Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America Commends House of Representatives for Passage of the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 (H.R. 4681), Urges the Senate to Move Quickly to Consider the Measure, and to Strengthen the Provisions.

Today, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (UOJCA) applauds the House passage of H.R. 4681, the “Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006,” and urges the Senate to move quickly on bringing this legislation to the floor for full consideration, and to consider strengthening the provisions of the legislation.

This bi-partisan legislation, introduced by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chair of the Middle East and Central Asia Subcommittee of the Committee on International Relations, and Tom Lantos (D-CA), Ranking Democrat on the Committee, is designed to isolate Hamas, promote the development of democratic institutions in areas under Palestinian Authority control, and to ensure that no U.S. funds are supporting the terrorist groups’ consolidation of power or legitimization. The Senate’s companion legislation is S. 2370.

Following the bill’s passage, UOJCA Director of Public Policy Nathan Diament stated:

“We commend the House for passage of this important legislation, particularly Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and her staff for all their hard work in getting the bill introduced and passed. We now urge the Senate to move quickly on this legislation, and we would like to see the legislation made tougher as part of the Senate’s consideration. In the wake of the World Bank and European governments preparing to provide funds to the P.A. for the payment of salaries, it is all the more important that final legislation passed by Congress take a hard and strict line against aid to a Hamas-led Palestinian government.”

For more perspective on this issue, see the opinion essay at
http://www.ou.org/public/news/hamas66.htm