Douglas Murray: Iran's Cash for Murder: Why is the UK Silent?
The Iranian distribution of cash to families of terrorists is an open incitement to an ongoing campaign of murder. It should by now have not only been condemned by the whole world, but have caused a colossal rethink among the P5+1 nations that signed the ill-judged accord with Iran.My friend Taylor Force is dead
It is worth considering another recent Iranian development: the decision -- allegedly by a conglomeration of media outlets, but hardly able to be separated from the government in a country whose press is more "government" than "free" -- to increase the cash-bounty on the head of the British novelist Salman Rushdie.
The British government has been strangely mute on the matter. The "normalised" relations with Iran were meant to lead to business opportunities for Britain and an increase in decent behavior from Tehran. Instead, the first major test of Iranian-British relations in several decades turns out to be precisely the same test that the late Ayatollah Khomeini drew up in 1989.
He laughed and smiled a lot in the classes at West Point. He sat behind me, next to me, or across from me during our first two years at the United States’ premier institution. He was very mild-mannered, sharp, and professional. I couldn’t think of someone who was more of a model of “America’s finest” than him. He was handsome, articulate, brilliant, and just so GOOD. I can’t think of a moment where he wasn’t exuding an aura of pure positive energy. He was as honest and heartfelt as they come, but now he’s dead.Mourning the Loss of Taylor Force
Taylor Force was murdered in cold blood by a West Bank Palestinian. Hamas announced that they’re celebrating their martyrs last night. As I write this, there are parties from Gaza to Ramallah continuing all day, and probably tonight. It’s not every day they get a former US Army officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. For them, this is a great boon.
Taylor died in a war that he didn’t know he was in the middle of. Taylor is dead because of a lot of misleading ideas about exactly what goes on in Israel. Misleading people is currently the policy of the US government.
The US and Israel’s policy is to see the idea of a Two State Solution through. The reason for this policy is the belief that there’s more good than evil in the world, and peace is a reality that can be achieved. Moreover, they believe peace is something that must be achieved.
Taylor Force, who died yesterday when a Palestinian terrorist stabbed him to death near the beach in Jaffa, was an Eagle Scout. He was a Field Artillery Officer in the United States Army who had served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. He was a graduate student of business administration at Vanderbilt University, and he was in Israel on a school-sponsored trip to do what creative, enterprising people in free and robust societies do when they travel: meet like-minded people, inspire and draw inspiration in turn, and enjoy a meal and a stroll in a scenic part of town.How You Can Support the Family of Taylor Force, the American Student Murdered in Israel
That’s a vision of life that Israelis readily share. The young Palestinian man who snuck into Tel Aviv for no other purpose than to take the lives of innocent men and women, and who ended up killing Force and wounding his wife, holds a starkly different view. So does Mahmoud Abbas, who recently insisted that terror acts like the murder of Force were nothing more than “a peaceful popular uprising,” as well as the majority of Palestinian officialhood, which supports the violence in words and in deeds, and, according to a recent poll, 72 percent of young Palestinians, for whom violence, not diplomacy, is the path forward.
On Tuesday, American business school student Taylor Force was murdered in Tel Aviv in a spree of terrorist attacks across Israel that left 14 injured. Force, 28, was in Israel on a school trip run by Vanderbilt University, where he was an MBA student. His wife was also severely injured in the attack, according to Israeli medical services.
A graduate of West Point, Force was a combat veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today, speaking alongside Prime Minister Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Vice President Joe Biden mourned Force, saying: “Let me say in no uncertain terms: the United States of America condemns these acts and condemns the failure to condemn these acts. This cannot become an accepted modus operandi. This cannot be viewed by civilized leaders as an appropriate way in which to behave even if it appears to inure to the benefit of one side or the other. It’s just not tolerable in the 21st century. They’re targeting innocent civilians, mothers, pregnant women, teenagers, grandfathers, American citizens. There can be no justification for this hateful violence.”
In the wake of Force’s tragic murder, one of his classmates has launched a crowdfunding campaign to assist his family. “The world lost a wonderful man on Tuesday,” the page reads. “Taylor was loved and respected by everyone who was fortunate to have known him. His permanent smile, positive spirit, and kindness were complemented with his honor, integrity, and dedication to serving others.” You can donate here.