They teach their kids to hate Jews, their rulers in Gaza have allegedly killed upwards of 500 people in more than 350 terror attacks since 1993, and their very existence depends upon foreign aid, yet crafty Palestinians have faithful fans in Rep. Edolphus Towns (D–Fort Greene), Rep. Charles Rangel (D–Harlem) and 40 other morally-bankrupt Democrats who are pushing for Palestinian statehood without knowing the facts — and with American taxpayers footing the hefty bill.
The “Dumb-o-crats” fired off a letter last week to the House Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, imploring that we continue our gravy train to the Palestinians, despite their bid for membership to the United Nations. The legislators lamely contend, “Maintaining U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority is in the essential strategic interest of Israel and the United States.”
Says who? Their uninformed selves?
Thank goodness for stabler minds in Congress, who have begun to wonder about the billions in cash that the U.S. has already forked over to the Palestinians since the mid-1990s when the Palestinian Authority was formed as a temporary government to be replaced by a permanent state when a settlement deal was reached with Israel.
Almost two decades later, that’s still a pipe dream, despite the U.S. giving more than $4 billion in bilateral aid to the Palestinians, who are among the largest per capita welfare recipients in the world. This year, that cash cow was set at $550 million, including $400 million in economic support funds and $150 million for training and equipping Palestinian Authority security forces.
But, the massive outlay is now being rethought by Congress after Unesco, the U.N.’s educational, scientific and cultural organization, admitted the Palestinian Authority last week as its newest member, even though it isn’t a country and therefore ineligible. That prompted the Obama administration to cut off Unesco’s funds in compliance with a U.S. law forbidding financial help to any U.N. agency that recognizes a Palestinian state — hence the pro-Palestinian letter by the Dumocrats.
They clearly don’t know or care that successive U.S. administrations have continued the life of Riley for the Palestinians, hopelessly trying to create stability and wealth, and combat terrorism against Israel. Moreover, decades of futile negotiations have miscast the Palestinians as chronic victims.
The reality is that the volatile Middle East will remain embattled until Palestinians overcome their jealousy of Jews for creating Israel from the swampy land sold to them by Arabs in the early 1930s. That would require unprecedented courage from the Palestinians, who have routinely condemned and violated Israel’s good-faith concessions, including last month’s release of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for one captured Israeli soldier — a telling comparison indeed.
The antagonistic Palestinian agenda is on the public record. Ranking subcommittee member Rep. Nita Lowey (D–N.Y.) should make note of that when she reviews the letter, before depositing it where it belongs — in the trash.
Shavana Abruzzo's column appears every Friday on BrooklynDaily.com. She can be reached at sabruzzo@cnglocal.com.
