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| Every cloud has a silver lining in Gaza. |
As our parents age, naturally we worry about how to care for them should they become infirm or unable to generate an income. Just yesterday my own son voiced shock and concern after learning that a month in an assisted-living facility runs to about $20,000. "Who can afford that," he asked. (I assured him I would sooner walk into the ocean like Norman Maine in the original A Star Is Born than waste his inheritance.)
Dealing with aging parents may be tough here in America, but for enterprising Palestinians it's no big deal. All a healthy young man has to do is die while engaged in killing an Israeli, or die trying, and Mom and Dad are set for life. According to a piece in today's Wall Street Journal, the Palestinian Authority "pays a one-time lump sum plus a monthly stipend for life to the families of any 'martyr' killed attacking Israel or in a confrontation with Israel."
So for a Palestinian parent, the death of a child is much less traumatizing than it is in the U.S. In fact, it's a good thing! Not only will the dead offspring be rewarded with 72 virgins in Heaven, but Mom and Dad can stop worrying about paying the rent and enjoy their golden years.
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