Olga Deutsch
Washington Times, Feb. 19, 2024
“… the South African submission to the ICJ accusing Israel of genocide — a charge that the U.S. has called “meritless” — contains no less than 45 references to NGO publications and 13 footnotes citing UNRWA. Unsurprisingly, representatives from Al-Haq and PCHR were members of the South African delegation to public hearings in mid-January. Furthermore, the fact that UNRWA and its partners engage in such advocacy runs contrary to any commitment to politically neutral and independent humanitarian activity.”
Since freezing UNRWA funding in January, after evidence emerged that the agency’s employees participated in the murder and kidnapping of Israeli civilians in the Oct. 7 massacre, the United States said it will instead send money to other U.N. bodies and nongovernmental organizations in Gaza.
This is premature, ignoring the fact that the serious problems with terror support, incitement and antisemitism at the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees are replicated throughout the entire ecosystem of U.N. agencies and NGOs active in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. While freezing funding was a laudable first step, stronger, broader, long-term action is needed before continuing to fund any organizations in Gaza or restoring funding to UNRWA.
At the heart of the problem is that, in addition to providing health care, education and other humanitarian assistance for Palestinians, UNRWA engages in advocacy in response to what it calls “the needs of Palestinian refugees affected by the Israeli occupation.”
This political advocacy work, which is often based on the delegitimization of Israel and questioning the Jewish state’s right to exist, is carried out in partnership with NGOs and other U.N. agencies.
A primary anti-Israel channel is via “clusters” of NGOs and U.N. agencies that work together on various issues. Inevitably, each cluster has an advocacy component.
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