“The State Department gave Fares Al Arab a $41,213 grant for “Developing Palestinian Journalists’ English Skills.” But as The Washington Free Beacon reported, Fares Al Arab issued a grant “to a radio network run by the Islamic Jihad … , honored a self-described journalist who belonged to the PFLP, hosted a press freedom event that featured a spokesman for the Islamic Jihad, and co-led a human rights training course with a convicted terrorist.”“Issa demanded that by March 10, the State Department explain if it “knew the history of the group’s ties to terrorism,” “why the grant was provided if the history was known” and provide a complete accounting for the State Department’s decision to award Fares Al Arab the grant.”
On Friday, Channel 12 reported that the Biden administration will boycott Smotrich when he visits Washington to speak at an Israel Bonds conference taking place from March 12 to 14.“If Smotrich was persona non grata before that statement, now after this debacle he is persona non grata on steroids,” Channel 12 quoted a senior U.S. source as saying. “No American official will meet with Smotrich. After he said these things, the phones in the offices in Jerusalem did not stop ringing,” he added.U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price earlier this week described Smotrich’s remarks as “disgusting,” and called on Israel’s government to repudiate them.
Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Authority, the guy who’s frequently touted by both left- and right-leaning politicos as a moderate who wants nothing but peace with Israel, went on an shocking rant against the Jewish state and the United States in recent public remarks, ultimately unleashing a curse on President Donald Trump that went like this: “May your house be destroyed.”
It is painful for me to report that the Conference’s directors violated the leadership mission’s purpose, by refusing to give podiums to the major elected ministers and Israeli leaders who are in the forefront of promoting Israel’s judicial, anti-terror and other reforms: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and MK Simcha Rothman, chair of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.The Conference’s directors’ refusal to have a session with these important current leaders on such critical issues – a form of “cancel culture” – was an enormous missed opportunity to learn from, ask challenging questions to, and exchange views with the judicial and anti-terror reforms’ originators.In a published interview, the CEO of Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) Alex Traiman asked William Daroff, CEO of the Conference, why he refused to provide access to Smotrich, Ben-Gvir and Rothman “even though they are directly relevant to the issues the Conference is sure to address.”Daroff gave another irrelevant response, that the Conference mission did not meet with “other party leaders” such as Benny Gantz, Gideon Sa’ar and Merav Michaeli. But none of those other party leaders is leading reform efforts, and none of them is in the present coalition government that overwhelmingly supports the reforms.