Monday, January 29, 2024
Elder of Ziyon
The accusations are contained in a dossier provided to the United States government that details Israel’s claims against a dozen employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency who, it says, played a role in the Hamas attacks against Israel on Oct. 7 or in their aftermath.The dossier said that Israeli intelligence officers had established the movements of six of the men inside Israel on Oct. 7 based on their phones; others had been monitored while making phone calls inside Gaza during which, the Israelis say, they discussed their involvement in the Hamas attack.Three others got text messages ordering them to report to muster points on Oct. 7, and one was told to bring rocket-propelled grenades stored at his home, according to the dossier.
Predictably, UNRWA's supporters are screaming about nations withholding funds, claiming that UNRWA services are essential.
[UN Secretary General Antonio] Guterres strongly appealed to the governments that suspended contributions to, at least, guarantee the continuity of UNRWA’s operations.“The abhorrent alleged acts of these staff members must have consequences. But the tens of thousands of men and women who work for UNRWA, many in some of the most dangerous situations for humanitarian workers, should not be penalized,” he said.“The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met.”
A look at UNRWA's staff and budget tells a different story, though.
Most of the accused terrorists were teachers, and two others also worked at UNRWA schools. One was a social worker.
This is not surprising. The vast majority of UNRWA employees in Gaza work for UNRWA schools. According to UNRWA's 2021 budget, 83% of UNRWA employees in Gaza work in their education program.
UNRWA controls a multi-nation school system with over half a million students - all of them in areas where there is a public education system. It is not the world's job to provide free education to Palestinians when they live in areas that the governments already provide public education to all.
The bulk of UNRWA's budget doesn't go to food or housing or works programs, but to teaching kids to hate Jews and Israel.
There are no less than 23 UN entities in Gaza, some of which actually provide essential services. There are so many UN agencies in Gaza that there are two agencies (OCHA and UNSCO) to coordinate the other agencies. UNRWA is by far the largest, but given that most of its budget is spent on schools that are not even open and paying teachers who are not teaching, the appeals to keep it funded ring hollow.
If critics of defunding UNRWA really cared about Gaza civilians, they would be asking for nations to compensate for suspending UNRWA funds by giving more money to UN agencies that actually do important work as their main functions, like the World Food Programme or the World Health Organization. While they are also biased against Israel, they at least do real work, and have professionals who create plans on how best to help Gaza civilians under trying circumstances.
Those who insist on funding an agency where most of its budget does not help people in need of food or medicine don't really care about Gaza. They care about UNRWA's main mission of keeping the fictional "refugee" issue alive forever and delegitimizing Israel.
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