The Taylor Force Act

Taylor Force was an American who was stabbed to death in 2016 while visiting Israel. He was a former U.S. Army officer who was part of a Vanderbilt University tour group visiting the country.

On February 16th of this year, Mr. Lamborn [Congressman Doug Lamborn] (for himself and Mr. Zeldin [Representative Lee Zeldin]) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs (H.R. 1164):

On September 28th of last year, Mr. Graham (for himself, Mr. Coats, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Cruz, and Mr. Scott) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations (S. 3414). The Senate Bill and the House Bill are the same. So what is this about?

CUFI has posted the following:

Since September of 2015, the beginning of the so-called “stabbing intifada,” Palestinian terrorists have murdered more than 50 innocent people and wounded hundreds more.

The media often describes these terrorists as “lone wolves” completely disconnected from Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority (PA). But the fact is that the Palestinian Authority makes generous lifetime payments to every Palestinian imprisoned for killing Israelis. And if the terrorist dies during his attack, his family receives these payments. This financial support for terrorism is actually required under legislation passed by the Palestinian legislature.

The United States provides the PA with approximately $300 million in aid each year. The PA makes approximately $300 million in payments to terrorists and their families every year. There is no way around this troubling reality: our taxpayer dollars are being used to fund terrorism. This must end!

Sen. Lindsey Graham re-introduced a critical piece of legislation — The Taylor Force Act. Representatives Lamborn and Zeldin introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives. This bill requires that we cut all U.S. aid to the PA until it stops funding terrorism.

This bill is named after Taylor Force, a West Point graduate who survived tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan only to be murdered in Israel by a Palestinian terrorist.

In April 2013, FrontPage Magazine posted the following:

The Tel Aviv-based Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center, representing 24 Americans living in Israel, filed a civil action lawsuit against the State Department last November claiming that the U.S. government is funding Palestinian terrorism in the West Bank and Gaza.

The plaintiffs, some of whom have been victims of Palestinian terrorism, “are fearful that the money that is going to the Palestinian Authority eventually winds up in the hands of the terrorist organizations that can be facilitated to carry out attacks against them,” Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the director of the Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center and one of the lawyers on the case, told The Daily Caller. “So they find themselves in a very weird situation where their tax money is going actually to attacks against them,” she added.

The Obama administration, not surprisingly, has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.  It argued that the plaintiffs do not have legal standing to bring the suit – i.e., they did not suffer direct personal injury traceable to the actions alleged to be illegal. The Obama administration also argued that the courts have no business getting involved in foreign policy decisions that are inherently “political questions.” These are nothing more than pretextual arguments to prevent discovery of the truth whether the Obama administration is violating express congressional conditions on the granting of aid to the Palestinian Authority and for the West Bank and Gaza.

American foreign aid has been funding terrorism for a while. It will be interesting to watch the fate of the House and Senate bills that are trying to end this practice.

Things We Should Learn From The Terrorist Attack In Tel Aviv

The Jewish News Service posted an article today about the attack in Tel Aviv last night. The article highlights five myths about terrorist attacks in Israel that are simply not true.

These are the myths that the attack has shattered:

Myth #1: “The problem is the settlements” – Tel Aviv is neither disputed nor a settlement.

Myth #2: “It was a reaction to the occupation” – the village of Yatta, the home of the attackers, has been under the rule of the Palestinian Authority for nearly 21 years.

Myth #3: “The Palestinian Authority condemned the attack” – the PA stated:

“We condemn violence and attacks against civilians on both sides, whatever the justification.” The PA “not only condemned the attack in south Tel Aviv early on Monday morning, but also the recent Israel Defense Forces strikes on Gaza, and attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank and in Jerusalem,” according to Israel’s Channel 10 television network.

Fatah, which is chaired by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, explicitly defended the massacre. According to the Palestinian news agency Ma’an, Fatah issued a statement calling the attack “a natural response” to Israeli actions.

Myth #4: “Ordinary Palestinians are against terrorism” – In Ramallah, Tulkarm, Qalqilya, Jenin, and other cities people danced in the streets. That doesn’t sound as if they opposed the attack.

Myth #5: “The major American news outlets are staffed by objective, professionally trained journalists; if their coverage of Israel is unflattering, that’s because of Israel’s own policies, not because of media bias” – the attack was reported by some of the American press as follows:

CNN’s Twitter announcement of the attack put the word “terrorists” in quotation marks, stating, “Two ‘terrorists’ captured after Tel Aviv attack, Israeli police spokesman tweets.” The Washington Post’s correspondents in Israel, William Booth and Ruth Eglash, exhibited the same bias. They described the terrorists as “gunmen,” “assailants,” and “attackers”—but never as terrorists, and only indirectly as Palestinians. And the headline-writers at Washington Post headquarters came up with this gem: “4 Killed in Tel Aviv Market Shooting that Officials Labeled Terrorist Attack.”

