Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) President Morton A. Klein released the following statement:
The ZOA opposes the Israeli government’s decision to loan NIS 500 million (over $156 million USD) to the terrorist dictatorship of the Palestinian Authority (PA) – without even insisting on the most basic conditions for providing this huge “loan” (which will likely never be repaid).
It is a major mistake that this loan is reportedly not conditioned on the PA regime ending the PA’s $400 million per year of “pay to slay” payments incentivizing Arabs to murder Jews and Americans, or the PA’s non-stop anti-Jewish incitement in every PA school, media outlet, and mosque. This “loan” will thus likely endanger Israeli men, women, and children, by helping the PA to continue its policy to pay Arabs large lifetime pensions to murder Jews.
It is also a major mistake that this loan is not conditioned on the PA ending the PA’s illegitimate “lawfare” harassment of Israel at the International Criminal Court (the ICC). The PA persuaded the ICC to investigate Israel and the brave Jewish men and women defending the country for (phony) “war crimes”―even though the ICC has no lawful jurisdiction over Israel.
The loan will also enable the PA to continue its massive illegal building in areas outside of the PA, including in the midst of Israeli nature preserves and military areas.
Israelis are still trying to recover from the enormous damage wreaked in May – when Hamas launched 4,369 rockets at Israel, and Israeli Arabs (incited by the PA and Hamas) burned down synagogues, vandalized and destroyed hundreds of Jewish homes and vehicles, and attacked their Jewish neighbors in frightening pogroms. The financial needs of the Israeli Jews whose homes were destroyed should come first – before financing an enemy to do more harm.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz agreed to the loan after meeting with terrorist PA dictator Mahmoud Abbas. Mahmoud Abbas financed and helped plan the brutal torture, beatings, castration and massacre of Israel’s athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics; continues to publicly praise and honor the Munich Olympic massacre’s perpetrators to this day; refuses to stop the $400 million per year of payments to Palestinian Arabs who slaughter Jews and Americans; repeatedly re-broadcasts his calls to spill blood to stop “Jews filthy feet” from “defiling” Jerusalem; and has incited waves of terror that resulted in the murder and maiming of thousands of Jews.
ZOA calls on the Israeli government to reverse this ill-considered loan decision, and at least condition the loan on the PA ending its hateful anti-Israel, antisemitic policies.