UN Watch ratchets up the pressure on UNRWA

UNRWA's Chris Gunness did not want to get on Hillel Neuer's bad side.

Since Gunness essentially threatened UN Watch on Twitter, Hillel has been nearly as obsessed with proving Gunness is a hypocrite as, well, me.

Yesterday, Neuer was on WSJ video news.slamming Gunness.

"If you promote racism & violence, we're going to land on you like a ton of bricks." WSJ Video http://t.co/J9rYGwzIg1 pic.twitter.com/Vv3fZotrsa

— UN Watch (@UNWatch) August 31, 2015

Today, UN Watch issued another press release based partially on my research:

GENEVA, September 1, 2015 - UN Watch today expressed alarm at Facebook posts by UNRWA officials (see sample below) that openly incite to antisemitism and terrorism, and urged UNRWA chief Pierre Krähenbühl to take immediate action by terminating the officials, and issuing an apology.

“The pattern and practice of UNRWA school principals, teachers and staff members posting antisemitic and terror-inciting images suggests a pathology of racism and violence within UNRWA that must be rooted out, not buried, as UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness has attempted to do by calling for boycotts of newspapers or NGOs that report these incidents of hate,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, a non-governmental Geneva watchdog organization.

“The UN must recognize that these disgusting posts, published on Facebook accounts run by people who identify themselves as UNRWA officials, constitute a gross violation of Article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits “incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence,” said Neuer.

“Enough of the UNRWA strategy of impunity, denial and deflection. It’s time for the perpetrators to be held to account. They must be fired, immediately.”

Also today, they linked to the video of my interview on Israel's Channel 10 about UNRWA

UNWRA spokesperson Chris Gunness promised to fire UNRWA officials who promote antisemitic violence, a pledge that will be put to the test this week as UN Watch submits detailed evidence of such incitement to the United Nations.

Gunness’ comments were made in response to information documented two weeks ago by the blogger Elder of Ziyon.

Gunness’ comments, recorded at 4:00 in the video above, from August 19, 2o15:

If there are allegations, and if this is true, it is indeed a very big problem, and we will deal with it. 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, with the United States and the European Union who are the biggest suporters of Israel on the international stage.

Which clearly UNRWA isn't doing, nor do they have any intention of doing that unless forced to by public pressure.

Which means that UNRWA does not take these allegations seriously at all.

I'm working on other angles to publicize UNRWA's hypocrisy, but meanwhile the independent petition to investigate Gunness keeps on adding signatures.