PMW calls on US gov. to deny entry to terror supporter Jibril Rajoub this week
PMW calls on US gov. to deny entry
to terror supporter Jibril Rajoub this week
Family members of American terror victims join PMW in asking US Secretary of State to prevent Jibril Rajoub from entering US:
- Stuart Force, father of Taylor Force of blessed memory
- Ruth Schwartz, mother of Ezra Schwartz of blessed memory
- Rina Ariel, mother of Hallel Yaffa Ariel of blessed memory
- Micah Avni, son of Richard Lakin of blessed memory
- Avraham Fraenkel, father of Naftali Fraenkel of blessed memory
by Itamar Marcus and Yocheved T. Kolchin
Palestinian Media Watch is joined by families of American terror victims in calling on the United States Secretary of State to prevent Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub from entering US soil. Should he enter the country, we are calling on the US to have Rajoub arrested and investigated for incitement to murder of American citizens. Rajoub is scheduled to speakin New York next Wednesday, April 5th at an event organized by the Israel Policy Forum.
In the letter to Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, PMW notes that Jibril Rajoub publicly incited terror and glorified terrorists throughout the 2015-2016 Palestinian terror wave that claimed the lives of 4 American citizens: Hallel Yaffa Ariel, Taylor Force, Richard Lakin, and Ezra Schwartz. Rajoub also called on Hamas to kidnap Israelis in 2014, just a few months before U.S. citizen Naftali Fraenkel and his friends Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach were kidnapped on their way home from school.
Under US law any alien who "endorses or espouses terrorist activity or persuades others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity" is "ineligible for visas or admission" to the U.S. [8 U.S.C. 1182 - INADMISSIBLE ALIENS, 2006 Edition, Supplement 5] PMW has documented Jibril Rajoub's continual vocal support for terrorism in its special report The Jibril Rajoub File.
Jibril Rajoub and other PA leaders who are responsible for inciting the recent terror campaign have concluded that there is no international price to pay for supporting murder of Israelis. Prohibiting Jibril Rajoub's entry to the U.S. would demonstrate that there is no immunity for those who promote and glorify terror.
The US is committed to fighting terror, and that begins by preventing terror supporters from entering US soil. It is time to hold Jibril Rajoub accountable for his calls for murder.
PMW calls on our readers to forward this to your contacts in the US Congress, administration, and media to help prevent the terror supporter Jibril Rajoub from entering the US, and to have him arrested should he arrive.
The following is the full text of the letter sent to US Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson (Click here to access the PDF version):
Deny terror-supporter Jibril Rajoub entry to the US
If Rajoub does enter the US in April,
he should be arrested on charges of inciting terrorism
- Jibril Rajoub incited terror and murder, and glorified terrorists on official Palestinian Authority TV during the recent Palestinian terror wave
Rajoub: "We in the Fatah movement bless and encourage them. We consider them heroes and a crown on the head of every Palestinian."
- 4 American citizens, Hallel Yaffa Ariel, Taylor Force, Richard Lakin, and Ezra Schwartz, were murdered following his public calls for murder
- In Jan. 2014 Rajoub called on Hamas to kidnap Israelis
Rajoub: "It's clear that kidnapping is the language they [Israelis] understand. On the contrary, we encourage them [Hamas]"
- Three months later, Palestinian terrorists started planning the kidnap- murder of 3 teenagers, including American citizen Naftali Frenkel
- Jibril Rajoub has been invited to speak in New York City on April 5, 2017
- Under US law, those who "endorse or espouse terrorist activity," must be denied entry. Rajoub must be denied entry to the United States
- If Rajoub does enter US territory, he should be arrested on suspicion of incitement to murder
1- Palestinian Authority leader Jibril Rajoub is a terror promoter who glorifies murderers
Fatah Central Committee member Jibril Rajoub is a Palestinian Authority leader who has promoted Palestinian terror for years and most actively promoted terror during the 2015-2016 terror wave, in which 40 people were murdered and over 500 were wounded.
