What's With the Money?

In the past, I have published multiple blog posts and a few opeds (2014) on the funding provided by the United States and connected groups to the Arab population in Judea and Samaria which specifically ignores or discriminates against Jewish residents in that same geographical area.

Some examples: here; here; here; and here. There ae many more, going back years. And they include monies for student grants, programs, events, etc.

I had the opportunity recently to engage with an aide to a member of the House Appropriations Committee and I raised the issue, pointing out, besides the discrimination, that getting the two populations to work together on non-politial onerns and interests could possibly lead to a coexistence breakthrough and ultimately, achieve the goals of the programs. My impression was that the matter wasn't seen to be all that the important and moreover, that the discrimination has been dealt with.

So I checked at the website of the Palestinian Affairs Unit which is the former East Jerusalem American Consulate under another name. The Embassy-sponsored programs are separate.

Here are the details of one such aid program, the American Palestinian Arts, Culture, and Sports Initiative. Its objectives they have defined as

the U.S.OPA-PD mission: to advance a comprehensive and lasting peace through a negotiated two-state solution [no other option exists?] to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the development of a vibrant, representative, and responsive Palestinian civil society, private sector, and governing institutions through substantive engagement with American people, institutions, ideas and ideals in order to improve American-Palestinian relations and create greater opportunities for mutually beneficial partnership and cooperation.

So, to improve "Palestinian-Israeli/Jewish residents" is outside the purview of the initiative?

What is its "Priority Region"? Jerusalem, West Bank, and Gaza or a combination of two or three of them. The goal, though, really is to "increase understanding and collaboration between Americans and Palestinians" only.

Eligible primary applicants for grant funding must be not-for-profit Palestinian and/or American organizations working with Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank and/or Gaza.

Another, now closed, funded program involves Journalism Capacity Building. Participants must be "Journalists, media professionals, social media professionals, journalism university students from the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem." Does that include Jewish residents of those areas? Probably not as we read that a goal of the program is to: 

"Improve writing skills for journalists in specialized fields such as gender issues, entrepreneurship and business, economics, technology, foreign policy, democracy, and human rights, environmental issues, and other issues of interest to the United States and Palestinians;" 

as well as to 

"Increase awareness and understanding of American culture, media, society, history and/or current events, as well as of shared American-Palestinian values and interests.

"Palestinians" are who exactly?

This third recent example truly highlights the point I am making: its all about 'forget about the Israelis and the Jews living amongst the Arab population of Judea and Samaria'. It is named the: U.S. Public Diplomacy Palestinian Peacebuilding Program

It is "designed to partner with Palestinian, American, and International non-profit/non-governmental to implement activities which advance the applicant’s goals and the U.S.OPA-PD mission: to advance a comprehensive and lasting peace through a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 

The Priority Region, again, is: Jerusalem, West Bank, and Gaza or a combination of two or three of them. 

The goals are to: Promote negotiation, non-violence, social change, and civic education; Build capacity of peacebuilding institutions and organizations led by Palestinians; Advance equity with respect to race, ethnicity, religion, income, geography (!!!) 

And who are the eligible Participants and Audiences?

Palestinians in East Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza. Preference will be given to Palestinian organizations when possible.

I do see that what is not eligible for funding inludes projects relating that support specific religious activities or promote only one faith/religion. But only when type of resident is what is at the basis of this all. 

No mixing. No mingling. Who knows what it might lead to?

Other programs: Advancing Palestinian Women’s Entrepreneurship Program; Media Literacy Training and so on like a joint dance show in Bethlehem between Palestinian and American dancers that was preceded by a joint workshop (Palestinian = no Israeli Jews).

If that is what the US wants to be, there'll be no coexistence, no empathy, no cooperation and no compromise, no solution and no peace.

_________

UPDATE    from August 19-26, 2022

In the West Bank, Senior Official Allen will discuss U.S. support for English language teaching and meet Palestinian alumni leaders of U.S. exchange programs.  Senior Official Allen will also join the visit of a U.S. Sports Envoy and participate in their skills-building program for youth.

