Paying Murderers

Just one of the many indications that Palestinian leadership is evil AND stupid comes in the form of payments to terrorists’ families.

It was revealed this week that President-for-Life Mahmoud Abbas had approved the 2018 PA budget, stating that a full seven percent of that budget must go to the families of dead terrorists.

Of course, the Holocaust denier isn’t touched by such fiscal idiocy, since he lives in a plush villa, literally overlooking his poverty stricken subjects. The PA has increased these payments by $56 million, now to over a staggering $400 million.

One has to wonder about the sanity of foreign governments—including our own—that fund these maniacs. A report in the Jerusalem Post reveals the use of this blood money.

“’Murderers like the ones who killed the Fogel family’ – two Palestinians killed five out of eight members of the family in Itamar, including a three-month-old, in 2011 – ‘are heroes to the PA. This is not a whim. It’s in the PA’s constitution,’ [Avi] Dichter added.

“The PA paid terrorists and their families more than $347million in 2017. Terrorists who have been sentenced to three to five years in Israeli prisons receive the average income of a Palestinian, about $580 per month. The families of those who committed more severe crimes and were involved in killing Israelis receive five times that each month for the rest of their lives.

“Terrorists receive more from the PA if they are married, for each child they have, if they live in Jerusalem or if they’re an Israeli citizen.”

A bill is up for vote in the Knesset that would require the Israeli government to deduct the amount the PA is paying terrorists from taxes and tariffs collected on behalf of the PA.

At least the Israelis have a moral pulse. What would be even better is if the foreign aid lavished on the Palestinians was cut off altogether. For 25 years, the Western world has paid billions to the PA, itself a terrorist organization.

And if you visit “east Jerusalem,” where so many Arabs live, including and especially the Old City markets, you’ll find plenty of posters and other propaganda lionizing these terrorist murderers. I’ve watched European tourists lap-up cheap souvenirs (including “Free Palestine” t-shirts, which depict all of Israel), chatting-up Palestinian merchants, while the faces of “shaheeds” (martyrs) stare from posters.

Hamas is celebrated in these venues.

This sick culture has been pacified and even nurtured for years by people like Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, who do not care about people. They certainly don’t care about the Jews who are murdered by the PA.

I don’t believe regular working Americans have the time or energy to demand regularly that our government cut off funding to this evil entity.

But I wish they did.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com

The New Old West

“Israel’s tragic history with terror attacks has required Israel to learn how to secure all public spaces and deploy forces to major civilian thoroughfares. And it has also taught Israelis to be brave.” (Caroline Glick, February 2018)

Who knew that American culture would unravel to the point the country would be divided, the Second Amendment would be under assault, and we are open to advice from friends?

The latest mass school shooting, in south Florida, has resulted in an eruption between Right and Left. High school students who survived Nikolas Cruz and his murderous rampage are demanding that lawmakers implement gun control measures. Some of them are becoming media figures, such as David Hogg.

As usual, Israel is experienced and has some wisdom. I well remember my first trip there, 20 years ago, and seeing guards with Uzis in restaurants, malls, and on the streets. At first it was almost disorienting, but I came to see the wisdom in it, given the madness of some Palestinians. The same murderous spirit in them led Cruz to kill 17.

Many of us would be fine with “going back” to the 1950s, or whatever era we’d feel comfortable in. But that won’t happen. We now live in a society that is altered by terrorism, both Islamic and homegrown. Crazies gonna crazy.

I’m not at all comfortable that many leaders in this country have the right answers. Even Republicans (often simply Establishment politicians, little different from their Democrat counterparts) and some conservatives are calling for gun control measures.

The goal, of course, is the eventually disarm the citizenry. That is where Barack Obama’s radical worldview will lead.

As we navigate through this “Brave” New World, we would do well to adopt some principles that keep Israelis safe.

“When mass shootings take plan in the U.S., commentators routinely raise Israel as a case study to prove that guns in the hands of citizens save lives.

“Israel, with its long and painful history of contending with terrorism, is rich with examples that prove this contention. In recent years, armed citizens have stopped dozens of terrorists. In some cases, those citizens acted when cowardly police officers shrank from danger.

“For instance, on March 6, 2008, a terrorist disguised as a delivery man entered the Merkaz Harav seminary in Jerusalem with an assault rifle hidden in a television box. He opened fire on students studying in the library.

“Two beat cops arrived on the scene but failed to enter the building to stop the killing.

“In the event, a seminary student armed with a handgun, and an off duty infantry officer who lived in the neighborhood, heard the shots and ran to the seminary. The student, a young rabbi, was armed with a handgun; the officer was carrying his assault rifle. Both men ignored the police officers who told them not to go inside. They entered the building and killed the terrorist, ending the massacre. By the time they arrived, eight students, including five high school students, had been killed, while eight more were wounded.”

Glick makes an interesting point in her Jerusalem Post column: hesitation on the part of some in Tel Aviv—a much more Westernized city than any other in Israel—resulted in people getting killed. In contrast, those in the Heartland, Judea and Samaria (including Jerusalem) rush to the scene and take out a killer.

There are issues however with the way Israel does things in order to keep the populace safe. As Glick states:

“Israel’s gun laws are the nightmare of Second Amendment champions. To be eligible for a gun license in Israel you must be 21 years old and a military veteran, or 27 years old.

“Only people who meet specific criteria are eligible to apply for gun permits. Israelis who live or work in communities defined as at-risk from a national security perspective by the government can apply for gun licenses. Farmers, tour guides, and people who transport hazardous materials are permitted to carry a gun. Military officers and NCOs on active duty may carry a personal handgun. Veterans of special forces units and other elite security services are permitted to carry a gun. Retired senior officers are entitled to carry a gun.”

Obviously, there are elements common in Israel that would not work in America. We still retain a very strong impulse that drove our Founders: total freedom. To be clear, I am not in favor of any legislation that dilutes the Second Amendment. What I think is excellent about the Israeli model is the fact that guns are visible and clearly deter lunatics and cowards.

And lunatics and cowards are a growing community in our beloved America.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com