Until the PA stops celebrating terrorism, training its children to be martyrs, and teaching hatred of Israel, there will not be peace in the Middle East. You cannot have a two-state solution with people who want to exterminate you. It simply is not possible.

The Vatican Signs A Treaty With Palestine

CBN News is reporting today that the Vatican has signed a treaty with the “State of Palestine.” Just for the record, there is, nor has there ever been, a State of Palestine.

As I have previously posted:

As Walid Shoebat stated, “One day during the 1960s I went to bed a Jordanian Muslim, and when I woke up the next morning, I was informed that I was now a Palestinian Muslim, and that I was no longer a Jordanian Muslim.”

The article reports:

Israel‘s Foreign Ministry called the text of the treaty “one-sided” and expressed regret.

“This hasty step damages the prospects for advancing a peace agreement, and harms the international effort to convince the PA (Palestinian Authority) to return to direct negotiations with Israel,” the ministry said in a statement.

“We also regret the one-sided texts in the agreement which ignore the historic rights of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel and to the places holy to Judaism in Jerusalem,” it continued.  “Israel cannot accept the unilateral determinations in the agreement which do not take into account Israel’s essential interests and the special historic status of the Jewish people in Jerusalem.”

The article reminds us:

Vatican officials say the document signed Friday reflects the church’s support of a “two-state solution” to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians

No mention was made about Hamas, the terror group which entered into a unity government with the Palestinian Authority and calls in its charter for Israel’s destruction.

Christians are being martyred in the Middle East as we speak, and the Vatican is making treaties with terrorists. One has to wonder if they have lost their way.

 

Coming Down On The Wrong Side Of History

I don’t claim to be a historian,  but I believe in the Bible. Genesis 12:3 (and also a few other places) says in referring to Israel, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” I am not going to argue with something that is stated in the Bible more than once. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court has made a decision that could easily be considered less than a blessing to Israel.

The Wall Street Journal reported today:

Liberals have spent four decades condemning the Imperial Presidency—and especially the depredations of the Bush-Cheney regime—but all of a sudden they are celebrating the Supreme Court for its Jerusalem passports decision on Monday. We guess the “unitary executive” is fine as long as he happens to be a Democrat.

Those of us with more respect for the Constitution’s separation of powers think Zivotofsky v. Kerry is a closer legal call. But the decision is still the right constitutional resolution to a long-running dispute between Congress and the executive branch about recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

…This judicial outcome is highly unusual. For the first time in U.S. history the Court has sided with a President openly defying an act of Congress related to foreign affairs.

CBN News reported today:

Palestinian Authority leaders praised Monday’s Supreme Court ruling disallowing Americans born in Jerusalem to list Israel as the country of birth on their passports, saying it clarified that “Jerusalem is occupied territory.”

“It is a clear message to the Israeli government that its decisions and measures in occupying and annexing Jerusalem are illegal and void and that it should immediately stop these measures because it’s a clear violation of the international law,” P.A. chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said.

President Barack Obama also welcomed the decision as affirming his power to set the nation’s foreign policy, while demonstrating his neutrality in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

There is nothing neutral in refusing to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Last week I posted an article detailing the history of Israel beginning with the granting of the land of Israel (then called Palestine) to the Jews in 1921. The article included the following map:

The current demand for a Palestinian state is garbage. Transjordan (now Jordan) was set up to be a Palestinian state. That land was taken away from Israel (it was given to Israel in the original Balfour Declaration) in 1921.

The most telling quote in this whole distortion of history we are currently dealing with comes from Walid Shoebat, who stated, “One day during the 1960’s I went to bed a Jordanian Muslim, and when I woke up the next morning, I was informed that I was now a Palestinian Muslim, and that I was no longer a Jordanian Muslim”

The issue of a Palestinian state in land that belongs to Israel is nothing more than a plan on the part of the Arab nations to drive Israel into the sea.

As I have stated in previous articles:

Palestine was the name given to Israel at that time.  Transjordan was originally to be given to the Jewish state, but Britain reneged on its promise and gave the land to the Arabs instead.  In 1921, the Arab representative responsible for the above division of the land, Emir Feisal, agreed to abandon all claims of his father to Western Palelstine if he secured Iraq and Eastern Palestine as Arab terrorities.  We saw how well he kept this agreement. These are the borders set up for the nation of Israel.  The 1949 borders were simply an armistice.

