Last week, on Israeli TV, in response to my scoop about UNRWA teachers posting pro-terror and pro-Nazi images on Facebook, UNRWA's spokesperson
Chris Gunness said words that I am not going to let him forget.
He said:
Where we find credible allegations of neutrality violations among our staff, we investigate and where it's appropriate we take disciplinary action up to and including dismissal. And that process is audited by our major donors.
-Chris Gunness, UNRWA Spokesperson
August 19, 2015
I have never seen such an audit, which should be transparent and public, from among the many examples I have unearthed of UNRWA staff advocating violence and antisemitism.
So, Chris. here's your chance.
Essam Taybeh, UNRWA teacher, posted
this graphic on Facebook (click on thumbnail on right to see the poster with Essam's name and UNRWA affiliation)::
There you have it. An UNRWA teacher is advocating Arab violence as the only legitimate action for Palestinians.
Chris Gunness must do something, because he said he would and that this is UNRWA's policy. Unless he believes that a teacher who openly advocates violence is a proper role model for young Palestinian kids. Or unless he is a liar.
And his major donors, including the US and EU countries, must ensure that UNRWA launches a transparent investigation into Essam Taybeh, and let the world know exactly what was done..
Your move, Chris.
Please email and tweet c.gunness@unwra.org, the UN Secretary General @secgen and your national diplomatic office with this information,
Here's a poster to make it easier:
And I will be keeping Chris busy for the foreseeable future. Because
there are lots more, and lots worse, examples. But this one, which only advocates violence, still violates UNRWA's principles, and if the criteria for investigations are "allegations of neutrality violations" then UNRWA will be busy investigating and disciplining teachers for a long time.
Who knows, maybe one day they will actually decide to uphold their
own standards rather than keepcovering up what their staff is doing.