Contact Congress to demand conditions for UNRWA funding renewal
David Bedein of the David Bedein Center for Near East Policy Research is getting the word out that, starting on Wednesday, June 8, 2021, Congress is going to consider renewing American funding for UNRWA, AKA the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. While all other refugees fall into the U.N.'s general welfare section, UNRWA oversees 59 "temporary" refugee facilities housing the five million descendants of the Arabs who vacated what's now Israel during the Arab-Israeli war.
While it once may have been a purely charitable organization, UNRWA is now an aggressively activist organization that works with Hamas and the Palestinian Authority to demonize Israel and Jews and to arm and train Arab paramilitary groups seeking Israel's destruction. Rather disgustingly, America has long been one of UNRWA's biggest funders.
In 2018, Donald Trump stopped funding, arguing (rightly) that the only refugees were those who were actually displaced in 1948. With Trump gone, and Biden's administration firmly on the side of Hamas and others, the money is going to start flowing again. Cynically or naïvely, Biden claims that UNRWA has committed to "zero tolerance for racism, discrimination, and anti-Semitism." That's almost certainly a lie, right up there with "I'll still respect you in the morning."
Because there's no reason to respect UNRWA's promises, David Bedein is asking that people contact every member of the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on State & Foreign Operations to push them to place some restrictions on the organization to limit its genocidal malevolence:
- Cancel the new UNRWA war curriculum, based on Jihad, martyrdom, and the "right of return by force of arms", which have no place in UN education, whose theme is "Peace Begins Here".
- Disarm UNRWA schools and cease paramilitary training in all UNRWA schools. It is an absurdity that UNRWA, a UN agency with a purported commitment to "peace education", allows such arms training and missile fire from its premises.
- Insist that UNRWA dismiss employees affiliated with Hamas in accordance with laws of donor nations that forbid aid to any agency that employs members of a terrorist organization.
- Introduce UNHCR standards to advance resettlement of fourth and fifth generation refugees from the 1948 war who have spent seven decades relegated to refugee status. Current UNRWA policy is that any Arab refugee resettlement would interfere with the "right of return" to pre-1948 Arab localities. By adopting the stance of Arab maximalists, UNRWA flouts its commitment to the future of Arab refugees from 1948 and their descendants.
- Demand an audit of donor funds that emanate from 68 nations. This would address documented reports of wasted resources, duplication of services, and an undesired flow of cash to the terror groups that dominate UNRWA operations.
(For more information about the problems with UNRWA, check out the UNRWA Monitor website.)
To make contacting the Congressional Subcommittee members as easy as possible, David Bedein has compiled a list with their names and contact information:
DEMOCRATS
- Chairwoman Barbara Lee: Staff: Gregory Adams, Gregory.Adams@mail.house.gov; 202-225-2771
- Grace Meng (NY): Staff: Helen Beaudreau, Helen.Beaudreau@mail.house.gov; 202-225-2601
- David Price (NC): Staff: Elizabeth Adkins, Elizabeth.Adkins@mail.house.gov; 202-225-1784
- Lois Frankel (FL): Staff: Bradley Solyan, Bradley.Solyan@mail.house.gov; 202-225-9890
- Norma Torres (CA): Staff: Maryam Janani, Maryam.Janani@mail.house.gov; 202-225-6161
- Adriano Espaillat (NY): Staff: Todd Sloves, Todd.Sloves@mail.house.gov; 202-225-4365
- Jennifer Wexton (VA): Staff: Mike Lucier, Mike.Lucier@mail.house.gov; 202-225-5136
REPUBLICANS
- Ranking Member Hal Rogers (KY): Staff: Austin Gage, Austin.Gage@mail.house.gov; 202-225-4601
- Mario Diaz-Balart (FL): Staff: Chris Sweet, Chris.Sweet@mail.house.gov; 202-225-4211
- Jeff Fortenberry (NE): Staff: Alan Feyerherm, Alan.Feyerherm@mail.house.gov; 202-225-4806
- Guy Reschenthaler (PA): Staff: Mike D'Orazio, Mike.D'orazio@mail.house.gov; 202-225-2065
Please take the time to reach out to Congress.
Image: UNRWA’s terrorist connections. YouTube screen grab.
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