FLAME.HOTLINE.

February 29, 2024

NPR’s Jerusalem correspondent, Daniel Estrin, typifies anti-Israel media bias. He recently delivered a long, sentimental report on a Gaza family tragically killed by “Israeli fire” just before their dinner. Estrin neglects to mention until the very end that Israel’s IDF was rescuing two hostages held by Hamas, hidden in the family’s residential neighborhood—and never notes that this is another Hamas war crime.

NPR’s Jerusalem correspondent, Daniel Estrin, typifies anti-Israel media bias. He recently delivered a long, sentimental report on a Gaza family tragically killed by “Israeli fire” just before their dinner. Estrin neglects to mention until the very end that Israel’s IDF was rescuing two hostages held by Hamas, hidden in the family’s residential neighborhood—and never notes that this is another Hamas war crime.

You won’t be surprised, but I’m so disgusted, I have to tell you this story about the latest media lie:

This week I heard an NPR report about a Palestinian blogger in Gaza whose family was killed by Israeli fire just before he arrived home for dinner. Tragically, he had to identify his family’s remains in body bags.

What NPR doesn’t mention until the very end of the report is that Israel was rescuing two hostages hidden for over 100 days. In fact, NPR never mentions that the hostages were held by Hamas in the family’s residential neighborhood—a war crime—or especially that Hamas is responsible for the war that killed the man’s family! Outrageous.

As you know, too many media assert the Gaza war is all about Israel killing civilians—not about the war-criminal Hamas, who started the fight and hides behind them.

Nor do the media tell the truth about Israel’s army—the most careful and humanitarian in human history . . . and that the civilian death ratio in the Gaza war in one of the world’s lowest ever!

Here’s another great example of media lies—this from the Washington Post.

The Post recently published an exposé of 85 Palestinian journalists killed “by Israel.” While nearly every one of the fake “journalists” killed in the Gaza war had ties to Hamas and other terror groups, the Post scoured to find and feature seven “clean” journalists with “coincidentally” no such ties.

The point the Post fails to mention: Israel never targets journalists. Ever.

The Post isn’t covering news, it’s promoting a political agenda. In this case, it’s blatant anti-Israel bias.

Here’s the question: What can we do to fight these vicious media attacks?

Good news: FLAME has been fighting media lies and bias against Israel for 34 years now—the only organization that publishes the truth about Israel in mainstream and social media, reaching tens of millions of Americans.

I hope you agree: The only solution for lovers of Israel is to win this “war of words”—by refuting the lies with a bold campaign of truth.

Here’s one more question for you: Who will fight back . . . if not you and I?

Please join me in defending Israel and the Jewish people: Together I know we’ll succeed.

Please go to donate now to help Israel win this Information War.

Dear Friend of Israel, Friend of FLAME:

You probably saw the absurd poll results recently about college-age kids:

Fully half the 18-24-year-olds who agree with the slogan, “Free Palestine from the river to the sea” don’t know which river or which sea . . . or that it means destroying Israel.

The media are no help. They not only fail to correct the vicious lies told by Israel’s enemies, they also pile on with new slanders of their own.

I was just outraged by a recent CNN article that tells of terrified Gazans sheltering in a ruined building in Gaza City. The article quotes one woman saying, “we opened the door for [the IDF] and asked them not to shoot. . . but they kept shooting.” Another said, “We heard the houses collapsing on the heads of people.”

We find out only later that the IDF had ordered the building evacuated, while under heavy fire from Hamas terrorists, and the building was to be demolished. In truth, IDF soldiers were moving the Gazans out of the building—to safety.

Let me be honest: If we really believe in “Never Again”—and winning the Information War—we must recommit to defending the Jewish people, the Jewish state . . . and the truth.

It means we can’t give up, even for a day—we won’t stop until we defeat the haters. We must raise our fists and our voices against the rising tide of antisemitic, anti-Israel slander.

As you know, at FLAME we believe the most valuable thing we “regular people” can do at this moment to fight our enemies is to fight the lies . . . and spread the truth.

