American aid should never reach institutions that glorify terrorism—yet loopholes in U.S. policy continue to fund Palestinian security forces that celebrate murderers as heroes.
In 1995, my daughter Alisa was killed in a suicide bombing by Iranian-sponsored Palestinian terrorists while she was studying abroad in Israel. She was 20 years old—vibrant, full of promise, and beloved by all who knew her. Her murder shattered my family’s world and set me on a journey to seek justice not only for her but for all victims of terror.
That is why I cannot stay silent while the United States continues to funnel money to Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces—institutions that do not combat terrorism but glorify it.
A recent Wall Street Journal editorial laid bare what many of us have known for years: under the banner of “security cooperation,” the U.S. State Department is bankrolling a force that elevates terrorists to the status of national heroes. Training camps and police stations are named after men who murdered civilians—bus bombers, knife-wielding attackers, and shooters of families. The PA’s media and education systems celebrate these killers, and the security personnel themselves regularly participate in their funerals and parades.
Most disturbingly, just last week, two terrorists who murdered an Israeli security guard at the Gush Etzion Junction were identified as officers in the PA security forces. These are the so-called “partners” U.S. tax dollars are funding.
In what rational world does America subsidize a police force that reveres murderers?
The rationale—stability, prevention of Hamas influence, and regional calm—collapses under scrutiny. These very forces are embedded in the same culture of hate that breeds extremism. The PA doesn’t suppress terror; it helps justify and perpetuate it.
Let’s be clear: this is not just theoretical.
The PA pays monthly stipends to imprisoned terrorists, scaled to the severity of their crimes. The bloodier the attack, the higher the reward. This system, known as “pay-for-slay,” is morally bankrupt—and U.S. funds have, directly or indirectly, enabled it.
That’s why Congress passed the Taylor Force Act in 2018, named after a young U.S. Army veteran who was murdered in a Palestinian stabbing spree while visiting Israel. The law prohibits U.S. funding to the PA as long as these payments to terrorists and their families continue.
But there’s a catch: the State Department carved out exemptions, allowing continued funding for “security cooperation.” This carveout is not a safeguard—it’s a loophole wide enough to drive a truck bomb through.
As a father who buried his child because of Palestinian terror, I find this unconscionable. It’s an insult to every victim and a betrayal of American values. Why should American taxpayers finance institutions that lionize those who murdered their children?
We need action—not excuses.
What Must Be Done:
- Congress must close the loopholes in the Taylor Force Act and pass legislation that blocks all aid to any Palestinian institution that honors, pays, or celebrates terrorists.
- The administration must stop hiding behind euphemisms like “security partnerships” when those partners are fundamentally compromised.
- Aid must be conditional on genuine reform—the full dismantling of pay-for-slay systems, incitement in schools, and the celebration of martyrdom.
True peace is not built on platforms that glorify violence. It cannot coexist with governments that name public squares after mass murderers. And it certainly doesn’t come from rewarding institutions that praise bloodshed while cashing American checks.
No law can bring Alisa back. No policy can undo the horrors inflicted on my family or on countless others. But we have a moral responsibility to ensure that no more families suffer as ours did—least of all with help from our own government.
It’s time to say enough is enough.
Congress must act. The loopholes must be sealed. And the United States must send a clear, unwavering message: **not one dollar—**not one dime—will go to those who celebrate terror.
By Stephen M. Flatow
Attorney, father of Alisa Flatow z”l—murdered in a 1995 Iranian-backed terrorist attack in Israel. Author of A Father’s Story: My Fight for Justice Against Iranian Terror, and president of the Religious Zionists of America–Mizrachi.
