editorials
L ast Thursday came reports of a three-
pronged Saudi proposal to the U.S. of
its “terms” for normalizing relations with
Israel: a security agreement of some kind
with the United States, endorsement of a
civilian nuclear program in Saudi Arabia and
decreased restrictions on U.S. arms sales
to the Saudis. The Saudi demands are not
realistic. But the proposal was seen as an
opening for further discussion.

As a result, Thursday’s chatter was all about
the cost versus the benefi t of the proposed
“terms” and the impact of the Saudis joining
fellow Gulf states and other Arab countries in
In this photo released by Xinhua news agency, from left,
making peace with Israel — thereby creating
Saudi national security adviser Musaad bin Mohammed
a more united front against expansionist Iran,
al-Aiban; Wang Yi, China's most senior diplomat; and Ali
and assuring a continuation of Israel’s integra-
Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security
Council, in Beijing on March 10
tion into the region. For Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, normalization with the
Saudis and further tipping the balance of power against of states and noninterference in their internal aff airs.”
Iran would be a crowning foreign policy achievement.

The Iran-Saudi Arabia rapprochement is a potential
That was Thursday. Then on Friday, in a head-spinning game changer. It left pundits and diplomats struggling
development, Iran and Saudi Arabia announced they to determine the biggest takeaway. The consensus
will reestablish diplomatic relations in a deal brokered seems to be the emergence of China as the lead broker
by China. The two Mideast rivals have been fi ghting in the detente agreement, with the Xi government
proxy wars for years in Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. moving to the role of power player in the region, having
But they are now declaring a truce, and plan to reopen successfully taken advantage of the diplomatic vacuum
embassies in Tehran and Riyadh in two months. Both created by current U.S. policy in the Gulf. While the U.S.

countries have pledged “respect for the sovereignty is evaluating the diplomatic consequences of the deal,
it leaves Israel wondering where it fi ts in, and how
it is supposed to navigate an alliance between
its most vaunted adversary and its most coveted
potential partner.

Initial public reactions in Washington and
Jerusalem were predictable. The Biden
administration welcomed the reestablishment of
diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and
Iran and had little to say about Beijing’s role in
bringing the two back together. But below the
surface fi ngers are being pointed at failed U.S.

leadership in the region and concern about China’s
enhanced diplomatic stature and mounting
infl uence. In Jerusalem, the disappointment over
the joining of Iran and the Saudis on any level was
palpable, even as Israel anticipates continued
behind-the-scenes diplomatic and economic
discussions with the Saudis.

No one is sure what comes next. After decades
of competition and confrontation between Saudi
Arabia and Iran, there are real questions regarding the
viability of the planned rapprochement. The Sunnis of
Riyadh and the Shiites of Tehran still have deep and
visceral diff erences, and the historic animosities could
be kindled by the slightest misstep on either side.

While a cautious wait-and-see approach makes
sense across the board, there is no escaping the fact
that there has been a shift in the balance of the political
reality of the Middle East. That’s a big deal. ■
Progeny of the Taylor Force Act
T he bipartisan Taylor Force Act was signed into
law by former President Donald Trump in 2018. It
directs the U.S. government to stop aid payments to
the Palestinian Authority as long as the PA continues
to pay stipends to individuals (or the families of
individuals) who commit acts of terror. The bill was
named in honor of Taylor Force, a West Point graduate
who served tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, who
was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist in 2016 while
he was visiting Israel as part of a university study group.

Shortly after the passage of the Taylor Force Act, the
Trump administration froze fi nancial aid to the PA and
halted funding for UNRWA and the USAID offi ce for the
West Bank and Gaza. In 2021, the Biden administration
announced that it was resuming aid to the Palestinians
for U.N. relief eff orts, for economic aid to the West
Bank and Gaza and for peacebuilding programs. Those
payments do not violate the Taylor Force Act since they
are sent to organizations other than the PA.

Notwithstanding the Taylor Force Act, and a similar
2018 law passed by the Israeli Knesset that requires
12 MARCH 16, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
Israel to deduct the amount paid to Palestinian
prisoners and families of terrorists from the tax revenue
that Israel sends to the PA under the Oslo Accords, the
PA’s pay-for-slay program continues.

Last week, independent eff orts were initiated in
the U.S. Senate and the Knesset to address ongoing
PA sponsorship of terror activity. These eff orts were
in partial response to the rash of deadly Palestinian
terror attacks that have left 14 Israelis dead since the
beginning of the year, including the recent killing of
American Israeli citizen Elan Ganeles.

In the U.S., Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) announced
his intention to reintroduce the Taylor Force Martyr
Payment Prevention Act that targets foreign banks
that are used as part of the PA process for pay-to-slay
“martyr payments” by restricting banks that facilitate
such payments or provide services to Hamas from
doing business in the U.S. or with U.S. dollars. And in
Israel, MK Yitzhak Pindrus of the United Torah Judaism
Party off ered legislation to enable terror victims to
sue the PA for injuries and losses resulting from terror
attacks and to collect any judgment amounts directly
from the tax money frozen by Israel under its 2018
Taylor Force Act-inspired law. Under the current law,
the tax funds are held by Israel and not available for
any purpose.

The Cotton bill (and a companion House bill by
Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) was fi rst introduced
in 2017 but was not brought for a vote in either the
House or the Senate. The fate of Cotton’s new eff ort
is uncertain. The Pindrus bill, however, is reported to
have signifi cant Knesset support from both coalition
and opposition lawmakers.

We applaud the Pindrus bill and its objective of
expanding meaningful fi nancial recovery opportunities
for terror victims, and we encourage strong
consideration of the Cotton bill. We support eff orts
to bring ever-increasing pressure on the PA and its
leadership to abandon the incendiary pay-for-slay
martyr program. If the PA genuinely wants peace it
needs to do everything in its power to stop terror
activity rather than reward it. ■
Luo Xiaoguang / Xinhua News Agency/Newscom
The Saudi Surprise



opinions & letters
It’s Time for the Israeli Right
to Take a Step Back
Gedaliah Blum
I have lived in Israel for the last 18 years, and most
of the political disputes I have witnessed had
some measure of nuance to them.

Moreover, I have been generally satisfied with the
trajectory of our country’s growth. However, it is
now clear that internal political disputes are creating
division on an unprecedented scale.

I hoped that the last election would bring right-wing
leaders like Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich to
power in order to counterbalance the left and ensure
that the political establishment would always keep
the interests of the people in mind. But instead of
irreconcilable differences and division among our broth-
ers and sisters? What if the fabric of our society is unrav-
eling before our eyes? What if we call our brothers evil,
dehumanize them and turn them into our enemies?
In Judaism, there is an idea that God’s judgment
takes into consideration the strict letter of the
law, but also views the people and circumstances
involved with mercy. I believe that judicial reform
is required and long overdue, but at what cost? At
what cost will we stand on our pedestals with an iron
fist and talk about majority rule, emphasizing the
letter of the law without taking mercy into consider-
ation? At what cost will we marginalize a large part
of Israel’s population, even if they are a political
minority? At what cost will we continue to allow this
However, we must not allow ourselves to reach a
point where we no longer see each other as brothers
and sisters, or even worse, as enemies.

We Jews have been around long enough to know
how this plays out. Therefore, it is time for the right-
wing government to climb down from the tree.

Although we cannot be held hostage by the left,
the truth is that it encompasses too many people to
ignore. For the sake of unity, the right must take a
breath, step back and bring down the temperature of
the country. It’s time to stop being activists and start
being pragmatists. 1
Gedaliah Blum is a resident of Eli in the Binyamin
region and a co-founder of the Heartland Initiative.

letters Synagogue Not Dead Yet
What if right-wing policies are
being pushed so forcefully that
they are causing irreconcilable
differences and division among
our brothers and sisters?
being a counterbalance, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich are
now perceived as the sole drivers of the government.

As someone who lives in the Binyamin region with
my wife and seven kids, I voted for Ben-Gvir and
Smotrich because they were aligned with my inter-
ests in promoting economic Zionism and strengthen-
ing the Jewish presence in Judea, Samaria, Binyamin
and the Jordan Valley.

I have even started several initiatives that promote
family-run small businesses in the region, hoping
to normalize these areas and create unity between
Hebron and Herzliya. The key takeaway from my
work is the importance of the concept of “normaliza-
tion” rather than imposing my worldview on others.

Here lies the problem. What if right-wing policies
are being pushed so forcefully that they are causing
battle between brothers to escalate?
Taking a step back, I am astounded by the timing
of this division. While Iran is on the threshold of a
nuclear weapon, we are fighting each other. While
Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah, led by
the Palestinian Authority, are either murdering us or
planning our demise, we are fighting each other.

We were in exile for more than 2,000 years and
prayed constantly for the ingathering of the exiles
and the reestablishment of Israel as our homeland.

We came from all corners of the globe with our own
experiences, cultures and languages. What do we
expect? That we are in the times of the messiah and
everything is going to be rainbows and butterflies?
It is only natural and expected that when we come
together to build a country, there will be arguments.

I take exception to the March 2 article, “Congregation
Adath Jeshurun Searches for New Way Forward.”
I had phone calls from friends who indicated they
were sad for us because our synagogue was dying. I
quote “Spamalot” — We are not dead yet!
How many Conservative synagogues of any size
have minyanim twice a day?
How many Conservative synagogues have well
attended, spirited and informed adult education
every month, with some of them weekly?
We engaged a Jewish scholar as a rabbi because
we felt that he would attract new members. And we
were one of the few congregations that had new
members join during COVID.

We have so many different activities at AJ all year
long. It could make your head spin.

We face the challenges that most Conservative
congregations face. For the most part, younger
Jews are not “joiners.” We are continuing to search
for ways to make Judaism an important part of their
lives. A Congregation that has faced challenges since
before the Civil War will find ways to meet these
challenges. 1
Bernie Dishler, Elkins Park
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