A friend recently sent me this quote from Albert Einstein:

“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”

Won’t you please go now to membership donation to help Israel win this Information War?

HELP FLAME PUBLISH THE TRUTH IN MAINSTREAM, SOCIAL AND COLLEGE MEDIA

Unfortunately, since October 7, the falsehoods against Israel have been piling up quickly. Almost as fast as we can refute them, our enemies invent new lies, each more vicious than the last.

It’s the reason FLAME has created a new editorial ad that I want to share with you here. It’s called “Israel’s Enemies Tell Five Big Lies.”

MAINSTREAM MEDIA: We started running this ad—full sheet size, about 8 ½”x 11”—in the New York Post, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune.

With your help, we’re about to run it again in Tampa Bay Times and Denver Post.

(While our print media bill will be about $135,000, any amount you contribute will help. Our strength lies in tens of thousands of donors, just like you.

SOCIAL MEDIA: FLAME’s robust Facebook campaigns allow us to reach millions of Americans. Already we’re delivering this message—“Israel’s Enemies Tell Five Big Lies”—to audiences of all ages.

COLLEGE MEDIA: Our latest messages debunking the greatest lies about Israel will begin reaching tens of thousands of college students via digital ads in college newspapers nationwide in early January, as soon as school is back in session.

(FLAME will spend tens of thousands more dollars on this nationwide college campus educational campaign. Your donation will help us spread the word to even more college students.)

Won’t you please help FLAME correct the lies and reveal truth in American media coast to coast with your membership donation now—before March 31?

You can read the full text of this ad on FLAME’s website at “Israel’s Enemies Tell Five Big Lies” . . . but I’ve summarized the Five Big Lies for you right here, below:

THOUGH MEDIA REFUSE TO EXPOSE THESE 5 SHAMEFUL LIES FLAME CAN DO THE JOB . . . WITH YOUR HELP

While Hamas’s October 7 atrocity caused many Palestinian supporters to rethink their positions, the event only ignited an explosion of hate from other of Israel’s enemies. Tens of thousands of demonstrators demanded not two states living in peace, but rather, “From the river to the sea Palestine will be free . . . by any means necessary”—meaning, clearly, slaughter of Jews.

As you know, the primary lies we see in the media are the following five, which FLAME has been fighting for decades—and will continue to battle in today’s Information War.

I’m hoping you’ll allow us to expose these lies by helping us publish the truth about them in major mainstream and social media over the coming weeks:

Lie #1: Israel is a colonial state that stole Palestinian land. A colonizer is a foreign nation that conquers and exploits another nation. First, the Palestinians have never owned any land in Palestine. They were also never a nation. Nothing was stolen. Second, Jews are the indigenous people of the land of Israel. They have lived there continuously for 3,000 years and had two commonwealths for over 1,000 years: They are not foreigners. No colonial state.

Lie #2: Israel commits genocide. Genocide is the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group by killing its members. Israel does not, nor has ever, targeted innocent Palestinian civilians for attacks—no mass murders, no pogroms. All Palestinian civilian deaths have occurred as collateral damage while fighting terrorists who hide in residential or other public areas. Tellingly, the population in Palestinian-controlled areas has mushroomed since Israel’s founding in 1948—from about 700,000 to seven million today: No genocide.

Lie #3: Israel practices apartheid. Apartheid is a system of legalized racial segregation in which one racial group is deprived of political and civil rights. Israel has no laws or policies separating or limiting the rights of any of its citizens—including two million Arab-Israeli citizens—nor any Palestinians outside Israel. Political and civil rights of all Palestinians outside Israel are controlled by their respective dictatorships, who allow virtually no freedoms, such as speech or the vote. No apartheid.

Lie #4: Israel is committing war crimes. War crimes include torture, hostage taking, acts of terrorism, rape and intentional targeting of civilians. While Hamas committed all these acts on October 7, Israel commits none. Though some media bristle at what they consider excessive civilian deaths during Israeli military efforts, in fact, Israel attacks only military structures and personnel—never civilian-only targets. Hamas places its fighters in dense residential areas or in tunnels beneath them, endangering civilians. No Israeli war crimes.