After the nation of Israel was declared, the Arabs invaded and took control of the Old City of Jerusalem. During the time the Arabs controlled the Old City, Jews were barred from their holiest sites. Unfortunately, past behavior is often an indication of future behavior.

Why are we attempting to create another terrorist state? We are definitely on the wrong side of history with this decision.

This Will Not Help The Peace Process

CBN News is reporting today that the Vatican has officially recognized a Palestinian state. The leaders of Palestine have assumed that this means Israel will go back to the 1967 borders and that Jerusalem will be the capital of the new state. This is not a recipe for peace. Nations of the world have poured billions of dollars into the West Bank, one area the Palestinians are claiming for their new state. The current government of Palestine has used that money to buy weapons and build tunnels to attack Israel. The current government of Palestine has also refused to acknowledge that Israel has the right to exist. This is not a recipe for peace.

The article reports:

“Formal Vatican recognition of Palestine, a state that, in reality, does not yet exist, is a regrettable move and is counterproductive to all who seek true peace between Israel and the Palestinians,” AJC (American Jewish Committee) Executive Director David Harris said.

“There is a reason why the U.S., the European Union and others have long agreed that statehood can only be achieved through direct, bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority,” he continued.

“Meanwhile, the West Bank [Judea and Samaria] is ruled by the Palestinian Authority, whose leader, Mahmoud Abbas, just marked the tenth anniversary of what was meant to be a four-year term, and Gaza is governed by Hamas, a terror organization. What and where exactly is the ‘State of Palestine’ today?” Harris queried.

“We are fully cognizant of the Pope’s good will and desire to be a voice for peaceful coexistence, which is best served, we believe, by encouraging a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, rather than unilateral gestures outside the framework of the negotiating table,” Harris concluded.

This is not a recipe for peace. It is encouraging a non-democratic government that supports terrorism in its quest to wipe out Israel.

The Middle East Gets More Complicated

Yesterday the Center for Security Policy posted an article about the recent alliance between Iran and Hamas. This is an interesting alliance as Iran represents the Shiite branch of Islam and Hamas represents the Sunni branch of Islam. So why are they working together–their common purpose is the destruction of Israel.

The article reports:

Earlier on Free Fire we spoke about continuing Iranian support for Hezbollah as well as Hamas. Reports state that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have resumed transferring tens of millions of dollars to the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing. The funds were transferred under direct orders of Qasem Soleimani, the head commander of the elite Quds Force, who also created an annual budget devoted to funding Hamas.

Allegedly the funds are primarily to fund the rebuilding of Hamas’ tunnel network that was severely damaged in the Israeli counterstrike to Hamas’ rocket attacks on Israeli cities, as well as purchase more missiles for future attacks. Despite the sectarian differences between Iran and Hamas, both organizations are dedicated to the destruction of the Israeli state.

…In response to Iran’s closer ties with Hamas, the Palestinian Authority has urged Saudi Arabia to take a more active and stronger stance against Hamas, even going so far as to request the Saudis launch an attack on the Gaza Strip – despite Hamas condemning Israel for committing war crimes when Israel did the same last year. With Hamas terminating the unity government with the PA back in November, relations between the two organizations are at an all time low. Perhaps Iran and Saudi Arabia will expand their proxy war from Yemen to Israel next.

This is an example of what happens in the world when America has a weak President–Iran is running wild and Israel is at risk.

People Co-exist Very Well When Governments Get Out Of The Way

CBN News posted a story today about Ariel University. It is one of the success stories of Israeli-Arab relations, and has been boycotted by European governments and the U.S. State Department. Why?

The article explains:

The university’s home is Ariel, what some call a “West Bank settlement” in territory Palestinians want for a future state. It’s also part of the land promised to the Jewish people in the Bible as an eternal inheritance.

That has led to boycotts of the university by European governments and the U.S. State Department, Friedman said.

Oddly enough, despite the politics, the university represnets a model for co-existence. Some 15,000 Israeli Jewish and Arab students study here together in Hebrew — without a problem.

The article further explains:

Chancellor Yigal Cohen Orgad credits the university’s success to creating an informal atmosphere in which students see each other eye-to-eye.

He thanked God there are no conflicts at the university. 

“We passed in Israel two intifadas, this university,” Orgad said. “There was [not] one evening or one day of tension between Jews and Arabs that study here.”

Despite its cutting-edge research, pastoral setting, and quiet campus life, some in the international community see Ariel University as a controversial place.

“We don’t have problems with other universities and research institutes,” Orgad said. “We have real problems with many governments. First of all in Europe and part of the American government, i.e., the State Department, that tries to boycott us formally or informally.”

