April 10, 2006
By Ted Siefer

Thirty-three Massachusetts rabbis sign letter expressing concern for Palestinians

With legislation now before Congress that would effectively discontinue all U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority, national and local Jewish leaders are weighing whether the U.S. should completely isolate or maintain some level of assistance to a Palestinian government led by the terrorist group Hamas.

If passed, a bill in the House of Representatives, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act (H.R. 4681), would cut off all U.S. aid to the PA, non-governmental organizations and selected United Nations agencies working in the West Bank and Gaza, until the Hamas-led PA renounces terrorism, recognizes Israel and meets several other standards of governance and transparency.

A similar bill (S. 2237), with slightly less severe conditions on aid, is also being considered in the Senate.

Majorities in the House and Senate have signed on as cosponsors to both bills, which are strongly backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

However, some Jewish groups have raised concerns that a complete cut-off in aid to the PA will lead to widespread suffering among the Palestinians, thus strengthening Hamas’ anti-Western, rejectionist position.

“From the U.S. point of view, and from the Israeli point of view, if there is a humanitarian crisis it will have a very negative effect on Israel and the U.S.,” said Diane Balser, executive director of Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, a U.S.-based Jewish peace group that is opposed to the bill.

The group has also circulated a letter expressing concern about the victory of Hamas and its “horrific acts of terror,” but urging President Bush “to maintain a cautious approach to the new Palestinian government, so as to preserve the future possibility of bringing Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table.”

The letter is signed by nearly 400 rabbis, including 33 in Massachusetts.

Both the House and Senate versions of the bill do make allowances for aid “to meet basic human health needs” of the Palestinians.

Of Massachusetts’ 10 U.S. representatives, only Rep. Stephen Lynch has signed on to the bill as a co-sponsor. Sen. John Kerry is a co-sponsor of the Senate bill.

Rep. Barney Frank indicated that he generally supported the bill and only had reservations about a few of its provisions.

“It is generally acknowledged that Hamas won due to incompetence on the part of Fatah [the former governing Palestinian party], and in part due to Islamic fundamentalism and hatred of Israel,” Frank said. “But Hamas is also known for delivering services. The problem is if you give money for humanitarian services, they will use that for rejectionism; you cannot separate the two.”

Frank said that his concerns about the bill stemmed from restrictions on aid pertaining to the PA’s commitment to democracy and transparency.

“We don’t want perfection to be the enemy of negotiations,” he said. “If we had waited until Israel had a democratic and transparent negotiating partner, we never would have had Camp David.”

For some in the Boston-area Jewish community, the prospect of the U.S. considering negotiations between Israel and a government led by Hamas, which has so far maintained its constitutional opposition to Israel, is dangerous.

“It should be clear to the international community that right now there is a terrorist organization in charge of the PA, which has openly declared its desire to eradicate the Jewish state,” said Jack Schuss, president of Boston Israel Action Committee, which, in conjunction with the David Project and other local pro-Israel groups, sent a petition with 4,000 signatures to President Bush. The petition, which will also be sent to members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, urges “the U.S. to refrain from pressuring Israel to negotiate with or make concessions to the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority.”

The House and Senate bills would codify the cut-off in aid declared by the White House following Hamas’ victory in January.

In 2005, the U.S. provided $275 million to the West Bank and Gaza, $50 million of which went directly to the PA.

Despite the freeze in aid, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has insisted that the U.S. would continue to provide humanitarian assistance in the Palestinian territories.

The State Department announced that it would give $51 million, more than double last year’s contribution, to the U.N.’s Relief and Works Agency, which provides aid to Palestinian refugees.

Though funding from the Arab world has increased since the U.S. and the European Union froze funding to the PA, Hamas leaders have admitted that the government is nearly bankrupt and will be hard pressed to meet its $250 million monthly salary budget.