Lie #5: Israel oppresses the Palestinians. Oppression is the malicious exercise of power to discriminate against some groups. Because Israel completely exited Gaza in 2005, it has no power over of the daily lives of Gazans. However, because of Hamas’s continuous terror, especially efforts to kill Jews and destroy the Jewish state, Israel and Egypt blockaded Gaza to prevent terror attacks. Likewise, under of the Oslo Accords, Israel and the Palestinian Authority share governance of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), and Israel plays virtually no role governing Palestinians’ daily lives. It enters Palestinian-controlled areas only when terrorists flee to and hide in them. No Israeli oppression.

Won’t you please help FLAME expose these lies and publish the truth in mainstream and social media? Please make your membership donation now.

MEDIA, RADICALS AND POLITICIANS WHO SUPPORT HAMAS ALSO URGE A DEADLY CEASEFIRE—WHY?

October 7 was a harsh, tragic, wake-up call—for Israel and all of us who support the Jewish state. Obviously, Hamas’s barbaric massacre—the cruel, cold-blooded murder of 1200 innocent people—must never happen again.

Yet today, when Israel calls on its military to put Hamas out of business forever . . . radical jihadis on campus—students and faculty—as well as the “progressive” mainstream media, even actors Susan Sarandon and Mark Ruffalo—are calling for an immediate ceasefire.

As you know, crying “ceasefire” at this point is like shouting “Long live Hamas!

Won’t you please help FLAME expose the lies and reveal the truth in the media with your membership donation now?

Surely you’re old enough to have learned that when the United State mustered all its forces to defeat Nazi Germany, and all its might to defeat Japan—both of whom were fighting to conquer the world—civilians were tragically lost and infrastructure was destroyed.

When the U.S. and its allies hunted down evil ISIS, the global jihadis also hid among civilians . . . and many innocents around them were killed—unavoidably.

Now, Israel is bombing Hamas rocket launchers, terrorist tunnels and military headquarters—all located in residential areas, surrounded by innocent civilians, mosques, hospitals and schools.

Suddenly, Israel is condemned for fighting its enemies—war criminals—in the media, on campus and even by several members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

While often these criticisms are accompanied by heart-wrenching photos of wounded Palestinian children—some of the images are fake. Did you see the YouTube video of the “dead” Palestinian in a body bag who was moving her head?

But here’s the greatest offense of the media pundits and “peace-loving” commentators: None of them demand that Hamas move its operations out of urban centers—so no more children and families will be harmed. What hypocrisy!

Nor do they insist that Hamas release its 138 remaining hostages and surrender immediately—so the fighting will stop. Not a word.

Please join FLAME and tens of thousands of lovers of Israel in publishing righteous story: Start or renew your membership now.

HOW FLAME HELPS ISRAEL WIN TODAY’S INFORMATION WAR. HELP US SPREAD THESE TRUTHS IN MAINSTREAM MEDIA.

My friends, I think you’ll agree that the mounting antisemitism and ominous drumbeat of anti-Israel reporting in the media these days is unprecedented . . . and scary.

Believe me: A black storm is gathering against the Jewish people and Israel.

But here’s a bright glow of hope: As you know, FLAME has been at the forefront of the Information War—defending Israel against the wide range of falsehoods her enemies aim at her.

Here are just some of editorial media ads FLAME has run to spread the truth . . . and defend the Jewish state in mainstream media (see hundreds of them under “PR for Israel” at www.factsandlogic.org).

