Thursday, September 26, 2013

UNRWA: You can't run from the truth

On August 16, 2013, the U.S. and the Palestinian Authority signed a new $148 million economic aid agreement.  

This aid is only a fraction of what the Palestinians receive from the world community.  Per capita, the Palestinian receive more aid than any other people in the world. Much of this money is channeled through UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East


The Palestinians receive more aid per capita than any other group worldwide. Chart from Elder of Ziyon


UNRWA was established in 1949 as temporary organization yet has survived for 64 years by extending its services to the descendants of the original beneficiaries.   According to UNRWA, a Palestinian refugee is  someone whose residency  was in Palestine from June 1, 1946 to May 15, 1948, and who lost both their homes and their livelihoods in the war against Israel.  They make  no pretext of Palestinians being "indigenous"   There is simply a requirement of residency in pre-state Israel for two years.  UNRWA is unique because  its sole  responsibility is to one group of refugees. Throughout the world, other refugees fall under the jurisdiction of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

UNRWA's  2012 budget was $907,907,371., with the US, EU, UK, Sweden, Norway, Germany, The Netherlands and Japan paying 71 percent of the total.

Humanitarian aid, worldwide
 What does our tax money go to?

Watch this shot clip of UNRWA sponsored Camp Jihad.  Do you still believe this conflict is about "the occupation"?

From the film:
“Our parents were on the beach,” a teacher in Balata tells the young campers sitting around her during story time. “They sailed ships, they would travel, they had cars, palaces, and villas… Every night they would tell stories.”
She then asks the children if Palestinians still have the sea, and if they want to go to the sea in Jaffa, Haifa, and Acre. Notwithstanding her passion for teaching about local geography, she asks the children if they would like to return to the sea in the land-locked city of Nazareth.
Her story soon takes a chilling turn. The Palestinians were having a nice barbecue on the beach when a wolf appeared, she recounts. “Who is the wolf?” the teacher asks. “The Jews! Isn’t it true that the Jews are the wolf?”“Who expelled us?” she asks the kids, who listen with rapt attention. “The Jews!” they yell energetically.
“I will defeat the Jews,” a camper named Tayma tells the documentary crew. “They are a gang of infidels and Christians. They don’t like Allah and do not worship Allah. And they hate us.”
One young campers sums up, “The summer camp teaches us that we have to liberate Palestine.”

On October 5 there will be a San Francisco  fundraiser hosted by American Friends of UNRWA for this already bloated organization, ostensibly to fund programs for children.  A 5-K run around Lake Merced is scheduled, in "solidarity with Gaza".  To those participating. You can't run from the truth. UNRWA is an obstacle to peace, perpetuating generations of refugees and indoctrinating children with messages of intolerance and hate.  Is this an organization that deserves your support?

2 comments:

Gary Fouse said...

$907, 907, 371? If that number is correct, someone is getting fabulously rich. They couldn't spend that much money in a decade.

Talk about corruption!

Dusty said...

I've seen various figures for URWA's annual budget. It may actually be higher. At http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/4200D5E9F483A595852579CD004FFED5they state "UNRWA is funded almost entirely by contributions from States. The Agency’s core budget for 2012-2013 stands at USD 1.33 billion."

Yes, no matter how you look at it, its a lot of money