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A Murderer's Life and the Chances of Peace

(Commentary) Jonathan S. Tobin - The New York Times did a valuable public service by profiling the life of Muqdad Salah, demonstrating how unlikely peace between Israelis and the Palestinians is. Salah, 47, who was freed from an Israeli jail last year, was given $100,000 at his release by the Palestinian Authority, a no-show salary of $1,800 a month, an honorary rank of brigadier general in the PA military, and praise from his neighbors and fellow Palestinians. Salah wasn't sprung from jail because of new DNA evidence or a witness who has recanted their testimony. There's no doubt that it was he who took an iron bar and struck a 72-year-old Holocaust survivor over the head and murdered him in cold blood in 1993. Salah and dozens of other Palestinian terrorists were released last year as part of the price Israel paid to get PA leader Mahmoud Abbas to return to peace negotiations. That most Palestinians consider a guy who brutally killed an elderly Jew as a hero worthy of a public subsidy (actually paid for by the PA's foreign donors) tells us all we need to know about the chances for peace. The very fact that Palestinians treat men with Jewish blood on their hands as heroes illustrates that theirs is a culture which is not ready for peace with Israel.
2014-03-31 00:00:00
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