Lafayette Reporter

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) has authored a bill to permanently ban U.S. funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). In addition, the bill aims to redirect unspent U.S. UNRWA funding towards the construction of a wall along the southern border of the United States.

Kennedy argues that Hamas utilizes UNRWA facilities as a shield to carry out antisemitic attacks against Israel and uses UNRWA resources to indoctrinate the people it is meant to support. He states, "Hamas uses UNRWA facilities as a shield to perpetuate vicious antisemitic attacks against Israel, and it uses UNRWA resources to indoctrinate the people it is supposed to be caring for. UNRWA employees actively participated in violently massacring Israel civilians last October. The U.S. can’t keep bankrolling a corrupt group that helps Hamas attack our greatest ally in the Middle East, and the Biden administration can’t keep turning a blind eye to its border crisis."

The bill has garnered support from several other Republican senators, including Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.).

Recent reports have highlighted the connections between UNRWA employees and Hamas. According to these reports, at least 12 UNRWA employees had ties to Hamas's attack on Israel in October, and approximately 10% of the organization's Gaza staff have links to Islamist militant groups. Intelligence documents have revealed that six UNRWA workers joined the Palestinian militants who carried out the deadly assault on Jews, in which 1,200 people lost their lives. Furthermore, UNRWA workers were involved in logistics and the procurement of weapons used against civilians during the attack.

The United States is currently the largest contributor to UNRWA, providing $343 million in 2022 alone. This funding was reinstated by President Joe Biden after former President Donald Trump halted aid to the group in 2018. UNRWA relies heavily on independent and state donations to sustain its programs.

While UNRWA's mandate is to provide basic education, primary health care, micro-credit, and emergency assistance to individuals in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and Gaza, independent reviews of its curriculum have revealed the systematic inclusion of violence, martyrdom, and jihad across all grades and subjects. This anti-Semitic indoctrination has far-reaching consequences, as approximately one-third of UNRWA's budget is allocated to education for refugees. Disturbingly, it has been discovered that seven of the UNRWA workers connected to the October 7 attacks were involved in teaching primary or secondary school children.

Kennedy has also introduced the Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act, which aims to assess whether Palestinian students are being taught inaccurate or racist content about Israel and the Jewish people.

Hamas has previously used UNRWA facilities as cover for firing rockets into Israel following their massacre of Israeli citizens. In 2015, a U.N. inquiry even found weapons in UNRWA schools.

The text of Kennedy's bill can be accessed here.