Jillian Shweky
Opinion Editor
One's title in life is crucial to understanding who they are socially, and even morally. Yet, titles can be deceiving. One would think that an agency called the United Nations Relief and Work Agency would aid the innocent, but recent evidence has shown that members of this agency were involved in the Hamas attack on October Seventh.
Multiple members of UNRWA were accused of taking part in inhumane acts against Israel, including kidnapping a woman, being a part of an attack on a Kibbutz, and providing ammunition. Also, they are accused of helping Hamas prepare for October Seventh, and in the days after the attack. The Israeli government claims that there are a dozen of members of UNRWA who were a part of this. All of these people who are accused were active members in the United Nation agency, by providing food, schooling, and shelter to Palestinian civilians.
As a result of this, UNRWA has claimed to have fired nine out of twelve of the participants. The director of UNRWA pleaded with the representatives of aid countries asking them to reconsider withdrawing funds from UNRWA. Eight countries, including the U.S, have withdrawn funds already.
According to the Israeli government, ten of the members of UNRWA that are accused are actual members of Hamas, and another member of UNRWA is a part of the Islamic Jihad. It is frightening to see that these people had normal jobs, contributing to Gazan society, as the UNRWA screening process does not include finding if they are connected to terrorist groups. One member was a teacher in UNRWA schools, who taught math and Arabic. Another was a social worker who later was accused of bringing the dead bodies of IDF soldiers in Gaza. A school counselor was charged with kidnapping an Israeli woman.
This is not the first time UNRWA has been involved in dangerous acts. According to the foreign Relations Committee, they have a history of putting antisemitic material in their textbooks, which inturn, engrains these antisemitic thoughts in young minds.
UNRWA has been a crucial part of Gazan aid for decades, and in this current time of crisis they’re services are needed more than ever. But their acts are inexcusable. Neither the United Nations nor UNRWA recognize Hamas as a terrorist group. UNRWA members have continuously disseminated antisemitism on social media, plus support for Hilter. Though most UN agencies have a board of people to oversee their actions, UNRWA does not. The United Nations is literally supposed to unite different regions, not divide them. Acts like these discredit them as a whole, and make it clear that things must change within the system if aid wants to be restored within Gaza.
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