Dear Recipient's Title and Name:
I am writing to urge you to support the bi-partisan Taylor Force Act (S. 474 and H.R. 1164) introduced earlier this year by U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Joe Manchin and Reps. Doug Lamborn and Lee Zeldin. The Taylor Force Act will suspend U.S. financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) unless it ends its practice of paying financial stipends to the families of those who have died killing Jews, Israeli and others and Palestinians imprisoned for acts of terrorism.
The legislation was named for Taylor Force, a 28-year-old Vanderbilt University graduate student stabbed to death in Jaffa by a Palestinian terrorist in March 2016. A graduate of West Point Military Academy, Force had served in the U.S. Army and done tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. The attack left 12 people injured, including Taylor’s wife, who suffered severe wounds.
According to a 2015 Congressional Research Service report, the Palestinians are among the largest recipients of international aid, with the U.S. contributing more than $5 billion in security assistance and bilateral economic aid since the mid-1990s.
Alarmingly, the Palestinian Authority, together with the Palestine Liberation Organization, have been using about $300 million annually to pay stipends to the families of thousands of Palestinians who commit terror attacks against Israelis, Jews and others, or who have been imprisoned for terrorism. Palestinian terrorist prisoners are regarded by the PA as patriotic fighters and often become employees of the PA government.
While in prison, the PA pays these terrorists and their families generous sums and gives them extra benefits as rewards for their service. The PA also gives monthly salaries for both incarcerated and released prisoners depending on the severity of the crime and the length of their sentences. The greater the act of terrorism, the greater the financial reward.
The Taylor Force Act will suspend future US financial assistance to the West Bank and Gaza until the U.S. Secretary of State can certify to Congress that the Palestinian Authority has stopped this practice of ‘pay-for-slay.’
I urge you to take a stand against Palestinian terrorism and co-sponsor this legislation ahead of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s vote expected by August 11.
Sincerely,
Your Full Name
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