WASHINGTON, DC (Press Release)– Americans for Peace Now (APN) on Monday, June 16, expressed deep concern for the safety of the three Israeli Yeshiva students who were kidnapped last Friday in the West Bank. “Our hearts and prayers are with the three and with their families. We stand in solidarity with their families and the people of Israel,” a statement from the organization said.
APN also stated that it is concerned about the possible repercussions of the crisis and calls on all parties involved to do their utmost to ensure that the three return home unharmed and that their abduction does not further exacerbate an already volatile situation.
APN’s President and CEO Debra DeLee said: “At this difficult time, our hearts go out to the three teens and to their families. As the sister-organization of Shalom Achshav (Peace Now), Israel’s preeminent peace movement, we stand in solidarity with the people of Israel and wish for a peaceful resolution to this crisis. We join Shalom Achshav in sharply condemning the kidnapping of the three as an unforgivable act of terrorism. We agree with Peace Now that those responsible for the abduction should be caught and punished, and that there is no justification for kidnapping and harming innocent people.
“We also agree with Peace Now that this crisis should be viewed through the prism of Israel’s continued control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The ongoing occupation, and particularly Israel’s continued settlement construction, are creating an untenable situation that breeds Palestinian vengefulness and further complicate the difficult relationship between Israelis and Palestinians. The occupation must end and a two-state solution to the conflict must be found if Israel is to secure its future as a democracy and a Jewish state.
“This week, APN is launching a new initiative aimed at re-focusing energy and attention on the challenges that Israelis must face in order to do just that. This is a six-week initiative. Each week, we will focus on a different core issue in this conflict. The first week of this campaign, this week, is devoted to the issue of West Bank settlements. We hope that the theme of this week, and the campaign as a whole, would provide the pubic with a clear prism through which to better understand both the current crisis and the broader challenges facing Israel.”
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The San Francisco Jewish Community Relations Council issued the following statement: “We were deeply saddened to learn of the abduction of three Israeli teenagers, Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gil-Ad Shaer, 16, and Naftali Frenkel, 16 and an American citizen, who were kidnapped last Thursday in the West Bank. We are outraged by this senseless crime. Our thoughts are with them and their families as we pray that they be returned speedily and unharmed. We commend United States Secretary of State John Kerry and other international leaders who have unequivocally condemned the teens’ abduction, and echo his calls for the Palestinian leadership and security forces to cooperate fully with Israeli authorities to ensure that Eyal, Gil-Ad and Naftali are returned to their families unscathed as soon as possible. It is heartbreaking that innocent children have been taken captive. Our community stands in solidarity with the people of Israel and supports Israeli efforts to bring these boys back to their families.”
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The Jewish National Fund (JNF) offered the following advice for people who wish to help on social media and in prayer sessions: “Since Friday, the efforts and attention of Israel and Jews the world over have been focused on the three boys — Naftali, Gilad, and Eyal, two of them high school students — who were kidnapped hitching a ride home from their yeshiva in Gush Etzion,” the JNF wrote. “All over the world Tehillim (Psalms) and special prayers are being said not only in synagogues, but also in homes and at workplaces. More than 25,000 people gathered at the Kotel for a special prayer service. The Israel security forces are working round the clock but what can the rest of us do? The boys’ mothers requested that everyone pray for their sons’ safe return.
“A Bring Back Our Boys Facebook page started Sunday, June 15, in an effort to spread awareness and support the families. Many people, including JNF personnel around the country, are taking photos with the hashtag #bringbackourboys and posting them on social media. You should do the same. Below please find the boys’ Hebrew names, a chapter of Psalms, and a prayer for Jews in distress. May all these efforts, and those of the IDF, result in a safe return of Naftali, Gilad, and Eyal to their families.
“Yaakov Naphtali ben Rachel Devorah … Gilad Michael ben Bat Galim … Ayal ben Irit Teshurah
“Psalm 121 –A song of ascents. I lift my eyes up to the hills; from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot stumble; He who guards you does not slumber. See: the Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. The Lord is your Guardian; the Lord is your Shade at your right hand. The sun will not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will guard you from all harm; He will guard your life. The Lord will guard your going and coming, now and evermore.As for our brothers,the whole house of Israel, who are in distress or captivity, on sea or on land, may the All-Present have compassion on them and lead them from distress to relief, from darkness to light, and from oppression to freedom, now, swiftly, and soon – and let us say: Amen.
