On Sunday, the Nation of Islam’s leader Louis Farrakhan was visiting Iran, where he led a chant of “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” He has also been praised repeatedly by two of the leaders of the Women’s March, which was organized in 2016 to protest Donald Trump’s election and scheduled to occur a third time in January. And admiration of Farrakhan, writes Karol Markowicz, is but one sign of the organization’s problem with Jews:

Linda Sarsour, one of the [march’s] leaders, . . . supported the radical Muslim Brotherhood, [parent organization of Hamas]. In 2012, she tweeted: “When we write the history of Islam in America, the Nation of #Islam is an integral part of that history.” . . .

People change, goes the argument, and Sarsour made these comments several years ago, before she became a high-profile political figure on the left. Perhaps she’s more responsible now. But in September, Sarsour said American Muslims shouldn’t “humanize” Israelis. There was no overwhelming response from the left to remind her that Israelis are actually human. American Jews who ignore this hatred are fooling themselves. Anti-Semitism is specifically about dehumanizing Jews until their murder makes sense. . . .

Then there’s the Women’s March co-president Tamika Mallory. In a February 2018 speech, Farrakhan said, [that he], “by God’s grace, has pulled the cover off of that Satanic Jew, and I’m here to say your time is up, your world is through.” Mallory attended the speech. She once posted a picture of herself embraced by Farrakhan, referring to him as “the GOAT” (Greatest of All Time). Just last May, Mallory praised the “bravery” of Hamas terrorists. So when she pointedly refused to condemn Farrakhan’s anti-Semitic and anti-LGBT comments after being asked, it was no surprise. . . . .

And note: while “Black women, Native women, poor women, immigrant women, disabled women, Muslim women, [and] lesbian, queer, and trans women” are all specifically mentioned in the [march’s] “Unity Principles,” Jewish women are not. Meanwhile, anti-Semitic attacks account for more than half of all hate crimes in the U.S. Maybe it’s not a coincidence.

On Wednesday, Elliott Abrams testified before Congress about the Taylor Force Act, passed in 2018 to withhold U.S. funds from the Palestinian Authority (PA) so long as it continues to reward terrorists and their families with cash. Abrams cites several factors explaining the sharp increase in Palestinian terrorism this year, among them Iran’s attempt to wage proxy war on Israel; another is the “Palestinian Authority’s continuing refusal to fight terrorism.” (Video is available at the link below.)

As long as the “pay for slay” system continues, the message to Palestinians is that terrorists should be honored and rewarded. And indeed year after year, the PA honors individuals who have committed acts of terror by naming plazas or schools after them or announcing what heroes they are or were.

There are clear alternatives to “pay to slay.” It would be reasonable for the PA to say that, whatever the crime committed, the criminal’s family and children should not suffer for it. The PA could have implemented a welfare-based system, a system of family allowances based on the number of children—as one example. It has steadfastly refused to do so, precisely because such a system would no longer honor and reward terrorists based on the seriousness of their crimes.

These efforts, like the act itself, are not at all meant to diminish assistance to the Palestinian people. Rather, they are efforts to direct aid to the Palestinian people rather than to convicted terrorists. . . . [T]he Taylor Force Act does not stop U.S. assistance to Palestinians, but keeps it out of hands in the PA that are channels for paying rewards for terror.

[S]hould the United States continue to aid the Palestinian security forces? My answer is yes, and I note that it is also the answer of Israel and Jordan. As I’ve noted, PA efforts against Hamas or other groups may be self-interested—fights among rivals, not principled fights against terrorism. Yet they can have the same effect of lessening the Iranian-backed terrorism committed by Palestinian groups that Iran supports.