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How Much is a Jewish Life Worth?
On Sunday morning, we awoke to the terrible news: Ari Fuld, a fierce advocate for Israel both on and offline, had been tragically murdered while shopping for his family. Ari’s full name is Aryeh, which means lion, and like the lion he was, despite getting stabbed in an artery, he managed to get up, chase his attacker, jump a wall, and neutralized him with a pistol before collapsing.
In the wake of his funeral, a family friend has put together a fund to benefit his wife and four children. As of this writing, it had raised almost half a million dollars from around the world.
When I tweeted a link to the fundraiser a follower remarked “isn’t that already a lot of money? what do they need that much money for?” To which I replied: this is to replace Ari’s lost income for the rest of his life. He will never receive another paycheck, will never be able to work overtime to pay for a wedding or a baby present for his children; this is it. There is nothing else; their sole breadwinner is gone. A few hundred thousand dollars sounds like a lot until you start calculating how much four weddings will cost, how much a mortgage payment will cost without his salary.
The Jewish world has determined Ari Fuld’s life is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
What is the worth of his murderer? According to the Palestinian Authority, a great deal more.
Israeli media is reporting that the family of the Palestinian who stabbed American Israeli Ari Fuld to death yesterday has already received an initial payment of $3,350 from the Palestinian Authority; if he's given a life sentence, they will ultimately receive over $1.7 million.
— Avi Mayer (@AviMayer) September 17, 2018
This is how much it’s worth to the Palestinian Authority to kill a Jew. Not a soldier, not a strategic member of the military or government; this wasn’t anything but a random attack on a father doing an errand for his wife. That’s what the Palestinian government values: dead Jews, of any kind.
Last month, headlines breathlessly declared “Trump orders US to strip $200 million in aid from Palestinians.” And just last week, the Palestinian envoy to the U.S. had his visa revoked and his bank account frozen.
Predictably, instead of kudos, President Trump was criticized for impeding the peace process by taking these steps against the Palestinian Authority. President Trump and his team understood what their money was paying for: it wasn’t just for homes and schools, but also funding for terrorists. By withdrawing American money from the PA, he sent a message: we aren’t funding your murderers anymore. Every time you hear Trump lambasted for this aid withdrawal, for his actions in the Middle East, remember Ari Fuld’s face, remember his heroism, and remember his words:
Published in Foreign Policy
Among the many positive surprises of the Trump presidency, his support for Israel is among the best.
There are those who will defend the targeting of civilians by Palestinian fighters as simply a necessary aspect of asymmetric warfare: Israel is a military giant, and her foes have no choice.
I reject that defense. There are other ways of addressing international disputes than murdering civilians. And a culture that celebrates this kind of behavior for very long will be hollowed out, capable of achieving nothing but hate. That seems to be pretty close to where the Palestinian people are today.
Asymmetric warfare is one thing. HAMAS / PLO terrorism is another.
Guerilla warfare is about defeating an enemy by wearing down their will to fight and reducing the legitimate government’s perceived authority. Guerillas are less interested in killing random people than occupying soldiers, police, and collaborators. They also are very careful not to kill the locals who are neutral or in their favor.
Terrorism is basically virtue signalling via murder. It’s about killing just to send a message. It’s not about defeating the enemy as much as stacking up bodies and getting your 72 virgin livestock.
Monsters. We live in an age of monsters. I know that sounds prejudicial and I’m sorry but it’s just the way I feel. And I love and respect the Israelis because in the whole world they seem to be the only ones that are willing to stand up to them
Here is part 1 and part 2 of an interview with Nan Greer, an expert on indigenous land rights around the world. She makes the case that the Jewish people meets the criteria under international law for an indigenous people living in Israel.
Ari Fuld, may G-d avenge his blood, was killed in one of a series of crimes intended to suppress this claim. It is an encouraging sign that the US no longer financially supports the perpetrators of these crimes. How much we have been paying is an important fact that @bethanymandel has brought to our attention.
We should remember that John Paul II was attacked from within and without the Vatican for reversing his predecessors “Openness” policies with the Communist block countries, changing policy from pretend to truth. All of the communist regimes were thugs and liars, the entire edifice built on convincing everyone to pretend otherwise. John Paul focused on truth, clarity and freedom of conscious and it all just disintegrated.
By removing funding and telling the truth about the faux peace process, President Trump is moving in the same direction. Even folks on our side call President Trump a liar, but he’s hated for telling the truth.
Horrible. I’m tired of people making excuses for these terrorists. And what peace process are we talking about? I praise President Trump for taking these bold actions. Great post, Bethany.
One fingernail of this lion is worth more than all the oil in Saudi Arabia.
Arabs should be warned that after any future terrorist incident, the IDF will enter the village of the perpetrator and, after evacuation of every house and structure, level the entire village to the ground. And this is exactly what would, in fact, take place.
That would stop further attacks at once.
Not only is Trump’s support for Israel a huge positive, but bless him for recognizing the Palestinian Authority as what it really is – an organization not for peace, but for the death of Israel and its people.
Thanks for the piece, Bethany.
Everyone here knows what I think of President Trump. But the things he has done regarding Israel are the best things he’s ever done. They are really Reaganesque. The things he has done regarding the Palestinian Authority is but the latest. It is a long time in coming. God Bless him for it!
If I live another 64 years I will never understand how monsters exist that actually pay people for killing others. The Israelis just want to live in peace. This is all they’ve ever wanted. And too much of the world condemns them for that!
This reminds me of a column written by Massad Ayoob (a pro-gun advocate) where he describes how a woman he knew who was an expert on terrorism was concerned about traveling to Israel to attend some sort of anti-terrorism conference. She was concerned because she was not allowed to carry her weapon abroad and enter Israel.
Shortly after arriving, she was found bound and gagged, hung from an improvised tripod, I believe on a public beach overnight. My internet searches have turned up nothing, but I remember reading it a gun magazine, maybe in the 70s or 80s.
Anyway, my point is it sounds as if the Muslim terrorists have a way of targeting anti-Palestinian advocates, both then and now, even in Israel.
Where is the “Jewish Lives Matter!” movement? Hmmmm?
Ari’s death was the first news I heard on Sunday morning. What an incredible loss.
He went down fighting. The video of his final moments is impressive.
May his family–his immediate and broader family–be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
This should be the norm. Our enemies want us to willingly bare our throats, whereas if we fight every time, they may be the ones who grow weary of the battle . . .
There is always the Gandhi route.