Green-Lined: And where were you born? Pt. II

In my previous blog post, I pointed out what I consider to be the rather biased attitude in US State Department regulations regarding American citizens born in Jerusalem (their place of birth is basically a stateless one as Israel will not be included) and in Judea and Samaria ("West Bank," a fictitious term, and not Judea & Samaria, is used).

Perusing the Web site of the Consulate-General of the United States in Jerusalem, the one that reports back directly to Washington, not to Tel Aviv, I was struck by two more examples of what seems like bureaucratic discrimination.

If you go here, you can read about the "Abraham Lincoln Incentive Grants Program West Bank/Gaza 2009-2010," the goal of which is "Investing in the Future of Young Palestinians."

AMIDEAST is now accepting applications for the Abraham Lincoln Incentive Grants Program, funded by the United States Department of State through the Middle East Partnership Initiative and the Consulate-General in Jerusalem. The program will provide grants (financial assistance) to promising, academically qualified but economically challenged students.

AMIDEAST, by the way, claims on its Web site to be "a private, nonprofit organization that strengthens mutual understanding and cooperation between Americans and the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa."

So, who can apply to benefit from something named after Abraham Lincoln? According to the data, the main eligibility requirement for the Abraham Lincoln Incentive Grants Program is that a student must "Be a Palestinian resident of the West Bank, east Jerusalem or Gaza Strip."
 
Now, I ask you: what is your definition of "Palestinian"?

Is it geographical? Or religion? Or ethnicity? Or race? Or national status? Or just plain none at all?

To hazard a guess, I'd say this program's definition of "Palestinian" is "Arab."

My next guess is that no Jewish resident of Judea, Samaria, East Jerusalem or Gaza (alright, there are no more Jews in the Gaza District, but many were born there) need bother to apply.

If so, is that not discrimination? Is that even, maybe, racism?

Here's another example of American involvement that I found odd, and perhaps discriminatory.

The Palestinian Association for Cultural Exchange (PACE) received the first grant given to Palestinians (see above as to who or what is "Palestinian") under the US Department of State's Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation.

The project will assist three historic villages in the West Bank - Beitin, Aboud and Al-Jib - to preserve their cultural heritage and promote tourist destinations.

It will also educate the communities on the illegal procurement and sale of antiquities - which I take to mean it will attempt to stop them stealing.

It just so happens that the Oslo Accords provide for exactly this, but the local Arabs seem more intent on destroying Jewish cultural heritage locations, like Joseph's Tomb and the Temple Mount.

But moreover, two of the three sites included in the first effort have a strong Jewish historical connection. Beitin could be Bet El, and Al Jib is Givon. Open the Bible for references.

Will the "Palestinians" with American money also help out the Jews?

Or is that too much to hope for under this Obama administration?