A spokesperson for Israeli NGO B’Tselem repeatedly refused to categorise Hamas as a terrorist organisation during an interview with a Jewish TV Channel.
Sarit Michaeli was being interviewed by Dr Alan Mendoza, Executive Director of the Henry Jackson Society, for a segment on J-TV, a global Jewish YouTube channel launched earlier this year.
Dr Mendoza asked Ms Michaeli: “Is Hamas a terrorist organisation?”
Ms Michaeli replied saying: “Hamas engages in clear terrorist acts when it bombs Israeli civilians. We’ve denounced these actions clearly.
“If you’re referring to the attempt by a former member of the Israeli Knesset to basically smear B’Tselem’s director in order to place us in a position which presents a false image, as if B’Tselem is somehow in any way in support of attacks against Israelis, that is simply incorrect.”
When asked again, she said: “We denounce the terrorist acts perpetrated by Hamas’s military wing.”
“What you’re referring to is a clear attempt by Israeli politicians to try and present us as if we are terrorist sympathisers. This is simply unacceptable.”
“So it’s a terrorist organisation part of the time?” responded Dr Mendoza.
The “attempt” Ms Michaeli was referring to took place in August 2014. Sharon Gal, a radio journalist who subsequently served briefly as an MK for the Yisrael Beiteinu party, interviewed Hagai Elad, the executive director of B’Tselem.
Mr Gal asked Mr Elad the same question, and received a similar answer: "We're talking about armed Palestinian organisations; that is the professional term, and we criticise their activities when they are illegal."
The Hamas Charter, issued in 1988, says: “Our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious" and “There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavours." It enumerates a large number of antisemitic conspiracy theories, and quotes a hadith attributed to the Prophet Mohammed – “The Day of Judgment will not come until Muslims fight the Jews, when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say, 'O Muslim, O servant of God, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.' Only the Gharkad tree would not do that, because it is one of the trees of the Jews."
In 2010 Khaled Mashal, the leader of Hamas, claimed the Charter was "a piece of history and no longer relevant, but cannot be changed for internal reasons”.
Discussing the interview, Dr Mendoza said:
"Hamas is recognised as a terrorist organisation around the world for its attacks on civilians, so it's a little surprising that an Israeli organisation purporting to be concerned about human rights does not agree.
“Do its European funders agree with the stance expressed in this interview? I think an urgent clarification of B'Tselem's organisational position needs to be made so that Israelis and others can make their own minds up about whether it helps or hinders human rights and peace in the region."
Ms Michaeli said:
"First and foremost, let us reiterate B’Tselem’s position on this point: Any action by Hamas that deliberately targets civilians is unquestionably unlawful and morally unacceptable. B’Tselem unequivocally rejects such actions. We have made this clear on many occasions.
"In order to avoid lengthy discussions of the loaded and controversial term “terrorism”, B’Tselem strives to employ objective wording. Any interpretation of such neutral language as a reflection of a neutral position with regard to harming civilians could not be further from the truth.
"Rather than entering into a dispute over how to define various entities, we focus on expressing strong, clear-cut condemnation of actions that harm civilians, be they carried out by a state, army, armed group or an individual. This moral and legal position enables the factual examination of actions by various bodies as well as the clear and decisive criticism of said actions."
