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This week's Update focuses on events in Jerusalem. It often seems like
the violence in the region ebbs and flows. Sadly, this isn't because
there is a day in which Palestinian leaders have randomly chosen to
abandon their use of terrorism or tried to find a peaceful resolution to
the conflict. Rather, the Palestinian leadership, in both Gaza and
Ramallah, chooses to inflame tensions and create conflict whenever they
feel it will benefit their popularity amongst the Palestinian population
locally and Palestinian sympathizers internationally.

Celebrating Jerusalem Day

On Monday, Israelis celebrated Jerusalem Day, the annual event during
which the liberation of Holy City is commemorated. It is a joyous
occasion marked by parades and prayers for the peace of the Jerusalem.

Especially at this moment, it is worth recalling that very shortly after
Israel reunified Jerusalem, one of the key decisions taken by the
government, and upheld by every government since then, was to allow
Islamic authorities to oversee the Temple Mount - despite its
significance and ancient connection to the Jewish faith. This decision
was made in order to maximize the likelihood of peace and coexistence.
Unfortunately, as with every Israeli effort to advance peace, Israel's
outstretched hand has been met with the Palestinians' clenched fist.

Confronting Palestinian Terrorism

For several weeks now there have been clashes between Palestinian
rioters and terrorists and the Israeli police in and around Jerusalem.
This largely centered around Ramadan and came to a head recently when
Israeli police were compelled to enter the Temple Mount which as a
result of its special status and elevation above the Western Wall plaza
below, had been used to stockpile stones and firebombs intended to be
hurled at the Israelis below.

We've little doubt the international media will flip the sequence of
events on its head and blame Israel for the violence, declaring
inflammatory Israel's decision to enter the Temple Mount, ignoring the
fact that it is effectively being used as a base of terror operations.
And they'll also ignore Palestinian calls for murder such as one
senior Hamas official's directive to Arabs in Jerusalem that they buy
cheap knives to decapitate Jews.

The core of the issue is this: Israel's detractors in the
international community (including some in the US Congress) and elements
of the media, as well as Israel's enemies amongst the Palestinian
population refuse to accept to the fact that Jerusalem will never be
divided again. Likewise, they refuse to acknowledge that like every
other democratic country on earth, Israelis have a right to defend
themselves.

Rewarding Palestinian Terrorism

Since his days in Congress, President Biden has long espoused his
support for Israel's right to exist and defend itself. But there is an
emerging disconnect between this idea in theory and the practical
application of the policy. While running for President, Mr. Biden
promised to reopen the Palestine Liberation Organization's US mission
(kind of like an embassy, but since there is no state of Palestine, it
has a different official name).

Our question is, why? It's not as if the Palestinian Authority (PA)
doesn't have a phone, so there's no issue reaching Ramallah if the
White House needs to do so. Moreover, it's not as if the PA has
moderated its attitude towards terrorism. They continue their
pay-to-slay program and PA perennial President Mahmoud Abbas's
political party, Fatah, recently joined Hamas in calling on Palestinians
to "raise the level of confrontation" with Israel. In other words,
the Biden administration is considering rewarding an entity that
supports terrorism with a diplomatic mission in Washington.

As this week's Update is being written, Hamas has begun firing rockets
into Israel - trying to target Jerusalem specifically - and making
threats about escalation. Hamas is doing what terrorists do: trying to
kill innocent people and threatening Israel should the Jewish state
deign to defend itself.

As Israel begins to do what is necessary to protect its people from the
most recent escalation, we've no doubt that Israel's detractors in
the international community (including some in the US Congress) and
elements of the media, will find a way to blame Israel for doing what
any country would do when confronted with terrorism.

This isn't a cycle of violence and there is no moral equivalence
between Israeli and Palestinian actions. We are witnessing a group of
bloodthirsty bullies seeking to kill innocent people and a US ally and
the only democracy in the Middle East doing what it can to keep its
citizens safe. And at the CUFI Action Fund we will communicate exactly
that message to our leaders in Washington in the hopes the Biden
administration and others will cease efforts to reward the terrorists
controlling Gaza and Ramallah.

Sincerely,

CUFI Action Fund Team

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