  • The Israel Genocide Slander”—refutes the lie that Israel attacks any people because of race or ethnicity and proves world-class Palestinian population growth: This ad reached nearly 5 million people in the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, New York Post, Houston Chronicle and Orlando Sentinel.
  • Demand Justice for Jewish Students”—shows skyrocketing anti-Zionist bullying on college campuses, calls to ramp up prosecution of negligent administrators: Delivered to 5.5 million readers in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, New York Post, Houston Chronicle.
  • What Is Occupied Palestinian Territory?”—proves there’s no such thing as “Palestinian territory” and why Israel’s governance is lawful and just: It was seen by millions in the New York Times and Washington Post.
  • The Palestinian Catastrophe”—explains why Palestinians’ real “nakba” was their failure to accept Israel’s many offers of land for peace and their own state: It reached 7 million readers the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, New York Post, Miami Herald, Houston Chronicle and Orlando Sentinel.
  • Democracy Thrives in Israel”—disproves accusations that Israel commits apartheid and shows why Israel is ranked the world’s 23rd most successful democracy (ahead of the U.S.!): It ran in New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, New York Post, Miami Herald, Houston Chronicle and Mercury News.

WHY DO MEDIA AVOID TELLING THE OBVIOUS TRUTH ABOUT HAMAS: THEIR AVOWED GOAL IS TO KILL JEWS AND DESTROY THE JEWISH STATE?

The answer is not complicated: Most media are dominated by leftists who falsely believe the Palestinians want peace and want two states—even though the Palestinians never say this.

These media pundits also believe that Israel is occupying Palestinian land—though in fact, the Palestinians have never in history owned or controlled any land anywhere.

I made the mistake of listening to MSNBC for a few minutes recently, appalled at pundits straining to sound logical while explaining why Israel’s actions over the years have “created Hamas” and “justify” their bestiality.

Yet the justifications these apologists try to sell unsuspecting audiences are fake.

Despite their focus on such seeming political excuses—occupation, stealing land and apartheid—Hamas is not primarily a political organization with political goals. It is a fanatical Islamist group whose goal is to excise the Middle East of the Jewish state and “reclaim” the entire territory.

Let me share with you a few quotes from the Hamas charter—which has not changed in the group’s 18-year history. They irrefutably prove Hamas’s evil motives:

“[T]he Palestinian problem is a religious problem and should be dealt with on this basis.”

“Palestine is an Islamic Waqf (endowment) land consecrated for Muslim generations until Judgment Day”

“The Day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight Jews and kill them. Then the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will cry out, ‘O Muslim, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him.’”

Surely the Hamas fighters hunting down kibbutz members and music-festival-goers as they fled through groves and fields to save themselves must have been inspired on by these murderous commandments from their charter.

Note that Hamas also hates Christians: Shortly after the attack on Israel, Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Zahar assures fellow jihadis on video that “The entire planet will be under our law—there will be no more Jews or Christian traitors.”

Let me ask you: Have you seen any news or analysis in American media about Hamas’s sacred mission to conquer the world and eliminate all Jews and Christians? Of course not.

Won’t you please help FLAME expose the lies and reveal the truth in the media with your membership donation now?

THE 5 MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HAMAS

Here are five more facts that mainstream media could tell you, but they don’t:

  1. Hamas does not want peace with Israel and has never proposed peace with Israel.
  2. Hamas opposes a two-state solution.
  3. Hamas opposes the Palestinian Authority and its ruling party, Fatah, in Judea and Samaria (aka the West Bank).
  4. Israel does not occupy any part of Gaza and does not set rules or laws for Palestinians living in Gaza.
  5. Hamas is an iron-handed dictatorship that denies its citizens all civil rights, including the right to vote.

While it’s true that Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on Gaza—they did so only following Hamas’s violent coup seizing Gaza and its terrorist activities against Israeli citizens.

Americans learn these and other such truths in FLAME’s editorial ads in mainstream and social media—and you can see hundreds of them under “PR for Israel” at www.factsandlogic.org..

Will you please help FLAME fight the liars and haters with your membership donation now?

WHAT DOES ALL THIS HORROR IN ISRAEL HAVE TO DO WITH YOU AND ME?

When thousands of jihadi missiles rain down on Israelis—when terrorists shoot, rape, decapitate and kidnap innocent Jews . . . as they did two months, there’s little you and I can do to help directly.

But here’s where we can make a difference: We can fight the lies and misinformation.

