It is often argued that the Israeli government is the biggest contributor the Palestinian cause via the significant sums of money that are transferred to the Palestinian Authority. In truth, much of this is collected by the Israeli government on behalf of the PA. It is, however, true that Israel does use this to try to influence the PA behaviour where possible, and does endeavour to pay this only to parts of the PA that it is sure will not use the money to fire missiles back to Israel, or to fund violence against Israeli citizens.

I find it difficult to understand why Diaspora Jews would want to donate money to Palestinian causes. The use of the money within the Palestinian arena is not at all transparent and it is difficult to determine its final destination. Much of it finds its way into the private coffers of the leaders, and to terror activities. I don’t believe for a moment that we will ever be able to influence Palestinian actions with Jewish money. In addition, there are so many Jewish causes that aim to make Israel more liberal and “unJewish” in its nature (as much as I oppose this concept) that there can be no justification for feeding this money to the enemy. Being Jewish should certainly mean unequivocal support for Israel. After all, it is the very existence of the Jewish State and the Jewish army that allows Diaspora Jews to continue to practice their Judaism in relative safety.

I would hate for a Diaspora Jew to have to think about whether it was his money that financed a terror attack or other “negative” event instigated by Palestinian terrorists. This possibility is not as far-fetched as it sounds. To avoid such a scenario, there is only one answer – donate your money to Jewish causes. Surely there are enough of these of all shapes and types to choose from?