The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, applauds the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of the Taylor Force Act (H.R. 1164), a bipartisan bill to halt U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) unless it stops using the money to reward terrorists – and the families of terrorists – for killing Israelis and Americans. The legislation passed easily in a voice vote.

Under Palestinian law, both perpetrators and their families receive life-long pensions, bonuses of up to $25,000 and many other perks for such attacks. During 2017 alone, the PA budgeted $344 million for payments to terrorists and their families. That’s almost half of the PA’s total foreign aid for the year. The bill would end direct support for the Palestinian Authority while continuing funding for certain humanitarian projects and needs.

The bill was named for Taylor Force, a 28-year-old Vanderbilt University graduate student, West Point graduate and U.S. Army veteran who did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Texas native was stabbed to death in Israel’s port city of Jaffa by a Palestinian terrorist in March 2016 during a school trip.

OU Executive Director for Public Policy Nathan Diament, who has been working with legislators for more than a year to build support for the bill, stated:

“Today’s vote by the U.S. House of Representatives is a giant step toward ending the Palestinian Authority’s grotesque practice of ‘pay-for-slay.’  This system of encouraging and incentivizing terrorism has gone on for far too long, and the Taylor Force Act is a critical step toward ending this murderous scheme. We urge the Senate to approve the bill right away and send it to President Trump for his signature.”

OU President Mark (Moishe) Bane stated:

“We at the Orthodox Union express our heartfelt appreciation to all members of the House for passing this landmark bill that will help end the Palestinian government’s horrific misuse of U.S. funding.  We particularly thank those legislators who pushed so hard to bring the Taylor Force Act to the fore: Doug Lamborn, Lee Zeldin, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Ed Royce and Ranking Member Eliot Engel.”