Congressmen to Abbas: Medal awarded to Helen Thomas may damage U.S. assistance to PA

[Scurrilous]

Veteran journalist, who was forced to resign after commenting that ‘Jews should go back to Germany,' received a medal from PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Washington earlier this month.

<snip>

"The award given to controversial journalist Helen Thomas by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has sparked anger not only in Israel, but in the U.S. Congress as well. Two senior Congressmen sent Abbas a letter denouncing the award and hinting that such a move may hurt U.S. assistance to the PA.

The Congressmen – Republican Steve Chabot, Chairman of the Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee, and Democrat Eliot Engel, senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee – wrote in the letter that "last year, the Committee on Foreign Affairs adopted an amendment entitled the Preparing the Palestinian People for Peace Act. This legislation conditioned U.S. assistance on whether the PA was actively preparing its people for peace through compromise with messages of tolerance, understanding, and reconciliation."

In the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Haaretz, Chabot and Engel expressed concern over the award given to Thomas, and said that it is "tantamount to accepting and agreeing with her call for Jews in Palestine to go back to Poland, Germany and America and everywhere else.'"

http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/diplomania/congressmen-to-abbas-medal-awarded-to-helen-thomas-may-damage-u-s-assistance-to-pa-1.423563

[Jefferson23]

1. Yea, now that is a deep threat to peace as opposed to:

In letter of protest, Palestinians say Israeli plans to build new settlements underscore the ‘dubious nature’ of its claims to pursue peace.

The Palestinians accused Israel on Monday of systematically destroying prospects for a two-state solution to their decades-long conflict with its continuing campaign of settlement building.

Palestinian UN observer Riyad Mansour sent a protest letter to the UN Security Council two days before the Quartet of Mideast mediators - the U.S., UN, European Union and Russia - meets in Washington to discuss the long-stalled peace process.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinians-appeal-to-un-security-council-over-israeli-settlements-1.423502

[Lil Missy]

2. I wish something would damage U.S. financial assistance to Israel.

Time to wean them off the US Government tit.