A UNRWA School In Gaza (Credit: United Nations)

Instead Of Condemning Israel, The U.N Should Spend Their Time Disbanding UNRWA

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Emanuel Engelmayer
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The United Nations (UN) was founded with the belief that a single organization with various branches can help maintain world order, it did not work in the earlier League of Nations, but sure, why not try? During the years since its establishment, many from all over have accused the UN of being corrupt and not actually efficient in doing their job. These accusations vary in their credibility and obviously all contain different levels of bias, however, no other UN-funded foundation shows as much clear corruption as the organization established to manage Palestinian refugees only. 

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was founded in 1949 in the capital of Jordan, Amman. Its main goal at first was to help the Palestinian refugees in the aftermath of Israel’s war of independence, a war in which Arab nations started to prevent a Jewish State from taking hold despite global support and approval for it.  The fact is, the refugees from 1948-49 were a product of Arab leadership telling Arabs in areas partitioned to Israel to flee, while they told Arabs in the Arab partition of the land to kill any Jews that remained there.

This humanitarian goal went unquestioned at first and seemed completely legitimate at the time. Helping out refugees from a regional conflict and ongoing war? Sure, sounds altruistic enough. Even in the young state of Israel, there were very few that questioned UNRWA. Why would anyone oppose such a just, noble purpose?

Years go by and with that, the freshness of a conflict fades. Refugees eventually grow old and their offspring resettle in the various countries that offered to help. Wars break out and end, new populations gain refugee status, and regimes rise and fall, yet for some reason, UNRWA remains a major drain on the UN budget. The reason for this inconsistency with historical timelines and the nature of time that heals all wounds goes back to this one foolish policy sanctioned by the UN that the Arab-led creators of UNRWA requested and this is the most telling sign that something was not right with UNRWA from the start.

UNRWA has gained immortal status with a policy that allows for the descendants of the original refugees to gain the same exact status, regardless of where they live, what their current occupation is, and how much cash they have in the banks of the countries they live in. The result of this horrible and one-sided policy is that roughly 650 thousand Palestinian refugees existed in 1949, and around 7 million of them magically walk this earth today. 

The status of these 7 million Palestinian “refugees” would be of little importance if it was simply a title. However, the nature of the UN is to pour funds into any humanitarian cause they deem as legitimate and they give to UNRWA a ton of money. In fact, the budget to manage one refugee population is more than half of what it is to manage all other refugees in the world that the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) manages. No, we are not speaking of a few million dollars for small projects and initiatives, or even a few hundred million dollars for education and economic relief. UNRWA’s annual budget amounts to 2 billion dollars for the 7 million Palestinian “refugees”.

To compare the numbers, the UNHCR, the primary UN refugee agency receives 4.3 billion dollars for the 15 million actual refugees around the world. A deeper dive into what is done with the UNRWA money reveals more troubling issues. Such as the fact the the UNHCR has resettled over 900 thousand refugees between 2002-2014, while UNRWA has resettled zero. It should also be noted that perhaps the reason UNRWA has not resettled any of these “refugees” would be because most of them live in permanent housing around the globe and don't want to be resettled from the lives they have made. Just ask Brooklyn-born activist Linda Sarsour or Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib if they want to be resettled back to live under Palestinian Authority or Hamas rule. The amusing part of this discussion is that if the UNRWA were to resettle these “refugees” against their will, it would actually turn them into displaced people.

The numbers are staggering. Two billion dollars anually to care for 7 million people, according to simple math, would give them a nice annual fixed income. But the money does not even go to help them as most 'Palestinian refugees' do not need the help. It goes to line the pockets of despots like Mahmoud Abbas who is in year 15 of his 4 year elected term is worth over 100 million dollars. It goes to people like Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal who is estimated to be worth over 2 billion dollars and it went to Yasser Arafat, who at the time of his untimely, but very welcome and necessary death was worth over 1 Billion dollars.

Much money also goes to pay for terrorists rotting in Israeli prisons, people responsible for killing babies and women, and the elderly who are celebrated with street namings, school namings, and a lifelong stipend under the Palestinian Authority's 'Pay For Slay' program. There are others in the food chain too, and yes, some food is bought for schools, salaries paid to UNRWA workers in Gaza and the West bank, many of them terrorists or affiliated with terrorists, who serve as teachers, janitors, cooks in UNRWA schools. In fact, UNRWA is among the largest employers in Palestine with 30,000 employees. Digest that, the UNHCR has only 18,879 employees to cover three times more refugees. So, by the time any money actually reaches the ones identified as “refugees," there is literally nothing left.

The fact is, the UNRWA is so corrupt and such a drain on UN member countries that fund them, those responsible for managing it should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of international law. The scam that is the Palestinian Refugee problem is one that might be the biggest of the last century as it is not just money that is being stolen, but through the UNRWA schools and textbooks, the narrative of a great nation of Palestine was created and spread. This is not just a financial crime, it is an ethical one as well as it has been working to change history by literally rewriting it since it opened its first school.

UNRWA needs to go away. During this week when the useless, biased and corrupt United Nations celebrates another year of condemning Israel in New York City, maybe the delegates can actually accomplish something productive and defund UNRWA.

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