Why? “Because they think we don’t have the right as Jews to live here in Samaria,” Orgad told CBN News.

Practically speaking, the boycott makes it difficult to obtain grants and actually hinders things like helping neighboring Arab villages improve their quality of life.

It seems very obvious that the University has managed to make peace between the Israelis and the Arabs who study there. If there is peace there, the governments in Europe and America need to stop complaining.

What Does This Accomplish?

Yesterday Israel Today posted a story about Swiss aid that will be sent to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Hamas remains on the terrorist list of the European Union of which Switzerland is not a member.

The article reports:

Switzerland has put together a generous financial package to prop up the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip after billions in promised foreign donations following last summer’s Gaza war failed to materialize.

That according to Palestinian officials who spoke to Israel’s NRG news portal, which reported that as part of the deal, the Swiss government would pay the salaries of thousands of Hamas members – many of whom are known terrorists – thereby propping up Hamas rule.

We saw last summer what Hamas does with foreign aid–weapons, tunnels into Israel, planned terror attacks, etc. What is to be gained by sending them more money? We have all seen pictures of children in the Gaza Strip being trained to hate and kill Jews. We have all seen pictures of civilians used as human shields after Hamas attacks Israel. Hamas is not a group that should be receiving money from anyone.

We need to remember that much of the Arab world (Hamas included) does not want a two-state solution–they want a one-state solution where Israel does not exist and all of the Jews are dead. Until someone is in charge of the ‘Palestinians‘ who is willing to accept the existence of Israel, there will be no peace in that region. Even then, it would have to be a leader that people would be willing to follow–to put aside their hatred and be willing to co-exist in peace. That would be wonderful, but I am not sure it is possible.

Meanwhile, funding Hamas will only lead to more war.

Foreign Policy Driven By Petulance

CBN News is reporting today that because of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s victory in Israel’s election, President Obama may stop American opposition to the United Nation‘s imposing a two-state solution on Israel. First of all, let’s look at this logically. When Israel turned over the West Bank to the Arabs, what did they get? They got suicide bombers and rocket attacks coming from the area. When the Arabs took over the land, the first thing they did was destroy the greenhouses that would have provided employment and a source of income. The money coming into the area from foreign countries was not spent on infrastructure–it was used to buy weapons and build tunnels to attack Israel. Why in the world would anyone want to give terrorists more land?

The article at CBN reports:

The prime minister’s acceptance of two states has always been based on the Palestinians‘ recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, secure borders for Israel, and keeping Jerusalem the united capital of Israel. All three conditions were rejected by Palestinian Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

The administration is also hinting it may support the Palestinian Authority‘s petition to the U.N. Security Council on the unilateral establishment of a state.

“Our position in support of a two-state solution is very clear. Only a two-state solution that results in a secure Israel alongside a sovereign and independent Palestine can bring lasting peace and stability to both people,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said.

“Of course, we will continue to pursue this goal with the new Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority,” he added.

The notion of a Palestinian state next door to Israel troubles many Israelis after all of the terrorist attacks they’ve faced in recent years from Islamic fighters.

If the United States and the United Nations do support such a deal, that could mean still more tension between the Jewish state and much of the rest of the world.

This is a total turnaround from previous American foreign policy. The Arabs do not want a two-state solution–they want to drive Israel into the sea and kill all the Jews. That is not something America should be supporting.

We need to remember that the Bible says that he who blesses Israel will be blessed and he who curses Israel will be cursed. The Obama Administration is about to put America in mortal danger.

We Need To Stop Sending Money–Period

Breitbart.com reported yesterday that Senator Lindsy Graham has stated that existing U.S. legislation “would cut off aid to the Palestinians if they filed a complaint” against Israel in the International Criminal Court.

There seems to be some basic disagreement as to whether or not the Palestinians have a right to be members of the International Criminal Court.

The article reports:

U.S. President Barack Obama’s Democratic administration has said it does not believe Palestine is a sovereign state and therefore does not qualify to be part of the ICC, but has not explicitly threatened to withhold aid.

Any cut in U.S. funds could make it hard for the Palestinian self-rule authority in the West Bank and Gaza to survive. The U.S. supplies more than $400 million annually to the Palestinian Authority. Israel has frozen a monthly transfer of some $120 million in tax revenues it collects for the Palestinians.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has confirmed the Palestinians will formally become a member of the ICC on April 1, after applying earlier this month.

This is bogus. During the most recent war with Israel, the Palestinians consistently fired rockets into civilian areas in Israel and then used women and children as human shields when Israel fought back. The Palestinians have no right to file charges against Israel–the charges should be filed against the Palestinians.

