(January 17, 2023 / JNS) On Jan. 5, an emergency session of the United Nations was held to castigate Israel for National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to the Temple Mount. The session was requested by China and the United Arab Emirates on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and Jordan, the latter of which has always regarded itself as the “special custodian” of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem.

The session was preceded by hostile rhetoric from the international community. P.A. Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh accused Israel of “turning the Al-Aqsa Mosque into a Jewish Temple” and called upon Palestinians to “confront the raids on the Harim al-Sharif”—the Muslim name for the Mount.

Jordan’s King Abdullah immediately travelled to the UAE to consult with President Mohamad Bin Zayed al-Nyan and warned Israel “not to cross red lines.”... Read more here

This is a very complex and sensitive issue. Qatar has very close relationships with Iran and is the chief funder of Hamas, as well as Palestinian Islamic Jihad. And yet, the United States maintains the Al Udeid Air Base, just west of Doha, NASA maintains relations with Doha, and Boeing has recently signed a 20 billion dollar deal with Qatar Airways, one of the largest in their history. On January 31, 2022, President Biden called “Qatar a good friend and a reliable partner and ally”, and also was designated by the President as a “major, non-NATO ally.”

Why does everyone in the West continue to treat Doha with kid gloves?

Here to examine this is Hillel Frisch.

About Hillel Frisch:
Hillel Frisch is a professor emeritus in the Departments of Political Studies and Middle East Studies at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, and a senior research associate at Jerusalem Institute of Strategy and Security. Fluent in Arabic, he is the author of several books and numerous articles on Middle East and Palestinian politics. Amongst his latest studies are “Rethinking the “Arab Spring”: Winners and Losers,” Middle East Quarterly (2021), “The Palestinian Military, Two Not One,” Oxford Handbook on Military and Security Studies (2021) “Jordan and Hamas,” Handbook on Jordan (2019) and “Assessing Iranian Soft Power in the Arab World from Google Trends,” The Journal for Interdisciplinary Middle Eastern Studies (2019). He has frequently published in the Jerusalem Post, and many of his articles have been disseminated in other venues such as The Daily Alert.

January 25, 2023 - 1 PM ET (Please note the time difference)

Last month, America First Legal filed a lawsuit against President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken for violating the Taylor Force Act, federal legislation that prohibits the government from providing funds to the Palestinian Authority until it stops supporting terrorism including its pay-for-slay program that financially rewards terrorists and their families for killing Jews. Signed into law by President Trump in 2018, the Taylor Force Act led to all economic aid to the PA being put on hold until the State Department certifies that the legislation’s requirements were met. Unfortunately, upon entering office, President Biden and his State Department have ignored the law and reinstituted sending hundreds of millions of dollars to the PA annually subverting the will of Congress and the American people.

Join us for a discussion of what led to the passage of the Taylor Force Act, why its enforcement is critically important, and the litigation that will hopefully lead to U.S. policy that ends sending U.S. taxpayer dollars to the terrorists in Israel. We will be joined by plaintiffs Sarri Singer, a survivor of a Palestinian terror attack in Jerusalem, and Stuart Force whose son Taylor was murdered on the boardwalk in Jaffa by a Palestinian terrorist and serves as the namesake of this important piece of legislation, and Julie Strauss Levin, one of the AFL lead attorneys representing the plaintiffs in this case.
 

About the Speakers:

Stuart Force has a distinguished record of service to our country. From 1973-1982, he served as an Officer and Pilot in the United States Air Force and the Colorado Air National Guard. After retiring from the Air Force, Mr. Force was a commercial pilot for Southwest Airlines until his retirement in 2009.

Stuart and his wife Robbi Force were instrumental in passing vital legislation aimed at ending the Palestinian Authority's policy of financially rewarding Palestinian terrorists. The bill, known as the Taylor Force Act, was named in honor of the Forces' son Taylor who was tragically murdered by a Palestinian terrorist while in Israel in 2016. Since then, Stuart and Robbi have dedicated themselves to honoring their son's memory by working to enact meaningful reform through efforts like the Taylor Force Act.

Julie Strauss Levin is an attorney with extensive experience in the for-profit and non-profit spaces.  Julie is currently senior counsel at America First Legal Foundation and is also principal of IGMP, LLC.  She previously served as General Counsel of Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce and as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Feld Entertainment, Inc.

Julie was honored to be appointed by President Donald J. Trump to the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad as well as the 1776 Commission. She was also appointed this past year by Governor Glenn Youngkin to sit on his newly created Commission to Combat Antisemitism and serves on the Virginia Israel Advisory Board.

Julie devotes significant time to multiple pro bono and charitable causes.  She is on the Board of Directors of Our Community Salutes, the lay Advisory Council of the Coalition for Jewish Values, and the Advisory Board of the Gross Family Center for the Study of Antisemitism and the Holocaust. Julie also counsels and advises Young Jewish Conservatives, and previously served on the Executive Board of EMET.

Sarri Singer: On June 11, 2003, Sarri Singer was on Bus 14 in Jerusalem when an 18-year-old Palestinian terrorist dressed as a religious Jew boarded and blew himself up. 17 people were killed, including all those seated and standing around her, and over 100 people were injured. Sarri was hospitalized for two weeks and then returned to New Jersey to be with family. Her story became high profile. She appeared on television and radio interviews and spoke before Congressmen and Senators in Washington, D.C., and politicians in New York and New Jersey. 

Sarri is the Founder and Director of Strength to Strength (www.stosglobal.org), which focuses on bringing together victims of terrorism together from around the world and assisting with long-term psychological needs. Sarri has addressed audiences throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, South America, and Israel and continues to share her unique insight into the ongoing struggle for victims of terror in Israel and around the world.