For my family, word got out that a 26-year-old relative lost his life. In a rush to report the news, they shared an image of his younger brother, and confusion followed. Later it was confirmed that our cousin was indeed the victim of the unprovoked attacks.
Monday, August 08, 2022
- Monday, August 08, 2022
- Elder of Ziyon
- Hani Almadhoun, Hypocrisy, Islamic Jihad, Mohamed Ahmed Abdel-Fattah Al-Madhoun, Operation Breaking Dawn, PIJ, Terrorism, UNRWA-USA
Friday, March 25, 2022
- Friday, March 25, 2022
- Elder of Ziyon
- UNRWA-USA
Sunday, August 09, 2020
- Sunday, August 09, 2020
- Elder of Ziyon
- UNRWA-USA
From a fundraising email from UNRWA-USA:
On Tuesday, a massive explosion in Lebanon tragically destroyed or damaged nearly half the capital city of Beirut, left at least 137 dead, thousands injured, and reportedly 300,000 homeless.
Before the blast, this tiny, famously-resilient country, which hosts more refugees per capita than any country worldwide, has been in the midst of a severe economic and financial crisis, while facing a growing number of COVID-19 cases, and an ongoing political deadlock.
Our hearts are with everyone living in Lebanon and with the support of UNRWA USA donors, like you, will provide relief for the population the Agency is mandated to serve -- nearly half a million Palestine refugees who, like their Lebanese hosts, are living day by day under very difficult and worsening conditions.
Will you help provide refugees in Lebanon with immediate relief?
The closest UNRWA Palestinian camp (Shatila) is not near where any of the damage from the blasts were.
So if you want to help the Lebanese victims of the blast, UNRWA is not where you should send your money.
UNRWA-USA prefers that you don’t realize that. It is using the explosion as a means to raise money for their own purposes.
Worse, they continue to lie about “nearly half a million Palestine refugees” in Lebanon when there are in fact less than 175,000 living there according to a 2017 census.
A real charity doesn’t need to mislead potential donors. But UNRWA-USA relies on antisemitism, hate and lies to get donations.
Monday, May 11, 2020
Dr. Yassine Daoud is a Palestine refugee now living in Maryland, but more than that, he is a successful medical doctor, caring father, and supportive husband to award-winning Palestinian author and public speaker Laila El-Haddad. As our country discusses who refugees are and what refugees looks like, this family has taken it upon themselves to help reshape that narrative, through participating in charitable events, giving back to their American and Palestinian communities, and sharing their own story.
Today, Nada Kiblawi is a successful entrepreneur and businesswoman living in northern Virginia, alongside her husband and three adult children. The now retired founder and co-owner of NHK Consulting, Nada provided engineering services to some of the world’s largest and most reputable companies.Born and raised in this camp and in poverty, Nada sadly recalls that she was deprived of a normal, happy childhood. “I’m at a loss of words when I think back upon my childhood years,” she says. “All children born refugees are deprived a childhood. My land, home, and youth, were stolen from me and those of the fourth generation of refugees born into and raised in camps. "
I grew up in a 200-square-foot house, with five siblings and our parents in Rafah Camp in Gaza. The street was my living room, my study area, and where I played. As a child, I had never seen a baseball field, a swimming pool, or the cinema.
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
- Wednesday, October 18, 2017
- Elder of Ziyon
- UNRWA-USA
I’ve visited the Gaza Strip for each of the past six years, including in 2014 a few months after Israel’s devastating military assault. And yet, I’ve never seen Gaza like I did when I had the privilege of visiting this summer.Why is Gaza worse now then it was in Smardon's previous visits?
I call it a privilege because, due to the blockade of Gaza imposed by Israel (with the support of Egypt), which is part of Israel’s now 50-year-old military rule over Palestinians in the occupied territories, internationals allowed in and out of Gaza are few, and Palestinians even fewer. This illegal land, air, and sea blockade, which has just entered its tenth year and amounts to collective punishment, as has been noted by the UN and human rights groups, has decimated the economy of Gaza and allowed for the near complete destruction of critical infrastructure. Experts use the term “de-development” to describe this once-bustling Mediterranean coastal enclave of two million Palestinians.
Upon arriving in Gaza, which requires a permit from Israel and extensive humanitarian coordination, I immediately saw the crippling effects of the ongoing electricity crisis which has been wreaking havoc since March. Electricity is now only available for 2-4 hours a day, a situation that has been exacerbated by internal Palestinian political divides. This has brought life to a near complete stop for many in Gaza, and has enormous public health and environmental implications.Smardon goes on to describe how things are so bad because of the electricity crisis:
The first day of my visit, I visited a water pumping station at Al-Shati refugee camp by the coast. There, I witnessed raw sewage pumping directly into the water. The sewage would normally flow to a treatment plant, but without electricity, that’s not an option. Instead, it pumps directly into the sea, not far from where people swim and fish. Their fish will be contaminated, just like their water. The sea, which is at the heart of Gazan culture, now poisons them. Despite more than 65% of the shoreline being unsafe for humans, people continue to go to the beach because it’s the only source of relief left during the sweltering summer.And Smardon's conclusion?
