Agency-funded schools have glorified terrorism and encouraged martyrdom, according to a report
Palestinian children attend a class at the UNRWA elementary school in Gaza City (AP)
Dozens of congressional Democrats in 2018 urged the U.S. government to reinstate funding for the United Nations’ refugee agency in Gaza, which is known for sympathizing with terror groups and indoctrinating local children with anti-Semitic curriculum.
After the Trump administration in 2018 pulled funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), calling the agency “irredeemably flawed,” an array of top House and Senate Democrats petitioned the administration to reverse the decision. While those Democrats—including Sens. Ed Markey (Mass.), Chris Murphy (Conn.), and Sherrod Brown (Ohio) and Reps. Pramila Jaypala (Wash.), Ted Lieu (Calif.), and Mark Pocan (Wis.)—claimed that the aid was needed to combat extremism in Gaza and elsewhere, UNRWA has in many cases been a driving force of that extremism.
An independent watchdog in March, for example, found that the agency funds Palestinian schools that ”regularly call to murder Jews and create teaching materials that glorify terrorism, encourage martyrdom, demonize Israelis, and incite anti-Semitism.” According to the report, 133 of the agency’s staffers were also “found to promote hate and violence on social media” by praising terrorist attacks on Israel and expressing support for terror group Hamas. Evidence has also emerged since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel that UNRWA aid has gone to the group’s terrorists—the agency on Sunday indicated that Hamas members in Gaza stole fuel and medical supplies meant for the general public. While the agency later walked back the claim, U.N. officials cited in the Times of Israel said the incident occurred.
The widespread push from congressional Democrats to reinstate UNRWA aid—and largely ignore the agency’s terror ties—reflects the left’s alignment with top anti-Israel groups and actors. In addition to UNRWA, dozens of Democratic congressional members in 2019 privately issued letters of support to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an anti-Israel advocacy group that is now blaming the Jewish state for the Hamas terror attacks that killed more than 1,400 Israelis, including women and children. That attack, the council said, stemmed from the “Israeli government’s apartheid policies” and other “root causes of Mideast violence.”
Markey, Murphy, Brown, Jayapal, Lieu, and Pocan did not return requests for comment. In total, 102House Democrats and 34Senate Democrats signed letters urging the Trump administration to reinstate UNRWA aid in 2018. Those letters argued that withholding funds could “worsen the humanitarian crisis” and “spark an uprising.” One letter, led by Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.), specifically cited UNRWA-funded schools, saying the lack of funds would be ”devastating” for those schools and their attendees.
Congressional Democrats eventually got their wish in 2021, when the Biden administration approved a $150 million payment to the UNRWA, with hundreds of millions of dollars to follow in 2022 and 2023. While the agency, which did not return a request for comment, pledged to remove anti-Semitism from its textbooks, a 2022 report found that those books still contained incitement to violence against Israel. The agency last year moved to hide educational materials from its online portal.
The Biden administration, meanwhile, has expressed concern that its resumption of aid in Gaza could help terror groups such as Hamas. A March 2021 internal State Department memo, which was obtained by the Washington Free Beacon earlier this year, cited a “high risk” that Hamas and other terror groups “could potentially derive indirect, unintentional benefit from U.S. assistance to Gaza.”
“Notwithstanding this risk, State believes it is in our national security interest to provide assistance in the West Bank and Gaza to support the foreign policy objectives,” the memo said.
How has the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw funding for UNRWA affected the agency’s operations in combating extremism?
Agency-funded schools in Gaza have come under scrutiny for glorifying terrorism and indoctrinating children with anti-Semitic curriculum, according to a recent report. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which receives funding from the United States, has been accused of sympathizing with terror groups and promoting extremism.
In 2018, the Trump administration decided to withdraw funding for UNRWA, citing the agency as “irredeemably flawed.” However, many congressional Democrats, including prominent names like Ed Markey, Chris Murphy, and Sherrod Brown, petitioned the administration to reverse its decision and reinstate funding. They argued that the aid was necessary to combat extremism in Gaza and other areas. However, evidence suggests that UNRWA has actually been a driving force behind extremism.
An independent watchdog report in March brought to light the alarming findings that Palestinian schools funded by UNRWA regularly promote hatred and violence against Jews. These schools have been found to create teaching materials that glamorize terrorism, encourage martyrdom, demonize Israelis, and incite anti-Semitism. Furthermore, the report revealed that 133 UNRWA staff members were found to promote hate and violence on social media, praising terrorist attacks on Israel and expressing support for terror group Hamas.
Even more concerning is the revelation that UNRWA aid has ended up in the hands of Hamas terrorists. Following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, it was discovered that the fuel and medical supplies meant for the general public had been stolen by Hamas members. Although UNRWA initially confirmed this, they later walked back on their statement. However, U.N. officials cited in the Times of Israel have corroborated the incident.
The calls from congressional Democrats to reinstate UNRWA aid, despite its terror ties, highlight the left’s alignment with anti-Israel groups and actors. Moreover, in 2019, numerous Democratic congressional members privately expressed support for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an anti-Israel advocacy group. CAIR blamed Israel for the Hamas terror attacks, accusing the “Israeli government’s apartheid policies” as the root cause of the violence.
It is noteworthy that the Democrats mentioned in this article, including Markey, Murphy, Brown, Jayapal, Lieu, and Pocan, declined to comment on this matter. Nevertheless, a significant number of House and Senate Democrats signed letters requesting the Trump administration to reinstate UNRWA aid in 2018. These letters claimed that withholding funds would worsen the humanitarian crisis and provoke an uprising.
Given these disturbing revelations about UNRWA-funded schools and their promotion of extremism, it is essential to reevaluate the allocation of funds to such agencies. As terrorism continues to pose a significant threat globally, supporting organizations that indirectly propagate such
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