Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and other “progressive” Democrats have refused to accept U.N. bailouts linked to terrorism, despite the fact that several of their staff members have participated in Hamas terrorist attacks. Introduced legislation to restore U.S. funding to UNRWA. Game against Israel on October 7th.
The law is called The UNRWA Funding Emergency Recovery Act of 2024 will almost certainly fail. In other words, this is only a symbolic act, but it is a strange one.
Amid concerns that UNRWA would foment conflict by indoctrinating Palestinian children to hate Israel and Jews and perpetuating the idea that Israel would disappear, then-President Donald Trump Reduced funding to UNRWA.
President Joe Biden returned more than $700 million to UNRWA after taking office.
Since October 7, evidence has emerged that several UNRWA personnel took part in deadly terrorist attacks, and that thousands more cheered them on, prompting the Biden administration to Similarly, funding was suspended.
After an incomplete “study” approved by UNRWA, and despite Israel's objections, several countries except the United States restored funding to the agency. UNRWA subsequently acknowledged that nine of its staff may have been involved in the October 7 attack. One of them was specifically accused of abducting the bodies of Israelis to Gaza.
Still, Schakowsky (whose district includes a large Jewish community) and his colleagues force The problem.
in statementSchakowsky and other “progressive” Democrats said (emphasis removed):
The United States has historically been one of the largest financial supporters of UNRWA, which serves approximately 6 million Palestinian refugees across the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. In March of this year, the United States suspended funding to UNRWA after the Israeli government alleged that 12 UNRWA employees were directly involved in Hamas's October 7 terrorist attack.
Following the UN investigation and UNRWA's proactive efforts towards full accountability and reform, all countries except the United States, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Finland, Germany, Japan, and Sweden, have joined UNRWA. funding has been resumed. Approximately 1.9 million Gazans, or nine out of 10, have experienced displacement at least once, and an estimated 43,580 are pregnant women. UNRWA has served as the main humanitarian aid organization operating in Gaza, but without funding, hundreds of thousands of Gazan civilians are left vulnerable. It is estimated that more than 1 million Gazans will not have enough food this month, and the availability of basic hygiene products has fallen to 15%. In addition to the polio outbreak, Gazans are suffering from malnutrition and treatable diseases due to the “systematic dismantling of health care” caused by bombing of civilians.
“For decades, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has been a lifeline for Palestinians, providing food, clean water, medical care, shelter, education and livelihoods. UNRWA remains at the heart of the humanitarian response in Gaza as it endures a humanitarian crisis. UNRWA and the United Nations acted swiftly and decisively to address concerns raised when the US government withdrew funding in January. All allies have resumed funding for UNRWA, and the United States must follow suit and resume funding for this vital humanitarian agency,” said Congressman Jan Schakowsky. Ta. “I am proud to co-lead the UNRWA Financial Emergency Recovery Act to restore funding to UNRWA and help Gazans receive the humanitarian assistance they need during this unprecedented crisis.”
Notably, the statement does not deny that UNRWA personnel were involved in the October 7 terrorist attacks.
J Street, a far-left organization funded by George Soros, supports this bill. J Street claims to be “pro-Israel, pro-peace,” but typically opposes Israel in Congress. In this case, you are supporting a bill that funds terrorist-related groups that have the blood of Israeli civilians in their veins.
“Aid workers with ties to terrorists are an abomination. They should always be rooted out and held accountable. But they are the exception. Punishing children and civilians as a whole for the crimes of a few. is not only wrong, it is extremely dangerous,” said J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami.
Israel has argued that UNRWA has no role in the post-war Gaza Strip and should be replaced by other agencies.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. he is the author of Agenda: What should President Trump do in his first 100 days?available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of Trumpian Virtues: Lessons and Legacy of the Donald Trump Presidencynow available on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
Full disclosure: The author ran against Schakowsky in 2010.