By joining the information war—we can defeat the falsehoods and distortions that threaten Israel and the Jewish people . . . just as seriously as do rockets, machine guns and knives.

Today FLAME’s messages telling the truth about Israel reach tens of millions of people in top American daily newspapers and through FLAME’s powerful Facebook channel.

Won’t you please help FLAME fight the liars and haters with your membership donation now?

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO SUPPORT ISRAEL TODAY? PLEASE STEP FORWARD AND RENEW YOUR FLAME MEMBERSHIP

How do we decide that now is the time to act? What does it take?

If ever in our lives we were called on to act to defend the Jewish people . . . and the State of Israel—the world’s only refuge for Jews—surely now is that time.

Let’s not forget the pledge that good people made after Holocaust: We took an oath—Jews and gentiles alike—declaring, “Never again.”

We will not permit genocide against the Jewish people ever again.

So many people say they love and support Israel, but they simply don’t know how to get

involved. They don’t have time or they don’t have thousands of dollars to give.

I understand completely. But consider this: You don’t have to donate hours of time, and

you don’t have to donate $500 or $100. You don’t even have to donate $50 or $25.

You see, FLAME is supported by tens of thousands of members. One by one: We have strength in numbers.

More than 30,000 donors—people just like you, many who make very modest donations, many on fixed incomes—help ensure our good work.

Won’t you please step forward today as someone who cares for Israel from the heart . . . someone who recognizes Israel’s importance to the United States and the Jewish people?

Go to membership donation now—before midnight, March 31.

PLEASE HELP ISRAEL DEFEND ITSELF AGAINST HAMAS—PLEASE HELP US STAND UP FOR THE TRUTH

I hope you agree that FLAME’s editorial messages, which appear in media reaching more than ten million readers—including college students—must continue educating Americans about these and other issues, such as the antisemitic BDS movement on campus.

I hope you also agree that FLAME’s editorials spread the truth about Israel—a truth we can’t depend on mainstream media to tell.

Finally, I hope you agree that Israel needs this kind of public relations—someone like FLAME to tell the inspiring story about the Jewish state—its virtues, values and accomplishments . . . and its strategic importance for our own country.

Who supports FLAME? Our media efforts are made possible by more than 30,000 passionate individual donors who love Israel and everything it stands for. They are people who strongly believe Israel deserves a fair shake in the media.

Thousands of our supporters are of the Christian faith, and we of course welcome their devotion and generosity.

Please be assured that FLAME is an educational non-profit organization and extraordinarily thrifty with the funds that you and other supporters contribute to us.

We work out of Spartan offices, much of our work is contributed pro bono and our part-time office-staff payroll is tiny.

By keeping expenses low, we’re able to publish our monthly messages in major national magazines and metropolitan and small-town newspapers all across the U.S.

We also send our messages, with convincing cover letters, to all U.S. Senators and Representatives, the President, Vice President, Secretary of State and all Justices of the Supreme Court.

Won’t you step forward—help us tell the truth about Israel? Please make your membership donation now—before midnight, March 31.

When you start or renew as a member of FLAME, you join tens of thousands of ardent Zionists who realize how precious Israel is to the Jewish people—and the world.

Let me leave you with one thought: The American people must know the truth about these issues—and about Israel’s current war with Hamas. No more lies. No more fake stories.

Remember: The only thing limiting international persecution of Israel is the United States. We must continue to protect the Jewish state from her enemies.

When you renew your membership in FLAME, you help us continue telling Israel’s righteous and powerful story to influential people all over the U.S.—including college students—and to all members of the U.S. Congress.

Won’t you go to membership donation now, while you have this message front and center?

I hope you agree that FLAME’s mission is critical and deserving of your generous support.

Thank you very much, shalom and sincerely yours,

James Sinkinson, President

Facts and Logic About the Middle East

P.S.1: Please consider leaving a bequest to FLAME in your will. Your generosity allows us to sustain and expand our voice in more mainstream media, and it secures our ability to support Israel for many decades to come.

P.S.2: You can play an important role in defending Israel from her enemies—today. This very minute. Please go to membership donation