An Attempt At Lopsided Justice

MyWay News reported yesterday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is seeking Palestinian admission to the International Criminal Court. The intention is for Palestine to charge Israel with war crimes.

The article reports:

Abbas made the announcement in the West Bank on Wednesday, a day after the U.N. Security Council failed to pass a resolution that had aimed to set a deadline for Israel to end its occupation of territories sought by the Palestinians.

Abbas had warned that if the resolution failed, he would resume a Palestinian campaign to join international organizations to put pressure on Israel.

Abbas’ decision is expected to trigger a harsh response from Israel.

Israel says all disputes should be resolved through peace talks, and such actions are aimed at bypassing negotiations.

This is a very interesting move.

This is a chart showing rocket attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip since 2001. It is from the Israeli Defense Forces blog:

graph

The fact that the originators of these rocket attacks on civilian targets want to charge Israel with war crimes would be laughable except that the International Criminal Court is so anti-Semitic the charges would probably be taken seriously.

As the Palestinians seek to charge Israel with war crimes, we might also remember the tunnels discovered in their recent war with Israel. In July 2014, I reported (rightwinggranny.com) that the Palestinians plan to use the tunnels to hide until schools and kindergartens were occupied. The terrorists would then attempt to kill the children first, and then kill and kidnap as many Israelis as possible.  This plot was set to take place during Jewish New Year, on September 24.

Israel is not the one who should be charged with war crimes.

 

A Wise Governor

Arutz Sheva reported yesterday that Indiana Governor Mike Pence, while visiting Israel with his family, declined a dinner invitation from Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Governor Pence was also in Israel to discuss expanding economic ties between Indiana and the Jewish State.

Governor Pence has been a long-time supporter of Israel.

The article quotes some of the Governor’s statements in 2010 about Israel:

“I believe the Obama administration is the most anti-Israel administration in the modern history of the state of Israel and our relationship with her. Israel is our most cherished ally. The American people support Israel’s right to self-defense. The American people support the Jewish state of Israel, and the American people expect the American president to unambiguously do the same.”

“I’ll be honest with you: I never thought I’d live to see the day that an American administration would denounce the Jewish state of Israel for rebuilding Jerusalem,” Pence added. 

It is wonderful to see a state wanting to do business with Israel. Governor Pence obviously understands that Israel lives in a dangerous neighborhood and does need to defend itself. There is no other country in the world that would put up with rockets continually being fired at their civilian population and not respond forcefully. Israel has consistently tempered its responses.

The Changing Energy Picture

The Washington Free Beacon is reporting today that Israel has announced the discovery of a major offshore gas field.

The article reports:

The new field, some 90 miles off Israel’s coast in the eastern Mediterranean, holds at least 3.2 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas, according to a 3D seismic survey. Two larger fields, discovered in 2009 and 2010, have combined reserves of at least 33 trillion cubic feet. These fields are expected to serve the bulk of Israel’s gas needs for the coming century. Experts say that further exploration will likely uncover other sizeable fields in Israel’s deep offshore waters.

The gas discoveries will have a major impact on Israel’s economy and perhaps even on its relations with Arab neighbors. Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, and Egypt are all in urgent need of energy supplies and Israel would be the natural supplier. Israel’s proximity would make the gas significantly cheaper than gas they could acquire from any other source.

This announcement comes at a time when oil prices are falling rapidly and OPEC is attempting to drive American oil out of the market by not curtailing production. This find guarantees Israel’s future energy and will be a definite boost to the Israeli economy.

The article concludes:

The sprouting of gas rigs in the waters off Israel’s coast also creates a major security problem. The sites constitute a potential target for missiles fired both by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Terrorist attacks in explosives-laden speedboats are another concern. The Israeli navy has been patrolling the gas fields. It recently asked Germany to sell it three missile boats to beef up security around the rigs. The boats’ missiles would be capable of intercepting incoming missiles.

However, both Hamas and Hezbollah have reasons to refrain from attacking Israel’s seemingly vulnerable offshore assets. For one, any such attack would undoubtedly induce a massive Israeli response. Beyond that element of deterrence, both Hamas and Lebanon have reason to believe that gas, perhaps even oil, lies off their shores as well and they would not want Israeli retaliation when they begin to mine their waters.

Israel is scheduled to begin exploratory drilling in 2015. Hopefully, they will be able to proceed without major security issues.

Irony At Its Best

Arutz Sheva is reporting today that a Hamas rocket fired at Israel has knocked down a major power line that supplies Gaza with electricity.

