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A Forceful Act
Bipartisan-backed law a potential step toward real peace.
I
t alone won’t stop the Palestinian
Authority’s mindless practice of incit-
ing violence and subsidizing terror
against anyone or anything Zionist.
But the newly enacted Taylor Force Act,
which mandates slashing U.S. aid to the
P.A. until the practice ceases, could help
cultivate a Palestinian culture that recog-
nizes, rather than isolates, Israel and Jews.
The financially
stressed P.A. can’t go
on marginalizing the
U.S., acting as if the
Palestinian people can
do without American
aid and treating Israelis
as perceived squatters
on Palestinian land.
The Ramallah-based
Robert Sklar
P.A., through its lead
Contributing Editor
political faction Fatah,
self-governs Palestinian-
populated areas of the
West Bank. The Taylor
Force Act will cut off U.S. funding that
directly benefits Palestinian-controlled
areas while humanitarianly keeping some
basic support for those areas.
To help curb chaos within the P.A., the
bipartisan-passed act allows continued
U.S. support for P.A. security, water ser-
vice, childhood vaccinations and east
Jerusalem hospitals.
The Taylor Force Act became law on
March 23 as part of a $1.3 trillion omni-
bus spending bill approved by the U.S.
Congress and signed by President Donald
Trump.
Besides addressing P.A. terrorist sala-
ries, the bill helps fund Israeli security and
missile defense and helps Israel counter
terrorist tunnels dug by Hamas — the ter-
rorist organization ruling the Gaza Strip
and a rival political faction of Fatah in the
tenuous battle for ultimate control of the
Palestinian people.
EYEING BETTER TIMES
The Taylor Force Act no doubt could have
been tougher. But it’s a potentially trans-
formative stride toward the prized and
elusive goal of resolving a conflict decades
old. As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu told his Cabinet: “I think this
is a powerful message from the United
States that changes the rules.”
It sure does.
The act mandates holding the P.A.
accountable while seeking an end to the
Palestinians paying blood money to ter-
rorists jailed by Israel and to families of
“martyred” terrorists. The way forward
requires “pay to slay” to meet its demise.
P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas,
never the political moderate he has
been paraded as, vows the custom will
openly and defiantly continue despite the
Taylor Force Act. His government said
Palestinian suffering caused by Israel’s
8
April 5 • 2018
jn
“occupation” of Palestinian land is
A STERN CHALLENGE
responsible for Israel “throwing”
Much anticipated, the Taylor
into jail young Palestinians want-
Force Act will succeed only if
ing only a better way of life.
it manages to halt financial
The P.A. insists monthly payouts
reward for terrorists and their
of up to $3,500 serve as “welfare”
families and, at the same time,
for Palestinians held by Israel and
advance peace prospects.
for families of “martyred jihadists”
Therein lies a daunting
Taylor Force
who died resisting the “occupa-
hurdle.
tion.” That mindset obscures that
Ending terrorist payments
payouts not only incentivize terrorists
wouldn’t simultaneously reverse the cul-
into murdering and maiming believers of
ture of hate toward Israel and Jews that
the Jewish state, but also go toward weap- permeates Palestinian society. Without
ons used later in terrorist attacks.
such reversal, slow as it would be, the
essence of what constitutes a Palestinian
would be rooted in a system of values
antithetical to civilized morality, regional
peace and Palestinian statehood.
The hatred echoes through Palestinian
homes, schools, mosques, news outlets,
music videos, sports tournaments and
public squares. It will take generations
to foster a new culture of engagement,
opportunity and coexistence.
The Taylor Force Act just might help
create the climate for a dramatic shift in
attitude by phasing out the anti-Zionist
practice infamously branded “pay to slay.”
Peace between Israel, an indepen-
dent Jewish state, and the Palestinians,
alienated by the wider Arab world, will
RESOURCEFUL MOVE
remain a pipedream in the absence of
The Taylor Force Act is named for a
brokered bilateral, direct negotiations
Vanderbilt University M.B.A. student,
between Jerusalem and Ramallah.
a 28-year-old former U.S. Army officer
Even a hint of such talks isn’t in the
from Lubbock, Texas, who was stabbed
winds of possibility until the Palestinian
to death in a March 2016 terrorist attack
Authority terminates terrorist payouts —
while studying in the old section of Tel
in reality, a means toward encouraging
Aviv. Ten others were hurt in that attack.
terror not only against Israelis, but also
In a brazen illustration of P.A. illogic, the toward anyone visiting the Jewish ances-
P.A. justified Force’s killing as the work of a tral homeland.
“heroic martyr.” In 2017, the P.A. budgeted
Someone such as Taylor Force. •
a stunning $350 million, 7 percent of its
total budget, to pay 6,300 jailed terror-
ists as well as 26,800 families of terrorists
killed or injured as “martyrs” for Allah.
In 2017, the U.S. allocated upwards of
$300 million toward Palestinian assis-
tance in the West Bank and Gaza. The
allocation was routed largely through
non-governmental organizations, such as
the United States Agency for International
Development and the United Nations
Reliefs and Works Agency. The U.S. also
allocated $35 million to the P.A. for law
enforcement and narcotics control in the
West Bank.
Until now, U.S. law mandated a drop
in Palestinian aid equal to the amount
paid by the P.A. and other Palestinian
leadership organizations to terrorists or
to families of terrorists. That law clearly
wasn’t enforced to the fullest out of fear of
destabilizing the beleaguered region.
Given the public scrutiny it has gar-
nered, the Taylor Force Act not only
should be scrupulously enforced, but also
should help the U.S. and Israel regain lost
bargaining leverage.
The Taylor Force
Act is a potentially
transformative stride
toward the prized
and elusive goal of
resolving a conflict
decades old.
letters
Students Create
Meaningful Program
I read with interest your article
“Local Walkouts” (March 22-28
edition) about area school events
marking one month since the
Parkland, Fla., school shooting
tragedy.
At Farber Hebrew Day School,
our middle school and high
school assembled for a beauti-
fully meaningful 17-minute gath-
ering in our school synagogue
to commemorate the 17 student
and teacher victims. Our seniors
lit candles and the program
included a slide show with pic-
tures and oral description of the
lives and aspirations of all 17 lost
souls.
An article was read by one
of our students published by
a student surviving the ordeal
about her trauma and the need
to become active in gun control
so as to respond to this horrible
event in a productive and mean-
ingful fashion.
Drawing upon the example of
Marjory Stoneman Douglas stu-
dent leaders, it was emphasized
with our students how impact-
ful their advocacy can be in and
upon our society over issues that
matter to them.
May the names of the victims
be for a blessing.
Rabbi Scot A. Berman
Head of School, Farber
Hebrew Day School