As soon as the terror started in October 2015, Rajoub called on Palestinians to kill Israelis. In an interview broadcast on official PA TV, Mr. Rajoub, said with reference to the terror attacks and murders:
"These are individual acts of bravery, and I am proud of them. I congratulate everyone who carried them out. I say to you, we are proud of you... Whoever confronts, fights, dies as a Martyr, is arrested or injured - his identity is known. What I mean is that the fighter, the prisoner, or the Martyr, they are assets to the entire Palestinian people."
[Official PA TV, Oct. 17, 2015]
Rajoub repeated his calls to murder in Jan. 2016, glorifying the killings as "individual acts of heroism," publicly again, on official PA TV:
"I say that whoever carried out individual acts of heroism, we in the Fatah movement bless and encourage them. We consider them heroes and a crown on the head of every Palestinian... beginning with our brother Muhannad Halabi (who murdered 2 in Jerusalem - Ed.)..."
[Official PA TV, Jan. 2, 2016]
2. In an interview broadcast on official PA TV in 2014, Rajoub expressed support for the Hamas policy of kidnapping to have hostages to exchange for Palestinian terrorists in Israeli prisons:
"If Hamas wants to kidnap soldiers, let them kidnap soldiers. Let them kidnap. Let them kidnap if they [the Israelis] don't want to release prisoners, but want them as prisoners forever, so [the prisoners] will come out as ghosts and skeletons. The Israelis need to understand. It's clear that kidnapping is the language they understand. On the contrary, we encourage them [Hamas]. When they kidnapped [Israeli soldier Gilad] Shalit, we congratulated them."
[Official PA TV, Jan. 2, 2014]
Just three months after this broadcast, Hamas terrorists from Hebron started planning the kidnapping attack that culminated in the kidnapping and murder of Eyal Yifrach, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and US citizen Naftali Fraenkel, 16, on June 12, 2014.
PMW's comprehensive report The Rajoub File, prepared for the International Olympic Committee and FIFA, documents Rajoub's incitement to murder, glorification of terror, and prohibition of peacebuilding activities over many years.
Click to view a four-minute video of Rajoub's statements as documented in The Rajoub File.
3. Rajoub also glorified a terrorist who hijacked an American airline, stating on official PA TV:
"I was at Al-Quds University on Student Day. Someone asked me: 'Who is Laila Khaled?' (i.e., terrorist who hijacked TWA flight 840 on Aug. 29, 1969). So I spoke about Laila Khaled, the fighter, the hero, the symbol, etc... I told them: 'There are three sacred things that should not be maligned - the fighter, the Martyr, and the prisoner. They are sacred. We should always speak positively about them, whether they are from the PFLP, Fatah, Hamas, etc.'"
[Official PA TV on Jan. 2, 2014]
Laila Khaled - a PFLP terrorist who participated in the hijacking of TWA flight 840 on Aug. 29, 1969 from Rome to Athens and the hijacking of El Al flight 219 on Sept. 6, 1970 from Amsterdam to New York. The second hijacking was averted by the pilot and security personnel on board. They shot Khaled's accomplice, Patrick Arg?ello, who had murdered one of the flight attendants. Khaled was overpowered and the plane landed in London where Khaled was handed over and held by British police until she was exchanged on Oct. 1, 1970 with hostages held by the PFLP.
4- American law: Terror promoters must be refused entry to US soil
American law cites involvement in "terrorist activities" as grounds for deeming an alien "ineligible for visas or admission" to the US. This statute extends to any alien who:
- "has engaged in a terrorist activity" [8 U.S.C. § 1182 (a)(3)(B)(i)(I)] including [Bii] "the hijacking or sabotage of any conveyance including an aircraft, vessel or vehicle."
- "has, under circumstances indicating an intention to cause death or serious bodily harm, incited terrorist activity" [8 U.S.C. § 1182 (a)(3)(B)(i)(III)]
- "endorses or espouses terrorist activity or persuades others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity or support a terrorist organization" [8 U.S.C. § 1182 (a)(3)(B)(i)(VII)]
[8 U.S.C. 1182 - INADMISSIBLE ALIENS, 2006 Edition, Supplement 5]
The examples above and the extensive additional evidence in PMW's The Rajoub File show that Rajoub's has "incited terrorist activity" and therefore is "ineligible for visas or admission" to the US.
