Washington, D.C. - Wednesday, November 13, 2019 - In the last 36 hours, over 360 rockets from Gaza have bombarded Israeli cities and towns, some reaching as far as Tel Aviv, all met with a deafening silence from the mainstream media.  One rocket every seven minutes.  This is absolutely unacceptable.  The time has come to stand up and condemn the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad, and anyone who threatens the defense of democracy in Israel, our strongest ally in the Middle East.

For far too long, the world has turned a blind eye to the constant attacks against the innocent families, roads, hospitals and factories in Israel.  Air raid sirens ring out, schools and businesses closed, essential utilities down, over a million children hiding in bomb shelters.  This is the very definition of terrorism, and we can no longer remain silent while these heinous acts occur.

The world-wide media blackout was the same after rockets were fired at an Israeli music festival in August; and the same after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was targeted in September; and the same after countless attacks against civilians as recently as two weeks ago.  Israelis live in a constant nightmare of rockets and mortar shells from enemies who won’t rest until they see their death and destruction.

Without question, Israel has a right to defend itself.  On Tuesday, Israeli forces surgically-targeted and killed senior Islamic Jihad Commander Bahaa Abu el-Atta, the organizer of numerous attacks against their country, and other militants attached to the progressively hostile strikes.  They also hit targets preparing to launch additional rockets.  The constant barrage against the Israeli freedoms and way of life only work to destabilize the entire region.

The United States can be silent no longer.  It is time to shine a light on and proudly stand against and the atrocities taking place in Israel.