At an UNRWA health clinic, I met with doctors and nurses who are facing the challenges of the electricity crisis both at work and home. A nurse shared with me that she wakes up at 2 am to do her family’s laundry because that’s usually when she has electricity. A doctor told me that he only gets 3-4 hours of rest each night because the heat keeps him awake. Regardless of their personal struggles, they both come to the clinic every day committed to providing quality healthcare for their fellow Palestine refugees.
Because the medical equipment runs on a different current than the clinic’s back-up generator, x-ray, ultrasound, lab testing machines and others aren’t able to run at full capacity, and the machines will break down much sooner than they should. The World Health Organization warns that at least 30 hospitals, 70 primary health care centers, and a blood blank in Gaza are at severe risk of full or partial closure due to continued power outages and not enough fuel or spare parts for back-up generators. It’s a health catastrophe in the making.
Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip deserve humanitarian support, but no amount of assistance will ever substitute for the necessary political action, including that of the US, to stop the violation of human rights that Palestinians face on a daily basis. Lifting the blockade on Gaza would be a start.
Smardon knows that Gaza's electricity and medicine crisis - and it really is a crisis - is the result of the Palestinian Authority decision to cut services that they had provided.
But UNRWA's fundraising arm will never demand that Palestinians take responsibility for other Palestinians. No, she insists that Israel is the guilty party. Even though Israel provides all the fuel that Gaza (and its sponsors) are willing to pay for, and Israel was supplying all the electricity it could directly before Abbas demanded that it reduce the amount and he stopped paying.
Just more proof that UNRWA-USA is an anti-Israel organization, and doesn't really want to help actual Palestinians.
Wednesday, May 04, 2016
- Wednesday, May 04, 2016
- Elder of Ziyon
- UNRWA-USA
Last night was the Institute for Middle East Understanding annual gala.
The Israel-hating, terror-supporting members of UNRWA-USA attended and tweeted about the event.
— lena badr abdelhamid (@lenambadr) May 3, 2016
They were very happy to have a chance to see BDS activist and academic fraud Marc Lamont Hill.
Thank you for all you do, @marclamonthill! https://t.co/YspFFgwTjF— Abby Smardon (@abbysmardon) May 4, 2016
They were starstruck by serial liar and antisemite Roger Waters.
— Laila (@lailamo) May 4, 2016
The IMEU honored Hanan Ashrawi, whose organization Miftah has pushed antisemitic memes and supports violence against Jews. In a normal world, someone who had been linked to the worst kind of bigotry would be shunned forever. But Hanan Ashrawi is a rock star to the UNRWA-USA gang:
"The violence is created by the occupation which is the highest form of violence." Hanan Ashrawi. @theIMEU pic.twitter.com/NPLff9OSnO— Maggie M. Salem (@magsmitchell) May 4, 2016
They claim they support non-violence but they do not say a word against the violence practiced and supported daily by their pet Palestinians. They do not spend a penny on any programs to teach Palestinians that they must live in peace with Jews. They do not say a word against a regime that has taught its people incitement instead of normalization; turning terrorists into heroes instead of pariahs,
This is UNRWA-USA.
"@imeu challenges ignorance. Victims will not be silenced, will not be blamed anymore." Hanan Ashrawi. #Palestine— Maggie M. Salem (@magsmitchell) May 4, 2016
Incredible to have @rogerwaters perform at @theIMEU gala and talk about how he's blacklisted 4 supporting #Palestine pic.twitter.com/P4LMJDIfmc— Maggie M. Salem (@magsmitchell) May 4, 2016
Hypocrisy, justification for terror, rabid hate for Israel, inversion of reality, and enthusiasm for people who support antisemitism and terror attacks. That is the IMEU and that is UNRWA-USA.
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.
Friday, April 01, 2016
- Friday, April 01, 2016
- Elder of Ziyon
- UNRWA-USA
Just in case you need more evidence that American Friends of UNRWA is an anti-Israel organization, meet their intern from last summer, Hashem Abi Sham'a:
He explicitly calls Israel an "apartheid state" and supports BDS:
Earlier, he said that Israel is not part of a Middle East that he envisions.
Sham'a's internship has ended, he now goes to school in Ireland.
But how was this anti-Israel activist recruited to work fror UNRWA-USA?
UNRWA-USA recruits its interns directly from people who are members of anti-Israel groups!
UNRWA-USA does not even pretend to be even-handed - if you hate Israel, you are a candidate to work for UNRWA USA!
(h/t Bob Knot)
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.