| Dear Friend of Israel, Friend of FLAME:
Surely, no armed struggle has proven as intractable and seemingly unsolvable as the Middle East conflict. Put simply, this struggle can be seen as one between Muslim invaders and others in the region—either indigenous peoples, such as Jews, or other “invaders,” mostly Westerners. Among Islamists, this intolerance of the “other” is fanatical, driven by Muslim religious doctrine.
No wonder peacemaking efforts in the region have generally been led by Westerners, whose culture supplies them near bottomless faith in the power of fair play and reconciliation. No wonder, either, that these efforts have been insistently thwarted by radical Islamist forces, who view all peace negotiations as frankly pointless or merely as steps in the process of reconquering their Allah-granted territory.
These conditions help explain why Western peacemakers continue to encounter frustrating roadblocks as they attempt to resolve current conflicts in Gaza and Iran,. The West—led by the U.S.—keeps offering generous solutions to soundly defeated Muslims, who confound them by refusing all overtures. Both enemies simply prefer to continue their fruitless fight.
The challenge of pacifying Gaza’s soundly thrashed Hamas provides an objective lesson in how Western diplomats end up looking like naive patsies when they apply transactional logic to obsessed jihadists. Since its inception just nine months ago, President Trump’s Board of Peace for Gaza has secured commitments of more than $17 billion from Middle East, European and North American nations for reconstruction and rehabilitation of the devastated, impoverished coastal strip.
Only one condition obstructs release of redevelopment funds and alleviation of Gaza’s hunger and homelessness—disarmament of Hamas, the terror group that started the current war three years ago. Unfortunately for Gazan Palestinians, Hamas refuses to disarm, apparently believing their “resistance” against Israel’s existence is more important than the suffering of their people.
Likewise, the U.S. has tried for months to end its war against Iran, but despite our enemy losing hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure and military assets, the mullahs remain unbowed. Their tactic is one Muslims have used successfully for centuries—stalling for time and agreeing to temporary pauses in hostilities to allow their forces to regain strength and attack anew.
Muslim land can never be surrendered to “infidels.” Radical Islamists believe that once a land has been conquered and subjugated by Islam, it can never be surrendered to “infidel” non-Muslims. For example, since “Palestine” was colonized in the 7th century CE by Muslim forces, it is forbidden to surrender it to the Jews. This principle is written in the Hamas charter, which reads, “the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf [bequest] consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgment Day . . . It, or any part of it, should not be given up.”
Muslims have waged incessant wars against “infidels” for centuries. Having conquered the entire Middle East and North Africa between 634 CE – 709 CE, Muslims have consistently rejected sharing control of the region with non-believers. Thus, they fought against the Christian Crusades in the 11th to 13th centuries and against European colonial powers in the 19th and 20th centuries. In each of these cases, they were never fighting for their liberation—but rather to preserve their conquests.
Today, Muslims continue to fight the Jewish state of Israel and predominantly Hindu India, while also waging campaigns of genocide against the Yazidis in Iraq and the black Christian and animist population of what was once southern Sudan—all because divine scripture forbids ceding any land to “infidels.”
Radical Muslim forces consistently reject peace efforts. Islamists assassinated Jordan’s King Abdullah I in 1951 because he wanted peace with Israel. Thirty years later, they killed Egyptian President Anwar Sadat after he agreed to peace with Israel. During the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which began with the Oslo Accords in 1993, Islamists—including Hamas—have waged campaigns of terrorism against Israel in order to prevent peace efforts from moving forward. Rather, such moves by radical Islamists are meant to ensure that “peace” will only be achieved through conquest of “infidels.”
Hamas and Iran show an iron-clad commitment to “armed resistance.” As part of a U.S.-drafted ceasefire arrangement with Iran last June, the mullahs were offered $300 billion in reconstruction and economic development investment. Nevertheless, Iran refuses to make a deal to end the war, unable to permit their divine mission to suffer defeat.
In Gaza, some $17 billion has been pledged by various countries—including significant amounts from Gulf states and a large U.S. pledge—but only a small fraction (just $280 million as of September 2026) has actually been transferred. Why? Because, as a February 2026 Reuters report stated, countries rightfully want to ensure the funding goes for reconstruction within demilitarized places, and not to “throw the money into another war zone.”
This should surprise no one, as Hamas’s 1988 charter makes armed struggle mandatory, asserting that there is no solution to the Palestinian question except through jihad. Furthermore, Hamas leaders have repeatedly said the terrorist group won’t disarm. Just last week, in an Arabic-language interview, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem stated: “The weapons of Hamas are, as we have always said, legitimate arms of resistance.”
Radical Islamists deceive Westerners with the promise of “hudna.” A “hudna” is often used by Islamists as a fake—temporary—truce, designed to lull the enemy and provide time for Muslim forces to halt losses, recover strength, rearm, and prepare for resumption of jihad. To the disappointment of hopeful Western diplomats, a “hudna” is rarely used to create more favorable conditions for peace.
This explains why Hamas has agreed to, and broken, numerous ceasefires in Gaza—including on October 7, 2023. It also explains why Iran agreed to the so-called Iran Nuclear Deal in 2015, which gave it billions of dollars to build up its military infrastructure and that of its proxies. Now, both Iran and Hamas continue to press the West for another hudna, so they can regain strength and eventually continue their jihad.
Please make the point when speaking with family, friends, colleagues—or in letters to the editor—that more “hudnas” do not serve American—or Israeli—interests. If Western leaders want peace in the Middle East, their only option is to resoundingly defeat the Islamists—put them out of business by disarming them and destroying their power bases.
If you agree we need to spread this truth, please use your email browser to forward this Hotline issue to fellow lovers of Israel—and encourage them to join us by subscribing to the Hotline at no charge.
Best regards,
James Sinkinson, President
Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME)
P.S. As you know, we at FLAME are constantly fighting to defeat our enemies’ slanders against Israel. But I hope you agree that it’s just as important for us lovers of Israel to spread the word about the amazing triumphs of Zionism. I believe that in addition to defending Israel from media and politicians’ lies, we need also to help the world understand Israel’s righteous cause and its power for good—we need as well to trumpet Israel’s miraculous achievements. God knows, Americans will never learn about Israel’s good deeds in mainstream media, like the New York Times, CNN or NPR! I believe we need to stand tall because of who the Jewish people are . . . be proud of what Israel does for the world. For this reason, I hope you’ll approve of FLAME’s new hasbarah—our explanatory message called “How Zionism’s Miracle Benefits Us All.” With your agreement and support, FLAME will soon begin running this message as a paid editorial ad in major mainstream newspapers nationwide. This ad tells the truth about Zionism’s unmatched power to create economic prosperity, global security, world health and democratic freedoms. It also explains why the enemies of Zionism are not just foes of Israel, they are also the enemies of human progress. Please review this convincing, fact-based editorial, which FLAME is about to publish to millions—in leading social media, as well as in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronicle, Denver Post and Los Angeles Times. This piece will also be sent to all members of Congress, the President and Vice President. If you agree that this kind of public relations effort on Israel’s behalf is critical, I urge you to support us with a donation. |
