(Jerusalem Post) Interview with Dr. Dan Diker - "We really have to think out of the box, because the post-October 7 reality puts us in a completely new world, breaking misconceptions, and building new realities," Dr. Dan Diker, President of the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs, told the Jerusalem Post Annual Conference on Monday. The Center - formerly the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs - is changing its name to reflect its current activities. "We see ourselves as the engine for Israel's foreign affairs, serving as a bridge between the West and the Arab Muslim majority East." It will lead research-driven strategic and communication initiatives for the security and prosperity of Israel, its Abraham Accord partners, and prospective allies seeking normalization with Israel. Diker said, "What shocked us was the glee, the energy, and the enthusiasm for Hamas in the free world....Israel has been recast as Hamas, and Hamas, from the point of view of virtue, legitimacy, and justice, has been recast as Israel. This inversion of legitimacy has been taking place over the last 31 years since the Oslo Accords, and it is time that we stop defending ourselves intellectually and morally. We must move from intellectual defense to offense reflected in an assertive diplomacy." Diker spoke with Mossab Hassan Yousef, son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef. Yousef defected to Israel in 1997 and now lives in the U.S. Yousef said, "Palestine is a device that the Muslims use as a weapon against Israel and as a weapon against the Jewish people. Fundamentally, Muslims think that Allah hates the Jewish people." He said that it was unacceptable for Muslims to take the side of a terrorist group that committed unforgivable crimes in the name of "resistance."
2024-06-06 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive