I have to admit, I didn’t think we needed to say anything.

When a presidential candidate expressed willingness to hand cash to the Palestinian Authority while it continued to use that funding to encourage terrorism against Israelis and visitors alike, I expected howls of protest from larger, better-known Jewish organizations. Instead we heard little more than the proverbial crickets.

Obviously, this should not have happened.

The Taylor Force Act passed in 2018 with bipartisan support, holding up funding to the Palestinian Authority until it ceased to make payments to the families of terrorists arrested or killed while attempting to murder innocent Israelis and others. It’s not a political issue, but a simple matter of moral values. No decent American wants his taxpayer dollars used for murder.

So when Joe Biden described the cessation of payments as a “Trump Administration” policy and indicated that he would resume them, every Jewish organization with a voice in public policy should have joined those expressing their outrage. Instead, only the Zionist Organization of America issued a statement of protest; in fact, an array of leftist groups published a letter urging yet more pressure against Israel!

It is clear (as if it were not before) that many in the Jewish establishment are no longer able to distinguish Jewish interests from partisan politics.

We know the difference. And we’re not going to be silent because Mr. Biden may yet be elected; on the contrary, it makes it that much more important that we register our opposition immediately to this incredibly misguided policy move. We simply said the truth: restoring funding for terrorism is morally repugnant.

There are clearly many who support our view; our press release gained international coverage, even making it into Newsweek. In fact, that article demonstrates how important it was that we speak, because it covered both the liberal groups calling for further pressure, and the statements from the ZOA and ourselves objecting to terror funding. Newsweek has the left-wing bias typical of much of the media – so imagine how they would have covered this, if the ZOA were the only ones objecting!

It’s clear what you can do: make a financial contribution to CJV to support our critical efforts. These are very challenging times, and nonprofit groups like ours are especially impacted, simply because charitable donations are often slow to recover to previous levels. But as we see, politicians and the media will not take a break from espousing positions diametrically opposed to Jewish values. Your gift keeps us in the battle for a better America. Thank you.