5- Applying US law to Rajoub will constitute a compelling deterrent against terror incitement
Jibril Rajoub and other PA leaders who are responsible for inciting the recent terror campaign have concluded that there is no international price to pay for supporting murder of Israelis. Prohibiting Jibril Rajoub's entry to the US would demonstrate that there is no immunity for those who promote and glorify terror anywhere. The knowledge that international action will be taken against PA leaders in response to their terror glorification will constitute an unprecedented deterrent against future incitement to terror.
6- Rejecting terror supporters may open the door to peace
In the recent Fatah Central Committee elections, Jibril Rajoub received the largest number of votes (after the symbolic vote for imprisoned terrorist Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five life sentences for multiple murders.) This makes Rajoub a serious contender to succeed 81-year-old Mahmoud Abbas as head of the PA. The Rajoub File documents that Rajoub not only supports terror but also prohibits all peacebuilding activities between Palestinian and Israelis. He even condemned a successful peacebuilding event between Israeli and Palestinian youth as "a crime against humanity." [Jibril Rajoub's official Facebook page, Sept. 6, 2014] If Rajoub succeeds Abbas as head of the PA, it will be a major reinforcement to Palestinian terror, and a potentially substantial obstacle to peace. Applying US law to prohibit Rajoub from entering the United States will send a message to Palestinians that Rajoub and all terror supporters will be rejected by the US and the international community. Only by rejecting terror supporters can the door to peace be opened.
7- British MP Joan Ryan has started the process in the UK
The process of prohibiting Rajoub's entry into Britain has already begun. Labour MP Joan Ryan has already written to the British Home Secretary to issue a statement denying Jibril Rajoub entry into the UK, due to his terror incitement and glorifying terrorists.
8- Saving lives
Rajoub incites terrorism and glorifies the perpetrators of terror attacks. Terrorism does not distinguish between race, religion, ethnic or national background. When Rajoub incites acts of terrorism calling for the targeting of all people in Israel, he by definition includes US citizens who are both resident in Israel, such as Richard Lakin and Hallel Yaffa Ariel, and those who are just visiting, such as Ezra Schwartz and Taylor Force, a West Point graduate and officer in the US Army. It is significant to note that Fatah, in which Rajoub served then as Deputy Secretary of the Central Committee, glorified the murderer of Taylor Force on its official Facebook page within hours of the murder, calling him a "heroic Martyr." [Official Fatah Facebook page, March 9, 2016]
As the international leader in the fight against terrorism, and in accordance with its own laws, America must prohibit the entry of Rajoub to the US. This action will set a precedent for other countries to follow suit, creating a broad potent international deterrent against terror incitement.
In the event that Jibril Rajoub does succeed in entering the US in April 2017, he should be immediately arrested on suspicion of incitement that led to the murder dozens, including 5 American citizens.
When Palestinian political leaders understand that promotion of terror will not be ignored by the international community, the lives of many Israeli's, Palestinian's and US and other citizens will be saved.
Additional evidence of Rajoub's terror incitement is documented in PMW's The Rajoub File, which can be accessed on Palestinian Media Watch's website www.palwatch.org.
Families' call to the US government
We, the undersigned US citizens, are family members whose loved ones were murdered by Palestinian terrorists as a result of the Palestinian Authority's and Jibril Rajoub's incitement to murder. We join PMW in demanding that the United States, in accordance with US law, prohibit Jibril Rajoub from entering the US.
Should Rajoub arrive in the US, we call upon the Department of Justice to immediately arrest and investigate him for inciting terror that led to the murder of our loved ones.
Signed:
Stuart Force, father of Taylor Force of blessed memory
Ruth Schwartz, mother of Ezra Schwartz of blessed memory
Rina Ariel, mother of Hallel Yaffa Ariel of blessed memory
Micah Avni, son of Richard Lakin of blessed memory
Abraham R. Fraenkel, father of Naftali Fraenkel of blessed memory
Itamar Marcus, Director of PMW
Maurice Hirsch, Director of PMW Legal Dept.