Zionist Federation of Australia President Dr. Danny Lamm AM, strongly condemned Hamas for firing close to 200 rockets at innocent Israeli civilians over the weekend. “I have been saying this for many years, but the point cannot be stressed enough, that every single rocket fired by Hamas constitutes as a double war crime as they intentionally target Israeli civilians, and regularly fire them from heavily populated areas, using each and every Palestinian in the area as human shields.”
He continued, “15 seconds. 15 seconds is the amount of time that residents of southern Israel have to make it to a bomb shelter after they hear a red alert siren. But for the thousands of Israelis who live in communities and kibbutzim right on the border with Gaza, the reality is that they do not have even those 15 seconds. We also must consider the elderly, and families with young children, where 15 seconds is not nearly long enough to make it to safety.”
Reflecting on the last few months of violence perpetrated by Palestinians on the border with Israel, Dr. Lamm also stated, “what we have seen is months of intense terror activity – including the eco terrorism which has seen 7,500 acres of land in Israel scorched by fire and kite balloons from Gaza – while the international community has remained relatively silent. The exception is of course the United States, Australia and a handful of other countries at the United Nations in May.”
Dr. Lamm also turned his attention to the Australian media, and in particular the ABC, and their appalling reporting of the situation. He said, “even if you brush over the headlines of our local papers, one thing is clear – the story only becomes a story when Israel fires back. The issue of the 200 rockets in the space of the day is really only treated as aside. There is something incredibly wrong with the way the media reports on the situation when 200 rockets is treated as a side note, and Israel’s response to the terror becomes the big story. In reality, destroying Hamas military compounds and tunnels that are used for underground warfare training should be welcomed and not condemned by the media. On the flip side, no country should have to tolerate the firing of even one rocket at its civilians, let alone 200. The media has a lot to answer for.”
