Stuart Force, father of Taylor Force who was murdered in a terrorist attack in Jaffa in March of 2016, spoke at the National Council of Young Israel's annual gala dinner.
Force’s murder led to the approval in the House of Representatives of the Taylor Force Act, which would eliminate funding that directly benefits the Palestinian Authority (PA) if it continues its abhorrent practice of paying stipends to terrorists or their families.
The legislation awaits Senate approval.
Force’s father said that he is often asked “what was Taylor like?” to which he responds, “I always use the comparison with the table with the glass half full of water in it. The pessimist says it’s half empty, the optimist says the glass is half full. Taylor’s glass wasn’t a glass. It was a barrel, and it was full of life and he shared that with everybody. He was concerned more about other people than himself.”
“Somebody came up to me one time and said, ‘I’m so sorry. Your son must’ve been in the wrong place at the wrong time.’ I corrected him. I said, ‘No. He was in the right place at the right time. He was doing what he wanted to do. He was learning about Israel and the Jewish culture. The terrorist was in the wrong place at the wrong time,’” added Stuart Force.
“There’s no right place for terrorism. There’s no right time for terrorism, anywhere. Any country that cherishes freedom and human rights. And that’s why we’re involved in getting this legislation pass.”
Also speaking at the gala was Sander Gerber, CEO of Hudson Bay Capital and the architect of the Taylor Force Act.
“Not only does the Palestinian Authority have laws to kill Jews, the Palestinian Authority has a budget to back it up. For 2018 that budget is $403 million,” Gerber said, noting that the average income in the PA territories is only $3,400 a year “so $400 million goes a very long way.”
The Force family “decided that they were going to take their tragedy and make something out of it. The Taylor Force Act, which is making its way through Congress, would cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority until they stop paying the terrorists and revoke the laws to kill the Jews,” continued Gerber.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)