By Robert Efroymson, President, Jewish Federation of New Mexico

When State Representative and attorney Antonio Maestas spoke at a January 10 anti-Israel rally in Albuquerque’s Old Town, he blasted the Albuquerque Journal for supporting Israel’s campaign against Hamas with a most troubling declaration. “What do you mean by ‘crushing Hamas?’ he asked the approving crowd. “You cannot crush an idea whose time has come!”

In this curious sentence, Representative Maestas gave approval to one of the most horrendous “ideas” propagated since the ideology of the Third Reich.  In short, while Representative Maestas lauds the ideals of freedom and liberation for the Palestinian people, he ironically voices support for one of the most repressive and violent regimes in the Middle East, both to Jews and Muslims alike.

Hamas, translated as ‘zeal’, is a Sunni Islamic organization, established from cells of the Muslim Brotherhood organization.  Hamas believes in an Islamic theocracy over all the territory of the land of Israel, “from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River”. 

Hamas’ modus operandi is suicide bombings and other acts of violence directed at innocent Israeli civilians. Among the horrific acts committed by this group include the June 1, 2001, suicide bombing of a discotheque near Tel Aviv’s Dolphinarium where 21 young people were killed and 120 wounded; the March 27, 2002, suicide bombing of the dining room of the Park Hotel in the coastal city of Netanya. 30 people were killed and 140 injured, in the midst of their Passover holiday ‘Seder’ dinner, and the June 18, 2002, suicide bombing of a commuter bus in Jerusalem, with many children on their way to school, in which 19 people were killed and 74 injured.

The Hamas terrorists who perpetrate these atrocities are celebrated as heroes, holy martyrs, within their communities – the larger the number of victims, the greater the celebration. 

The Hamas Charter, a defiant mixture of Islamic extremism and vile anti-Semitism, implores its followers to serve under the “banner of jihad.” “This requires the propagation of Islamic consciousness among the masses…the indoctrination campaign must involve (legal scholars), educators, teachers and information and media experts, as well as all intellectuals.”

 Other Charter positions:  

·         “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.”

·         “There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.”

·         “After Palestine, the Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates. When they will have digested the region they overtook, they will aspire to further expansion, and so on. Their plan is embodied in the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion”, and their present conduct is the best proof of what we are saying.”

Locally, we depend on our elected officials to focus on issues that impact our lives as citizens, and we expect that that they will be educated and well-informed in stating their positions. While Rep. Maetsats was clear to differentiate between his, “Jewish brothers and sisters” and the governmental policies of Israel, his comments alienated a wide swath of his constituents, and trouble New Mexico’s Jewish community.

Since Israel began Operation Cast Iron last month, Jews in New Mexico have mourned the tragic loss of civilian Palestinians, many of whom were women and children, and fathom. But like our brethren in Israel, we recognize that Israel has a right and responsibility to defend its citizens against

Terrorism must be defeated if Israel and the Palestinians are ever to have an opportunity to resolve their differences peacefully around a negotiating table.  We hope that Israel’s action will diminish Hamas’ terrorist capability and ultimately enhance the prospects for peace.