On Sunday 14 December 2008 the streets of Gaza were filled with thousands of Hamas supporters who wore the traditional green color in honor of its creation 21 years ago. In the rally a Hamas man dressed up as the kidnapped IDF soldier St.-Sgt. Gilad Schalit and mocked him by pleading to go home to his family. While many have become aware of the name Hamas most Americans know little about who they are or how they were formed.
Hamas was created in Gaza in 1987 as a as a more militant, Palestinian offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. The organization which is an Arabic acronym for “zeal” is committed to the destruction of the Jewish state and replacing it with an Islamic state in all of Israel, which they like to call Palestine.
Ideology:Hamas preaches and engages in violence and terror in order to ring into fruition their plan to destroy the state of Israel and replace it with an Islamic state. However, Hamas is not limited to Gaza or Israel. Hamas is also in the United States. In fact, in the Dallas area we had Hamas for many years. In countries outside of Israel Hamas spreads its virulent hatred of Jews and Judaism which is deeply rooted in the anti-Semitic writings of Muslim Brotherhood theologians.
In August 1988, Hamas issued its Covenant laying down its ideological principles and goals. The goals echoed the notorious Protocols of the Elders of Zion and buy into and proclaim charges that the Jews are involved in an international conspiracy to gain control of the world. They see the Jews as the reason for all of the social and economic problems in the world. In the Hamas' worldview, the existence of a Jewish state in Israel is forbidden in Islamic precepts. According to the Hamas mindset the Jewish people have no legitimate connection to the land of Israel and it is their duty to obliterate the Jews and Israel. While many of the Arab world see Yasir Arafat as a hero Hamas views him as a traitor to the Islamic Palestinian cause because according to the view it is forbidden to anyone to yield or concede any part of the land they call Palestine.
Organizational Structure:Hamas is both a terrorist organization and a mass social, political and religious movement. The military branch is reportedly divided into three wings: an intelligence arm which gathers information about Palestinians suspected of collaboration, an arm which pursues those who have violated Islamic law and the Izzedine al-Qassam squads who are responsible for most of the terror attacks. The al-Qassam squads are comprised of a few dozen activists loosely organized into small, terror cells. Hamas' military and political leaders are based throughout the West Bank and Gaza and the organization maintains offices and representatives in Teheran, Damascus and Amman. Hamas has a strong connection with Iran which has made it difficult in the United States supporting Israel if Israel chooses to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Hamas' military wing also utilizes the organization's social wing for indoctrination and recruitment. The social, cultural, religious and educational institutions of Hamas are well-known venues for anti-Israel and anti-Jewish hatred and serve as recruitment centers for Hamas suicide bombers. For example, a Hamas-sponsored soccer team in Hebron provided a ready supply of several Hamas suicide bombers. In early 2006, Hamas began operation of a television station based in Gaza, Al Aksa TV, which broadcasts primarily religious and children's programming. The television program was based on the American Disney icon Mickey Mouse and had the character spewing out its anti-Israeli, anti-Jewish and anti-American rhetoric. Disney took the program to court charging them with copyright violations and the program was forced to remove the character. Even in removing the character from the program the producers were able to use it to spread its venom. The producers had the character killed on the program by mock Israeli soldiers. Since then the producers have added other characters to spread its venom to the young minds of children. Al Aksa TV – which Hamas says it hopes to soon broadcast via satellite to broaden its audience – is likely to become a key tool in propagating Hamas' extremist message. Indeed, the host of the station's children's program told the New York Times that his show "will teach children the basics of militant Palestinian politics."
Financial Support:Hamas enjoys strong financial backing from Iran (an estimated $20 - $30 million), private benefactors and Muslim charities in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, Palestinian expatriates across the globe and American donors. Recently in the news Dallas held the trial of the Holy Land Foundation which was raising funds to support terrorism against the United States. In the trial evidence was produced linking the organization to Hamas. Its budget has been estimated at $70 million and 85 percent of it reportedly comes from abroad; the remaining 15 percent is raised among Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. A number of Americans and U.S.-based charities have been implicated in funneling money to Hamas. It is estimated that Saudi Arabia continues to channel between $12 - $14 million to Hamas annually. At a June 2003 press conference, Adel al-Jubeir, a senior adviser to the Saudi Crown Prince, did acknowledge that many Palestinian institutions funded by the Saudis may be run or managed by the political wing of Hamas.
Syria remains a key center for Hamas operations, and the Assad regime provides support and protection to key Hamas leadership based in Damascus.
It is clear that we have Hamas in the United States and that the nation of Israel is not the only country at risk. Israel needs our support to help neutralize this group.
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