Hamas praised the killing of a 91-year-old Holocaust survivor who died on the morning of February 6 after succumbing to wounds suffered during the May 2021 conflict.
Naomi Perlman had shrapnel caught in her leg after a Hamas rocket hit her Ashkelon home during the conflict, Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported. Since then, she had various hospital stints before dying from the shrapnel wounds in a nursing home. Her caretaker, Soumya Soutash, was killed in the rocket strike.
Joe Truzman, Research Analyst for the Foundation of Defense Democracies (FDD) and writer for the FDD’s Long War Journal, tweeted out a statement from Hamas in Arabic “lauding” Perlman’s death. The statement referred to Perlman as a “Zionist usurper” and then said it was “noteworthy” that the Al-Qassam Brigades––the military wing of Hamas––announced they had launched the rockets that day Perlman’s home was hit in May.
“It’s noteworthy to say given this statement & many others like it in the past, Hamas, including many other Palestinian factions who have self-described political/military wings, are nothing more than jihadist organizations attempting to masquerade as a legitimate government,” Truzman wrote in a subsequent tweet.
Hamas issued a statement lauding today's death of a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor who succumbed to wounds sustained in the May 2021 conflict. #Gaza pic.twitter.com/LQhg1gIz9k
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) February 6, 2022
It's noteworthy to say given this statement & many others like it in the past, Hamas, including many other Palestinian factions who have self-described political/military wings, are nothing more than jihadist organizations attempting to masquerade as a legitimate government. https://t.co/7vYFhV8kDD
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) February 6, 2022
Jewish groups issued statements mourning Perlman.
“Naomi Perlman survived the Holocaust,” American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris tweeted. “She survived postwar antisemitism in her native Poland. But she didn’t survive missile strikes from Hamas-ruled Gaza against Israel. She died after being wounded, in May, in an attack on her Ashkelon home. Grief. Condolences. Outrage.”
Naomi Perlman survived the Holocaust.
She survived postwar antisemitism in her native Poland.
But she didn’t survive missile strikes from Hamas-ruled Gaza against Israel.
She died after being wounded, in May, in an attack on her Ashkelon home.
Grief. Condolences. Outrage. https://t.co/cfvVBWMRhH pic.twitter.com/curHLqbsNG
— David Harris (@DavidHarrisNY) February 7, 2022
StandWithUs tweeted, “We stand with Naomi’s family and loved ones during this difficult time. May her memory forever be a blessing.”
We mourn the death of Naomi Perlman, a 91-year-old #Holocaust survivor who passed away after sustaining critical injuries from a Hamas rocket last May. We stand with Naomi's family and loved ones during this difficult time. May her memory forever be a blessing.🕯️ pic.twitter.com/5EAxnb9ld7
— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) February 6, 2022
