MYTH: "Palestinians do not encourage children to engage in terror." FACTS: Most Palestinians who adopt terror in the hope of either "ending the occupation" or destroying Israel do so because they freely choose murder over any other option. Palestinian terrorists also use children, however, to do their dirty work. On March 15, 2004, for example, Israeli security forces caught an 11-year-old boy attempting to smuggle a bomb through a roadblock. The boy was promised a large sum of money by Tanzim activists in Nablus if he delivered a bag containing a bomb stuffed with bolts to a woman on the other side of the checkpoint. If the boy was stopped and searched, the terrorists who sent him planned to use a cell phone to immediately detonate the 15 to 22 pounds of explosives he was carrying, murdering nearby soldiers as well as the boy. The plan was foiled by an alert Israeli soldier, and the bomb apparently malfunctioned when the terrorists tried to remotely detonate it (Associated Press; Jerusalem Post; New York Post, March 16, 2004). This was just the latest example of the cynical use of children by Palestinians waging war on Israel. Young Palestinians are routinely indoctrinated and coerced into the cult of martyrdom. Despite occasional claims that terror is only promoted by "extremists," the truth is the Palestinian Authority (PA) has consistently incited its youth to violence. Children are taught that the greatest glory is to die for Allah in battle as a Shahada. The indoctrination is having an impact. According to one Palestinian newspaper, 79-80% of children told pollsters they were willing to be Shahids (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 18, 2002). Many Palestinian youngsters have gone from pretending to carrying out actual terrorist attacks. More than two dozen suicide bombers have been under the age of 18. The situation has finally gotten so out of hand that Palestinian families are starting to protest. The mother of one of the three teenagers sent to carry out the Afula attack said of the letter he had left behind, "My son doesn’t know how to write a letter like that and has never belonged to one of the organizations. Some grownup wrote the letter for him." The boy’s father added, "Nobody can accept to send his children to be slaughtered. I am sure that whoever recruits children in this kind of unlawful activity will not recruit his own children" (Associated Press, March 1, 2004). Source: Myths & Facts Online -- A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict, by Mitchell G. Bard

The Advocacy for Israel Committee was formed in September of 2001 to organize pro-Israeli activities and to rally support in the form of Hasbara. The A Team meets monthly in the CBI Library at 9:45 and the next meeting is Sunday April 4. Please join us and make a difference for Israel! For more information, email A Team Chairmen Jay Epstein (jhe@tampabay.rr.com) or Sheldon Scheinert (Sheldo123@aol.com). Get involved!