The article reports:

As Operation Protective Edge enters its seventh day, many Israelis are demanding that the country take more aggressive action against Hamas in order to put a halt to the seemingly endless missile attacks from Gaza. One suggestion that has come up numerous times – including from MKs and Ministers like Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon – is cutting off electricity to Gaza,which Israel is still supplying. The Hamas missile, which hit one of the high tension wires that move power from Israel to Gaza, apparently made that a moot point, at least partially.

The Palestinian Authority currently owes the Israel Electric Company NIS 1.5 billion ($525 million) in unpaid bills for electricity. An examination of that debt by business daily Globes shows that the relative amount owed by Gaza was NIS 220 million ($62 million).

Last month, the IEC filed a petition with the High Court demanding to be allowed to shut off electricity to the Palestinian Authority until the debt was paid – or to allow the IEC to seize customs and aid payments collected on behalf of the PA to pay off its debt. That case is still pending.

According to the article, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has asked the IEC not to risk the lives of its employees in trying to restore power.

It Might Be Time To Take Another Look At This

I realize Wikipedia is not the best source on most things, but based on what I heard in an interview with Caroline Glick about her new book, “The Israeli Solution: A One-State Plan for Peace in the Middle East,” this is something Wikipedia got right.

In an interview, she casually mentioned that the United States is funding Palestinian security forces. Wikipedia confirms this.

Wikipedia states:

Since 2005 the U.S. State Department has provided direct financial and personnel assistance to Palestinian security organizations when they established the office of the United States Security Coordinator (USSC) for Israel and the Palestinian territories through their Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). In 2007 the USSC team began training certain Palestinian Authority Security Forces (PASF) including the Palestinian National Security Forces (NSF) and the Presidential Guard with the intent to train, equip, and garrison 10 NSF battalions by the end of 2010. U.S. security assistance to the Palestinian Authority has expanded over the years and has received praise as well as criticism from American, Palestinian, and Israeli groups.

Let’s look at this for a minute. The only security need the Palestinians have is to protect themselves from Israel. The only time Israel has ever attacked the Palestinians is after major rocket attacks on Israel from the Palestinians. We are funding the purchase of rockets that are being used on Israel, a country we claim as an ally. How insane is this? It’s time to cut the spending on Palestinian security forces. That’s one budget cut I think most of us could agree on!

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Which Way Did The Money Go ?

The Washington Free Beacon posted a story today about the lifestyle of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Mr. Abbas has allegedly deposited nearly $13 million in U.S. taxpayer aid into a secret bank account.

The article reports:

The Obama administration is not providing proper oversight for the $600 million in U.S. foreign aid to the P.A., Schanzer ( Jonathan Schanzer, vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies) noted.

“Washington should simply acknowledge that there is a problem,” he said. “The staff at the U.S. Consulate General in East Jerusalem reportedly knows that Palestinians believe their ruling elites are corrupt. But for reasons that are not entirely clear, the State Department has yet to issue a clear statement to address the issue, or what it intends to do about it.”

Elliott Abrams, a former national security adviser for George W. Bush, recounted the behind-the-scenes talks he had with Arab leaders who refused to support the P.A.’s corrupt institutions.

“I can tell you from my own experience, as an American official seeking financial assistance for the P.A. from Gulf Arab governments, that I was often told, ‘Why should we give them money when their officials will just steal it?” said Abrams, who noted that 82 percent of Palestinians believe their government is unethical. “Corruption is an insidious destroyer not only of Palestinian public finances but of faith in the entire political system.”

It seems to me that cutting aid to the Palestinians might be a very easy way to cut some government spending. If Mr. Abbas chooses to take part in ‘lifestyles of the rich and famous,’ the least he can do is do it on his own dime–not the backs of American taxpayers.

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Why A Two-State Solution In The Middle East Will Not Work

The Washington Free Beacon posted an article today about a puppet show seen recently on Palestinian television.

This is a link to a video recently translated and put up at YouTube:

The article at the Washington Free Beacon reports:

The video, obtained and translated into English by the Palestinian Media Watch research organization, was performed for children in East Jerusalem, and included puppets singing, “Jerusalem, whose youth are being killed by the Jews… Jerusalem, we will not surrender to the enemies or be humiliated.”

According to Burj al-Luq Luq’s [a Palestinian Authority social organization] website, the organization has been supported by several branches of the UN, including UNICEF and UNESCO, and also has been backed by a number of international donors.

How many parents helping their children ‘trick or treat for UNICEF’ are even remotely aware of how the money raised is being spent? This is totally offensive. We need to stop funding this sort of propaganda (and stop funding the UN).

As long as hatred is being openly preached to Palestinian children, there will be no peace in the Middle East. 

