A pro-Israel group has launched a citizen email campaign demanding that Twitter ban the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas from using its Internet communication service.
In its "No Twitter for Terrorists" action alert, Christians United for Israel notes the U.S. has designated Hamas, which is now engaged in an escalating conflict with Israel, a foreign terrorist organization.
CUFI is the largest pro-Israel group in the U.S., listing more than 1 million members.
Participants in the campaign put their names on an email to Twitter that demands the company "observe both the United States law and your own Terms of Service by immediately banning Hamas, the Izzadeen Al-Qassam Brigades and any related entities from operating Twitter accounts (e.g. @AlqassamBrigade)."
The email warns Twitter that the local office of the United States Attorney is receiving a copy of the email "so that they can weigh appropriate legal measures in the event that you continue to permit terrorists to use your services."
CUFI points out that the U.S. designation of Hamas as foreign terror group makes it illegal for any U.S. corporation to provide "material support."
"This prohibited material support specifically includes 'services' and 'communications equipment.' By allowing Hamas to have a Twitter account, you are providing it with an important 'service' and extremely effective 'communications equipment' which are central to its primary mission of terrorizing the Israeli people and using civilian deaths to score political points."
The email notes that in a February 2010 opinion, Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, the U.S. Supreme Court said support for terrorists is not necessarily linked directly to the commission of violent attacks.
It also notes that Twitter's own Terms of Service limits the operations to those who "are not a person barred from receiving services under the laws of the United States."
Each year, CUFI holds hundreds of pro-Israel events in cities around the nation. In July, thousands of participants gather in Washington, D.C., for an annual summit. It provides a channel through which churches and other groups can speak in support of Israel.
During the most recent summit, pastor Victor Styrsky, author of "Honest to God-Christian Zionists Confront 10 Questions Jews Need Answered," was interviewed by WND.
He serves as eastern regional coordinator for the group.
Styrsky told WND that replacement theology – based on the presumption that when Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah, God then rejected the Jewish nation with whom he had covenanted for generations – is dangerously prevalent across many segments of the contemporary Christian church.
He estimated fully half of Christian organizations hold such beliefs.
"When you do that and don't see the Jews as beloved of God, and don't see God as a promise-maker and a promise-keeper, then Israel occupies [the land], and they are not inheritors."
That's why denominations such as the Presbyterian Church USA have adopted a position of boycotting goods made by Israelis in the Palestinian Territories, Styrsky said.
"When someone adheres to a specific faith view of the Scripture, it is near impossible to break them free from that. When your theological view is accurate … it can be life-changing in a wonderful way. When it's inaccurate … if you're using the Bible in a wrong way, promoting something against true theology, [it's damaging]," he said.
Styrsky pointed out adherence to replacement theology puts Christians in the position of supporting the demand that 5 million Palestinians be given the "right of return" to Israel.
But acceptance of that demand, he said, would bring out the end of Israel as a Jewish democracy.
"Because in one election, if you allow 5 million Palestinians back into Israel, there's no longer a democratic Jewish nation in Israel," he explained. "Since the Arab Spring, every single group has voted in radical Islamists, Shariah-law compliant Islamic leaders."
Styrsky has been a pastor, music director and pro-Israel activist in Northern California for more than 25 years.
From a group of 400 leaders meeting in 2006, CUFI has exploded in size. Its Facebook page has received more than 755,000 likes