Palestine.” Cities such as Tel Aviv or Haifa don’t exist at all. Can one really expect that with such a mind set, things can be solved by “negotiation” or by making any more concessions and compromises?

World opinion and pressure by even such friendly and supportive countries as the United States continue to demand that Israel allow the formation of a Palestinian state, expecting that it would bring about peace and harmony. But that is, of course, a cruel illusion. A Palestinian state, if one ever were created in Judea/ Sumaria (the “West Bank”) and in Gaza, would not be tenable under any criteria. It would have one purpose only, namely the “final solution” (where have we heard that phrase before?) of the Arab/Israeli conflict. That hoped-for solution would be the destruction of Israel, the unswerving goal of the Palestinians, of all Arabs, and indeed of virtually all Moslems. The idea that such a state would be peaceful and democratic and a good neighbor of Israel is laughable. In no time at all, it would bristle with every type of weaponry, including fighter planes and bombers and advanced missiles, most likely loaded with biological, chemical or even nuclear materials. It would be a staging ground for Arab armies, which would have no compunction and little trouble to overrun Israel, cut it in two at its narrow 9-mile-wide waist, and finally put an end to the hated Jewish state.

We (FLAME) have for the last fifteen years relentlessly and unremittingly brought the truth about the Middle East, the righteousness of Israel and the dangers that confronts it to the attention of the American people. Our supporters – over 30,000 of them – are not just comprised of Jews. A sizable minority, among them some of our most devoted supporters, are of the Christian faith. And that’s very important, because it is the Christian majority, especially the fundamentalists among them, who influence their Congressional representatives in their favorable attitudes toward Israel. It is not the State Department that favors Israel – they are traditionally Arabists; it’s Congress that is Israel’s best friend. And we must keep it that way.

We don’t want to take too much credit, but there can be little question, that over the last fifteen years, our monthly hasbarah messages have substantially contributed to the favorable climate toward Israel in the United States and especially in the U.S. Congress. You and your steadfast support and contributions and those of others like you have made this possible.

Our purpose is clearly stated in each of our messages. It is: “…the research and publication of the facts regarding developments in the Middle East and exposing false propaganda that might harm the interests of the United States and its allies in that area of the world.” And we fulfill that purpose by publishing our messages every month in major national media – magazines, metropolitan newspapers and small-town newspapers all across the country.

What we are doing is awfully expensive. Our monthly message (ad) in U.S. News and World Report alone costs $20,000. There are, of course, many more. We have minimal support from foundations; virtually all of our funding comes from private donations – from people like you.

I know that you are besieged with requests for money, and I know that you cannot accede to all of them. But, please, consider how important it is to inform the American public about the reality of Israel’s situation and its valiant fight against those who are sworn to destroy it and its resistance against almost irresistible pressure to make further suicidal concessions. And we are the only people who do that.

Please make as generous a donation to our important cause as you can. This may be one of your best “investments” in the survival and in the future of Israel.

Thank you for your concern and for your generosity. Shalom and sincerely yours,

Gerardo Joffe, President

PS1: FLAME is, of course, a 501(c)(3) organization. Your contribution is tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.

PS2: This is a little intrusive, perhaps, but please consider a gift of appreciated securities to FLAME. That has, as you of course know, many tax advantages. And, in order to assure continuity, please consider including us in your will.

PS3: There has been much request that we tell you once more about my autobiographical book "Weaned on Carrot Juice.” It’s really a very interesting, humorous and quite gripping story of my experiences on three continents A flyer on the book is included. Part of the proceeds from the sale of this book go to FLAME.

PS3: We include once again (on the back of this page) a letter from Charity Navigator, the country’s foremost evaluator of philanthropies. They have granted us their coveted 4-star rating for strong fiscal management. We have not solicited nor paid for this evaluation.

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