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Feeding The Hate

On Friday the Washington Free Beacon posted a story about the $192 million in financial aid released to the Palestinian Authority (PA) by the Obama Administration last month. The money was quietly released to the PA after Congress froze the money because of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s attempt to declare statehood before the United Nations, by-passing the so-called peace process.

The article also reports:

The administration also secretly attempted to restore funding to a U.N. cultural agency that unilaterally—and illegally—recognized the “State of Palestine.”

In explaining the administration’s rationale for reinstating the funds, White House spokesperson Tommy Vietor claimed, “The P.A. has recognized Israel’s right to exist, renounced violence, and accepted previous agreements, including the Roadmap,” in reference to the peace plan advanced by the Middle East Quartet, according to AFP.

I suspect that the claim that “The P.A. has recognized Israel’s right to exist, renounced violence, and accepted previous agreements, including the Roadmap,” is news to both Israel and the PA.

Please follow the link above to the Washington Free Beacon article. The article lists recent examples of the kind of inflammatory rhetoric the PA routinely broadcasts to children and adults in the Middle East. Until someone requires both the rhetoric and the attacks on Israel to stop, there will be no peace in the Middle East. Until then, we are simply funding the PA war on a country that we claim to be a friend of.

 

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The Friday Night Document Dump

The Friday night document dump is not unique to the Obama Administration–it has become an American tradition during the last twenty years. It usually includes something that the administration involved hopes the major media will not notice. Sometimes that works; sometimes it doesn’t.

Last nights Friday night document dump included some interesting information about how American taxpayer money is being spent. Andrew McCarthy at the National Review posted an article today stating that President Obama has authorized sending $192 million to the Palestinian Authority despite Congress’s freeze on PA funding. The funding to the PA was cut off after President Abbas attempted to declare statement unilaterally last September, in violation of the PA’s treaty commitments.

The article reports:

White House spinmeister Tommy Vietor stated that President Obama made the decision to pour American taxpayer dollars into Palestinian coffers in order to ensure “the continued viability of the moderate PA government.” He added the claim that, as the report puts it, “the PA had fulfilled all its major obligations, such as recognizing Israel’s right to exist, renouncing violence and accepting the Road Map for Peace.”

The PA has not recognized Israel’s right to exist–the article further reports the comments of Adil Sadeq, a PA official writing in the official PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida:

(Israelis) have a common mistake, or misconception by which they fool themselves, assuming that Fatah accepts them and recognizes the right of their state to exist, and that it is Hamas alone that loathes them and does not recognize the right of this state to exist. They ignore the fact that this state, based on a fabricated [Zionist] enterprise, never had any shred of a right to exist…

Andrew McCarthy suggested how we deal with the President’s ignoring the wishes of Congress–cut the State Department’s budget. That will give the President less money to give to those who are friends of neither Israel or America.

 

 

 

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The Law Of Unintended Consequences At Work In The Middle East

Inside the streets of walled old Jerusalem city.

Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday’s Jerusalem Post reported on the next step now that the Palestinian Authority has been admitted to UNESCO as a member state.

The article reports:

“We will take Israel to court for systematically destroying and forging Arab and Islamic culture in Jerusalem,” said Hatem Abdel Qader, former PA minister for Jerusalem affairs, after the UNESCO vote.

PA Minister of Tourism Khuloud Daibes alleges that Israel’s renovations of Jerusalem’s Old City walls and its intention to replace the crumbling Mughrabi Bridge at the southern entrance to the Temple Mount are hostile attempts to “change the Islamic and Arabic character of the city.”

There seems to be some distortion of history here–Jerusalem has been central to Jewish history since the time of King David and his son Solomon. Jerusalem did not become significant as an Islamic holy site until the rule of the Umayyads (661-750 CE). The Dome of the Rock was built in 688-91 CE on the spot where Jewish Temples had stood.

The article further reports:

If this weren’t so funny, it would be outrageous. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Israel set the international gold standard for unimpeded religious worship in Jerusalem, and for painstaking preservation of Muslim and Christian holy sites and archeological sites across Israel. In civilized and professional circles, Israel is recognized as having contributed enormously to the excavation, study and preservation of Holy Land historical sites and relics.

By contrast, there is no Arab or Islamic country in the Middle East where Christians or Jews can freely operate religious institutions. Under Palestinian Authority and Hamas rule, Christians in the West Bank and Gaza have been hounded, terrorized and driven out. Christian Bethlehem is, effectively, no more. The Church of Nativity was defiled by Palestinian Muslim terrorists who turned it into an armed refuge in 2002. Churches in Gaza have been bombed and burned. Can you imagine how the churches of Jerusalem might fare under Palestinian rule?

Please follow the link to the Jerusalem Post story. The article details some of the destruction of antiquities the Muslims have engaged in on the Temple Mount in order to erase the Jewish roots of the site.