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The Zionist Organization of America condemned the kidnapping “as well as Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority (PA) for its obscene and incendiary newspaper cartoon celebrating and trivializing this horrendous, appalling crime. The ZOA sees the kidnapping by the Nazi-like Hamas, the U.S.- and European Union-listed terrorist group that calls in its Charter for the murder of Jews, as underscoring the anti-peace nature of the PA, which recently formed a new unity regime Hamas. The ZOA also renews its criticism of the Obama Administration for not cutting aid to and ending diplomatic relations with the PA for forming this alliance with Hamas. It is nothing less than a diplomatic Kristallnacht that the Obama Administration has embraced the Hamas/Fatah terrorist alliance and publicly announced that they will continue funding the PA to the tune of some $500 million annually. Late last week, three Israeli youths, Naftali Frenkel, a dual American-Israeli citizen, and Gilad Shaar, who are both 16, and Eyal Yifrach, who is 19, went missing at a junction near the city of Hebron. Hamas has praised the kidnapping. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri stopped short of a clear denial or confirmation the group was involved. Yesterday, Abbas’ Fatah, co-ruler of the PA with Hamas, posted on its Facebook page an odious cartoon depicting the three Israeli teenagers as rats caught on a hook (‘Fatah continues to celebrate kidnapping of three Israeli teens while Abbas issues tepid condemnation,’ Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) bulletin, June 15, 2014). Also, in the official PA daily newspaper, Al-Hayat al-Jadida, another vile cartoon distorted the World Cup 2014 trophy logo into three victorious hands holding three people with their hands up in surrender. Instead of the text ‘Brasil’ below the trophy, the word ‘Khalil’ appears — Arabic for Hebron, the city near which the Israeli youths were kidnapped (‘The PA and Fatah celebrate kidnapping of three Israeli youths,’ PMW bulletin, June 15, 2014). ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “We condemn this vile kidnapping by the murderous terrorists of Hamas. We also condemn Abbas and the PA for forming a regime with this monstrous organization that calls in its Charter for the worldwide murder of Jews and for obscenely celebrating this kidnapping on Facebook and in the official PA newspaper.
“Abbas is not innocent at all in this regard to the kidnapping. In 2011, Abbas himself publicly said, ‘Hamas kidnapped a soldier [Gilad Shalit] and managed to keep him for five years — that’s a good thing.’ Abbas and the PA strongly approve of a policy of kidnapping Israelis. We therefore regard Abbas’ verbal opposition to this particular kidnapping as cynical and worthless cliches uttered for the Western media, especially given the PA’s long, deceitful record of insincerely condemning terrorist atrocities against Israel only under international pressure. Abbas’s PA, after all, also provides stipends for jailed terrorists and pensions to the families of dead terrorists. When one forms an alliance with murderers and kidnappers, one cannot be surprised by their behaving in accordance with their barbarous objectives. If Abbas condemns the kidnapping now, why didn’t the knowledge that Hamas has a policy of kidnapping Jews and seeking to murder them everywhere lead him to reject an alliance with Hamas? We also again strongly criticize the Obama Administration for giving the PA embracing the recently-formed PA Hamas/Fatah unity regime. This is nothing less than a diplomatic Kristallnacht
“Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday in relation to this kidnapping, ‘we reiterate our position that Hamas is a terrorist organization known for its attacks on innocent civilians and which has used kidnapping in the past.’ True, which begs the question — Why did not the Obama Administration immediately sever ties and cut U.S funds to the PA when it formed its unity regime with Hamas? Is it right that the Obama Administration funds a regime that includes, not only a recognized terrorist organization, but one which has kidnapped an American citizen? Does Secretary Kerry — and President Obama for that matter — believe that a regime that forms a government with ‘a terrorist organization known for its attacks on innocent civilians and which has used kidnapping in the past’ is a suitable recipient for U.S. taxpayer funds? The ZOA hopes and prays that the three kidnapped Israeli teenagers are still alive and that they are speedily and safely rescued from the clutches of their barbarous kidnappers. Our thoughts and hearts go out to them, as well as their parents and families, who must endure this horror.”
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Preceding provided by Americans for Peace Now, San Francisco Jewish Community Relations Council, Jewish National Fund, and Zionist Organization of America.