. . . Arthur Stark, Chairman, William Daroff, CEO, and Malcolm Hoenlein, Vice Chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, issued the following statement:
“We welcome the bipartisan passage by the US House of Representatives of the Middle East Partnership for Peace Act (MEPPA), which provides $250 million over five years for grassroots peacebuilding and economic development efforts between Israelis and Palestinians.
This funding represents a significant step in building civil society programs by providing incentives for foreign governments to leverage their aid for collective and positive impact, while creating economic opportunity by encouraging Palestinian entrepreneurship and business development. We appreciate that safeguards are built into the program to ensure that funds are used solely by approved and accredited organizations for humanitarian purposes, as for far too long funds directed to the Palestinian Authority were misdirected to promote terror and violence.
We congratulate House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) for successfully shepherding this measure through the House during her final months in Congress.
We also commend Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) for his efforts to lead passage of the MEPPA in the Senate, and urge the Senate to swiftly pass the legislation.“
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