Ackerman Builds on Obama’s Call for Shalit’s Release with a Resolution

Jordan Rohde — June 22, 2011 – 12:41 pm | Barack Obama | Congress | Democrats | Foreign Policy | Israel | Terrorism Comments (1) Add a comment

On the fifth anniversary of Hamas’ capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) built on President Barack Obama’s recent call for Shalit’s release by introducing his third consecutive resolution that advocates for Shalit’s release. Both Obama and Ackerman understand the threat to peace and security that Hamas presents and recognize that the release of Shalit is a crucial step towards peace. 

Ackerman said:

I think it is absolutely essential that the United States keep faith with our Israeli allies and stand with them in calling for the immediate release of IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit. The terrorists in Hamas, it should be recalled, snuck into Israel proper and attacked a group of IDF soldiers for the purpose of kidnapping Corporal Shalit in order to hold him hostage. Descending even further into subhuman barbarity, they have forced him to appear in propaganda videos, they have denied him visits from the Red Cross, they have denied him medical attention, and they have prevented him from sending even so much as a postcard to his parents, or allowing them to contact him.

Hamas’ stooges can say whatever they want about this blood-soaked bunch of terrorists, but their behavior, in the form of unrelenting violence against Israeli civilians and the disgusting anti-Semitism they spew, shows their true beliefs and their real values. These are not partners for any kind of peace. These are thugs hiding an agenda of hate behind a façade of religious devotion.

In his speech last month at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) Policy Conference 2011, Obama expressed the urgency of the release of Shalit and the continued effort for his freedom:

[W]e will continue to demand that Hamas accept the basic responsibilities of peace, including recognizing Israel’s right to exist and rejecting violence and adhering to all existing agreements. And we once again call on Hamas to release Gilad Shalit, who has been kept from his family for five long years.

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