In Jerusalem, Senior Official Allen will visit the U.S. Embassy’s American Center Jerusalem and learn more about public diplomacy programming innovations in science, technology, education, and entrepreneurship.  She will meet with alumni of U.S. exchange programs from diverse communities, including Haredi, Arabic-speaking, Bedouin, Ethiopian, and Druze.

Senior Official Allen will also meet with counterparts in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss efforts to counter public disinformation campaigns and Holocaust distortion, as well as ways to facilitate continued U.S.-Israel academic exchanges, such as the Fulbright Program.

^

Just Who Is Provocative and Unhelpful?

On Wednesday yesterday, State Department spokesman Mark Toner got all provocative and unhelpful to the goal of restarting peace talks.

What happened?

Well,

the State Department on Wednesday sharply criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government for adding two shrines in the West Bank to Israel's list of national heritage sites. The move, announced Sunday, sparked Palestinian protests and has drawn criticism from other quarters, including the United Nations.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the administration viewed the move as provocative and unhelpful to the goal of getting the two sides back to the table.

Toner said U.S. displeasure with the designations of the Cave of the
Patriarchs in the West Bank town of Hebron and the traditional tomb of the biblical matriarch Rachel in Bethlehem had been conveyed to senior Israeli officials by American diplomats.

I've searched for a State Dept. source but haven't come up with one.

But never mind, the point that needs to be made is twofold: what is the problem and is there hypocrisy here?

What is at the root of this preservation crisis can be explained by this article Between Paralysis and Practice: Theorizing the Political Liminality of Palestinian Cultural Heritage by Robert R. Sauders summary:

The Israeli military occupation of Palestine since 1967 coupled with the introduction of limited autonomy in 1993 has positioned the yet-to-be formed nation-state in political liminality — neither completely sovereign nor entirely subjugated. While this ambiguity has obvious ramifications for Palestine as a political entity, it also places the cultural heritage of Palestine in potential jeopardy. This paper examines the legal and historical construction of liminality for Palestine and explores how its ambiguous political status impacts the preservation, protection and management of cultural heritage in Palestine and influences the construction of cultural heritage narratives by Palestinians.

Of course, in Jordan, for a little archaeology, they move villages. But Israel is still slapped around by Toner.

But more than hypocrisy, we know that the United States provides funds for archaeological and cultural projects of Arabs in Judea and Samaria. In other words, the US is in direct competition with Israel about preserving history in Judea and Samaria.

The only question is whether that history is to be true and genuine or corrupted and fake. What will America go with? Will it be provocative and unhelpful?

Ever Hear of the "U.S.-Palestinian Partnership"?

Here.

Highlights:-

The U.S.-Palestinian Partnership was launched on December 3rd in 2007. It brings together the private sector, civic leaders, the United States Government and the Palestinian Authority to create educational and economic opportunities for Palestinian youth, furthering progress toward peace between Israelis and Palestinians. As one component of the initiative, the United States plans to refurbish three youth centers in Nablus, in Hebron and in Ramallah. To support this effort, USAID will work in tandem with the Ministry of Youth and Sports to build upon existing youth training and job programs. USAID is also working to support the partnership's efforts to promote economic growth and new employment. These efforts will have a direct and meaningful impact on the lives of Palestinians. This initiative is the latest in a series of successful collaborations between the United States and the private sector. In fact, in 2001, USAID has cultivated more than 600 public-private partnerships worldwide with more than 1,700 partners to leverage an additional $5.8 billion of U.S. -- from its investment of $2.1 billion in public funds.

During a recent trip to Jerusalem and the West Bank, members of this initiative identified specific needs the partnership should address. They have discussed with the Secretary ways that the United States Government, the Aspen Institute, the co-chairs of this initiative and other partners can leverage our resources to create opportunities for Palestinians. In the coming months, we look forward to working with our dedicated co-chairs, with U.S. and Palestinian business communities and others. And I encourage private sector partners to become involved and to be supportive of this very important initiative.

...One thing we heard from the Secretary is she is deeply committed to this. This was her idea at the very beginning. She talked to the President about it. Karen Hughes was involved. But she had met with both the economic leaders in the Palestinian territories and with Minister Tahani Abu Daqqa, who you know is the Minister of Youth in the territories, and they decided that as part of a peace process, as part of the Annapolis process, having economic and educational opportunities was key.

