On Thursday, George Deek, the Israeli ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan, who is an Arab, released a video in which he blistered Hamas, noting that his family had spent more than 10 days in a bomb shelter while Hamas fired thousands of rockets into Israel, and concluding, “You will not win.”
Deek, a Christian, began, “This is a message to the leaders of Hamas. I’m Israeli ambassador George Deek. My family is from Jaffa, and has lived there for generations. Lately I’ve been thinking about the difference between you and me. We are both Arabs, but we couldn’t be further apart.”
“We both believe in God, but we couldn’t have a more different vision of what that God wants,” Deek asserted, then blasted Hamas for their brutal treatment of those living under their rule: “I look at my brothers and sisters in Gaza, and I see what you have done to their lives. You deny them basic rights. You steal their money. You kill those who dare to disagree with you.”
“You want to destroy Israel, launching rockets that kill Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike,” he charged.
Deek said in 2015, “Israel is important, not just for the Jewish world but also the Arab world. While Muslims are being kicked out by each other, Israel is the only minority in the region which keeps hope alive for the Arab world. As long as Israel exists, there is a chance we can move back from uniformity to diversity. That is entrenched in the fate of all minorities in the region. This is the main importance of Israel today.”
In Thursday’s video, he issued his warning: “But I have news for you. The Middle East that you seek — which has no room for a Jewish state — is a Middle East that has no room for any minority. Christians, Druze, and even Muslims who do not share your hateful ideology. In other words, it’s a Middle East with no room for anyone who is different, and therefore it cannot thrive.”
Deek challenged Hamas with a series of rhetorical questions: “So here are my questions to you: Will you use the world’s money — sent to help the people of Gaza to build schools, mosques, and hospitals — or will you use it to build more missiles and more tunnels. Will you seek peace and dialogue or will you continue to incite more hate and violence? Will you embrace diversity, or will you continue oppressing religious minorities while calling for genocide of all Jews? Will you build a future for the people of Gaza, or will you continue robbing their dignity and honor in a futile effort to destroy Israel? Sadly, we all know the answer.”
He concluded, “I wanted to make this video to tell you that even though my family spent more than 10 days in a bomb shelter, praying that your missiles don’t kill them, you will not win. Your philosophy of hate and repression will be defeated.”
“You will not win.”
This is a message to the leaders of Hamas.
You. Will. Not. Win. pic.twitter.com/11Kar0T24P— George Deek (@GeorgeDeek) May 27, 2021