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U.S. Juries Cross the Line on Palestine

As published in the Victoria Standard: February 17, 2015

Palestinian assets in Israel, the U.S. and Canada may soon be insecure since American juries in Brooklyn and Manhattan recently agreed that Palestinian governing bodies are financially liable to pay monetary damages to U.S. victims of Palestinian attacks in Israel. The Palestinian Authority is appealing the judgment, which may be an Israeli response to Palestinian efforts to bring Israel before the International Criminal Court.

Conversely, it is inconceivable that U.S. or Canadian courts would even consider the idea of holding the U.S. government and its citizens responsible for the death and mayhem caused by Israeli use of American weapons in the West Bank, Gaza, Sinai, East Jerusalem and the refugee camps of Southern Lebanon.

While there is no denying the severity of Hamas rocket and mortar assaults on Israel, some perspective is necessary. While Israel enjoys billions in U.S. subsidies to buy American weapons (29 F-35s recently) and build illegal settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank; Gaza’s rubble remains uncleared to remind Palestinians about the high cost of defiance.