We all just went on over there. We met with Minister Abu Daqqa and many other ministers, as well as the Israeli leaders. We went to Bethlehem and Ramallah and Hebron and saw the various things we were going to do. We picked some of the sites where we’re going to be working with USAID, also with OPIC, where, as some of you know, we launched earlier on a small business loan fund which gives loans of $25,000 to $200,000 to Palestinian businesses in the West Bank. Those loans are now going out the door. We have six Palestinian banks as our partner. They’re going out the door to things like taxicab companies, garment manufacturers. Bill Bernhardt, who is a chairman of that initiative and was chairman of the Aspen Institute, is in Ramallah today with Rob Mosbacher, I think of OPIC and others, doing that.

So we’ve got a lot underway, and of course, with George Laudato when we traveled to the region, we saw so much about what USAID is doing in that region. So first of all, we’ll have the youth centers. We also are working on trying to get a call center developed or maybe two call centers, one in East Jerusalem and one in Ramallah. That’s a nice, easy business you can set up quite quickly. We’re hoping, too, to find ways to help with housing, maybe a mortgage guarantee fund or something like that. We’re also working very closely with Tony Blair’s group because Tony Blair is trying to work out these industrial zones. Our job would be to try to make sure American companies come into those industrial zones.

I think that it’s officially was announced at Ziad’s meeting about an hour ago – and at the moment, Salam Fayyad is upstairs meeting with the Secretary – will tell her – but you all might as well know it before she does, no, she doesn’t – that it’ll be the May 8th and 9th, we’re going to have our business development conference. So we’re going to try to urge -- and maybe you can, you know, describe it so that American business leaders will say, "I should go to Bethlehem. I should be part of this business development conference."

And he's so appreciative:-

Palestinian Leader Fayyad Praises United States for Major Funding
Palestinians seek an open, democratic state at peace

Creation of a Palestinian state requires parallel progress on multiple tracks –- governance, security and economics. Success depends on a serious and sustained commitment by the Palestinians and Israelis, the United States, the Quartet, the Arab countries and the broader international community, says Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

"The state we seek is one that must be open and democratic, based on the rule of law, respect for human rights, cultural sensitivity and religious tolerance," Fayyad says.

"In short, we will build a state that all Palestinians can be proud of, and my government will lead by example."

The U.S. Congress recently appropriated $218 million of $555 million pledged by the United States in December 2007 for Palestinian economic and other reforms. Fayyad, speaking before Arab Americans, journalists and diplomats at the National Press Club in Washington February 11, said the funds will be deposited into a single treasury account.

"This is a major vote of confidence. One that, indeed, we are proud of, and one that is likely to encourage other donors to follow suit," he said.

Fayyad said the United States has been instrumental in working for the creation of a Palestinian state, especially with the November 2007 Annapolis Conference that succeeded in restarting direct talks between the Palestinians and Israelis with a strong U.S. presence.

Since When Does the U.S. Fund Private Armies?

Since:-

Congress okays $59m in U.S. funds for Abbas' security forces

The Bush administration has been given a green light by Congress to spend $59 million to bolster Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' presidential guard and for other security expenses, a senior State Department official said on Tuesday.

"We are good to go ... we have addressed Congress's concerns and there is good political support for this," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official said the State Department was officially notified by Congress late on Monday about the decision, which he said would provide much-needed security support to Abbas.

A large chunk of the initial $86 million request had been intended for training Abbas's security forces, the closest thing the Palestinians have to an army.

But U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice submitted a new, pared-down plan to Congress, cutting out funds she feared could have reached the "wrong hands."

"We decided not to proceed with that [funding national-security forces] right now until we could be sure how the system operated with the new national unity government. We haven't said we will never do that, but just that we will not do it right now," the senior official said.

Most of the security package - $43.4 million - will be used to "transform and strengthen" Abbas's presidential guard, according to U.S. government documents.

This sum includes $14.5 million for "basic and advanced training," $23 million for nonlethal equipment, $2.9 million to upgrade the guard's facilities and $3 million to provide "capacity building and technical assistance" to the office of Abbas's national security advisor, a long-time foe of Hamas.