Unfortunately, we have opened the door to a group of terrorists who want to rewrite history and obliterate the Jewish people from the Middle East.

 

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More Shenanigans At The United Nations

Interior of the Church of the Nativity

Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday Fox News reported that the United States will not be contributing to The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) because the organization has accepted the Palestinian mission as a full member.

CBN News reported:

The 107 to 14 vote, with 52 abstentions, easily fulfilled the 81-vote requirement granting full membership status to the P.A. The U.S., Canada and Germany were among the countries voting against the bid, while Russia, China, France, India, South Africa and Brazil were among those voting in favor.

The article at Fox News reports:

Washington is required by law to cut off funding to any U.N. agency if the Palestinian Liberation Organization is granted membership in any group at the international body.

There is more to this story. The Palestinians are seeking to use the United Nations as a vehicle to obtaining a state without making peace with Israel. CBN News reported in February:

The Palestinian Authority has asked the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, to designate the Church of the Nativity, the Bethlehem church built on the traditional site of Jesus Christ’s birth, as a world heritage site.

“One of the most significant sites of universal importance to humanity is the Old Town of Bethlehem and the birthplace of Jesus,” chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said Tuesday in an e-mailed statement. “Palestinians long to share our patrimony with the world.”

No sites under Palestinian Authority control are on the U.N.’s list because Palestinians do not have a state recognized by the U.N. 

At this point I would like to remind everyone about the way Palestinian militants treated the Church of the Nativity when they took it over in 2002. There was a Reuters article on this posted on May 10, 2002, but somehow the link is currently not working. I would also like to remind everyone that when the Arabs controlled the Old City of Jerusalem, Christians and Jews did not have access to their religious sites.

Until the Palestinians recognize the right of Israel to exists, and treat all historical sites in their lands with respect, I see no reason to give them statehood.

 CBN News reported on October 10, 2011:

Taha said UNESCO membership would “allow Palestine to actively participate in protecting cultural heritage in the Palestinian territories,” Reuters reported.

That has not been the case with Joseph’s Tomb, another Jewish holy site, near Shechem, which has been desecrated repeatedly over the years.

Over the weekend, Israeli soldiers preparing the site for Israelis planning to visit during Yom Kippur found swastikas painted on the walls.

In April, a Palestinian policemen opened fire on Israeli passengers driving away from the site, killing Ben Yosef Chai, 24, nephew of Likud Minister Limor Livnat, and wounding four others.

I don’t think the United Nations is ignorant of the history and ideals of the Palestinian Authority–I just think that the United Nations has been taken over by the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), which seeks to set up a world-wide caliphate. The countries that truly support freedom and freedom of religion need to leave the United Nations as soon as possible and begin an organization of democracies that support freedom–the United Nations does not currently support freedom.
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The Law Of Unintended Consequences At Work

CNS News reported today on some of the unintended consequences of the Palestinian Authority’s decision to go to the United Nations next month and ask to be recognized as a state. The article points out that since 1975 the United Nations has recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.” If the United Nations recognizes the Palestinian Authority as a state, the Palestinians’ representation will change from the PLO to a “state of Palestine.” All Palestinians living outside the boundaries of the “state of Palestine” will no longer be represented at the United Nations.

The article further points out:

Goodwin-Gill  (Oxford University professor of public international law Guy Goodwin-Gill, an expert on refugee issues) also cited problems relating to the ability of the P.A. to assume greater powers. (Established under the Oslo Accords as an interim body to administer the self-rule areas, the P.A. is not empowered to conduct foreign affairs, a role that was left to the PLO.)

The academic said in the brief that the P.A. is a subsidiary entity set up by the PLO with “limited legislative and executive competence, limited territorial jurisdiction, and limited personal jurisdiction over Palestinians not present in the areas for which it has been accorded responsibility.”

There is another issue–Palestinian representation in Washington, D.C. The article points out:

The PLO has been permitted to maintain an office in Washington since 1994. Because of the PLO’s long history of involvement in terrorism, presidential waivers have been required by law every six months to allow its continued operation.

“Would that waiver henceforth be permitted, or be exercised?” Abrams wondered. “But if the PLO office is closed, would the United States accredit an embassy for the State of Palestine? Obviously not, as it would be the American position that there is no State of Palestine, not yet anyway.”

I don’t support a Palestinian state until the Palestinians agree to the existence of Israel. I also don’t believe that the Palestinians are entitled to any part of Jerusalem–Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel since King David–it should not be given away. The difficulties in creating a Palestinian state show that the idea has not been well thought out and might have results that are not good for anyone.

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