We received the following information in a call to action from Hebron, Israel. There is great concern there that the truth about Abu Mazen is either unknown or being ignored. We share that concern and encourage you to take action to make the truth known.

Important points and sources follow as received from Hebron:
Abu Mazen is a founding member of Fatah, which still regards itself as an enemy of the state of Israel (stated last year that "a legitimate Palestinian entity forms the most important

Oleg caricature from http://www.gamla.org.il/english/

Only last month, Abu Mazen renewed his commitment to "the armed struggle". (IDF website, 3 March 2003, presented his interview to Elshark Elavest newspaper from the same date: "We have not said that we will stop the armed struggle!" (for English translation, see IMRA website).

Fatah groups like Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and Tanzim are heavily tainted with terrorism (32,800 Google hits for "Fatah" and "terrorism"; see e.g. Dore Gold's JCPA site, Vol. 1(11), December 2001 which calls Fatah a "principal force behind sniping attacks at Israeli civilians living in Hebron and in the southern Jerusalem suburb of Gilo".

Abu Mazen specifically encourages slaughter of Jews in Yesha settlements as exposed most recently by IDF website; for English translation, see IMRA website. Examples of such slaughters -- 5 year old Daniel Shefi and 10 month old Shalhevette Pass.

Abu Mazen is closely associated with suspected schoolbus butcher Muhamad Dahlan; has tried to (and may) appoint Dahlan as a minister. Dahlan is a prime suspect of the Kfar Darom school bus bombing in which 2 school age girls, Tehila (8) and Orit (12) Cohen and their school age brother Yisrael (7) had their legs blown off.

Jerusalem mayor (now: Likud minister) Ehud Olmert has stated:  "The current thinking that Mr. Dahlan can bring reform and law enforcement to the Palestinians is totally misguided. No democratic state should ever allow itself to do business with those individuals who deliberately target a school bus". (opinion piece published in Wall Street Journal, 3 June 2002). The Likud of Holland website (www.likud.nl) cites a 14 April 2001 Arutz 7 report: "The CIA has a secret recording of Muhammad Dahlan giving the orders to bomb... the Kfar Darom school bus....".

Abu Mazen's associate, Dahlan, is also said to bloat his salary by extorting protection money to the amount of one million NIS monthly -- from petrol and cigarette suppliers (Nativ journal, Jan. 2003, www.acpr.org.il).

Abu Mazen is a Holocaust revisionist -- ZOA poll shows Americans oppose talks with him for this reason. MK Dr. Aryeh Eldad (Nat'l Union) has noted that Holocaust denial is a crime in Israel, punishable by 5 years imprisonment.

Dr. Yuval Steinitz, chairman of the Knesset's  Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, has pointed out that Abu Mazen as Secretary General of the PLO Executive Committee was PLO co-signatory (along with Arafat himself) on the 1993 Declaration of Principles and on the 1995 Interim Peace Agreement (see e.g. profile of Abu Mazen in the website of the MJCC, a Palestinian information group). Condoning Abu Mazen is therefore tantamount to condoning the heinous terrorism which followed these agreements.

Points to focus on:

POINT 1: Why is the  Bush Administration  praising, aiding and abetting a futile sham whereby one terror-tainted leader (Arafat) is being replaced by another (Abu Mazen)  -- a sinister game of musical chairs??

POINT 2: The newly installed tainted leader (Abu Mazen) should NOT be invited to Washington.

POINT 3: Releasing the Road Map responsive to presentation of Abu Mazen's "government"  would damage the Administration's credibility by proving that the Administration  has been taken in by the latest Palestinian sham.