American think tank aims to introduce a new body in charge of education in Gaza, following long-standing allegations of anti-Semitism and pro-terrorism teaching in UNRWA’s school system
The United Nations agency assisting Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, known by the acronym UNRWA, faces an uncertain future as the United States debates the agency’s post-war usefulness.
On Wednesday, UNRWA Secretary-General Philippe Lazzarini told the UN Security Council that a “planned and coordinated campaign” was being carried out to bring down UNRWA at a time when its services were most critical. .
“Currently, an insidious operation to halt UNRWA’s activities is underway, with grave implications for international peace and security,” Lazzarini told the Security Council. “We must recognize that Palestinians and Israelis share a long and deep experience of grief and loss, and reflect this in our words and actions. You deserve a future.”
UNRWA’s budget is financed almost entirely by voluntary contributions from United Nations Member States. The United States was UNRWA’s largest donor, transferring $350 million a year, until it suspended funding in March following allegations that UNRWA staff took part in the October 7 attack. .
Germany and the European Union are UNRWA’s second and third largest donors, contributing approximately $200 million and $114 million annually to the organization’s mission, respectively.
US politicians, led by House Republicans, have long questioned the US role in funding UNRWA. In 2018, President Donald Trump ended U.S. support for UNRWA. President Joe Biden renewed his aid after his inauguration. As part of budget negotiations, US lawmakers last month agreed to suspend funding to UNRWA until 2025.
US Ambassador Robert Wood praised UNRWA at the Security Council on April 17, calling its humanitarian role in the region “indispensable.”
“We call for UNRWA’s continued humanitarian access to Gaza and the lifting of onerous restrictions on its operations,” Wood said.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan struck a different tone. Erdan told the UN Security Council that UNRWA was “the UN’s biggest single obstacle to a solution” and that the organization “has been indoctrinated into believing that Israel is theirs”. “We are creating a large number of Palestinian refugees.” …The ultimate goal is to use these so-called refugees and their defamatory right of return, a right that does not exist, to flood Israel and destroy the Jewish state. ”
Nearly 6 million Palestinians are eligible for UNRWA services.
Jonathan Fowler, UNRWA’s senior communications manager, told The Media Line in an email that UNRWA’s work with Palestinian refugees is “in accordance with the mandate established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1949 and has been repeatedly updated since then.” “There is,” he said.
US politicians say hundreds of UNRWA employees are acting as Hamas militants and some of them crossed into Israel on October 7 to take part in massacres, rapes and kidnappings of civilians. As part of the government’s reaction to the report, it cut funding to UNRWA.
According to Israel, 16 UNRWA personnel directly participated in the October 7 attack, with roles ranging from distributing ammunition to kidnapping civilians.
The United States and Israel are not the only countries that have doubts about UNRWA’s educational activities in Gaza. On April 11, the European Parliament declared that “Palestinian school textbooks drafted by Union-funded civil servants, and supplementary materials developed and directed by UNRWA staff, encourage violence, spread anti-Semitism and incite hatred.” It passed a resolution condemning the content, saying it contains problematic and hateful content that incites hatred. At school. ”
The resolution further noted that “education against hatred has a direct and dramatic impact not only on the safety of Israelis, but also on the prospects for a better future for young Palestinians.”
The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se), an Israeli non-profit organization, announced in March 2023 that previous attempts to control anti-Semitism and incitement in UNRWA’s school curriculum reported that it was unsuccessful. The report cites examples from UNRWA’s various schools in Gaza, including sample sentences for grammar exercises such as “Wage a holy war to liberate your homeland” and “Don’t give up an inch of your land.” This also included junior high schools with responses such as “No.”
Additionally, UN Watch has harshly criticized UNRWA, alleging that its investigation into the agency’s neutrality and alleged terrorist support staff was intentionally biased. The report alleges that UNRWA Director General Philippe Lazzarini compromised the investigation from its inception, dismissing the allegations as a mere “smear campaign.” Additionally, the inquiry, led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, has been criticized for being set up to reassure donors rather than truly address the issue, with the inquiry team showing a pro-UNRWA bias. has been accused of having a conflict of interest.
U.S. decision-makers and thought leaders are currently looking for ways to fill the void left by UNRWA. The United States Israel Education Association (USIEA) recently published a proposal entitled “Gaza after UNRWA: Educational Reform for Peaceful Coexistence” that eliminates UNRWA’s role in educating Gazans and reform the postwar education system. He proposed a complete rebuild.
Heather Johnston, founder and CEO of USIEA, told The Media Line: “Through this white paper, we will explore how to replace the current Palestinian education system with innovative new approaches that are fundamental to peaceful coexistence. We want to show that we can build on this.”
USIEA proposes to abolish UNRWA and create a new organization called the Gaza Alternative Education System Fund. The program will be managed by UNRWA’s current donors and interested countries that are signatories to the Abraham Accords. The USIEA plan would also include Saudi Arabia after normalizing relations with Israel.
The program includes revamping teacher education, developing a new curriculum for Gaza’s schools, and inviting foreign teachers to teach until local teachers can be vetted and properly trained. ing.
Teachers in Gaza are required to take a course called “Education for Coexistence” before they can teach in Gaza schools.
“By reevaluating what and how we teach the next generation, we can go a long way towards peace in the Middle East. That could be the best gift we can give to the next generation.” EJ Kimball, director of policy and strategic operations at USIEA, told The Media Line.
The proposal has some support among U.S. lawmakers, but there are also opponents.
Dr. Brian K. Barber, non-resident senior scholar at the Washington, D.C.-based Middle East Policy Council, called the USIEA white paper “a transparent attempt to accomplish Israel’s historic effort to abolish UNRWA.” He said that. “As such, it is unpersuasive on both practical and moral grounds,” he told The Media Line.
Barber said it was hard to imagine making “coexistence education” a central tenet of Gaza’s education system. “Can you seriously imagine trying to teach your people to coexist with a military power that has historically and recently destroyed homes and schools, killed families, and starved them to death? What would that coexist look like? ” he said.
The USIEA white paper describes UNRWA as a “compromised institution that has become intertwined with the Hamas organization in Gaza.” The proposal also states that UNRWA textbooks are anti-Semitic and anti-Israel, and claims that children educated in UNRWA schools are “indoctrinated to hate their Jewish neighbors.” ing.
Mr Barber pointed out that the white paper was misleading in several respects.
Regarding claims that young people in Gaza are being indoctrinated to hate Jews and Israelis, Barber cited research he has conducted with young people in UNRWA schools in Gaza since 1994.
“Our data overwhelmingly shows that young people in Gaza are peace-minded and want nothing more than to enjoy basic human rights and future opportunities for education, family formation and employment,” he said. said.
UNRWA also disagrees with USIEA’s claims of wrongdoing.
“Claims to this effect have been repeated over the years in textbooks, and we reject them,” Fowler said.
The March 2023 IMPACT-se report found that UNRWA-created content taught in UNRWA schools during the 2022-2023 academic year advocated violence, encouraged martyrdom, demonized Israel, We found 25 examples of content that denies the right to life and promotes anti-Semitism.
A UNRWA spokesperson also denied claims that senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was once a teacher at a UNRWA school.
The allegations were reported last month by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a nonprofit news organization that monitors and reports on Arabic-language media. MEMRI published a translation of an interview with Ahmad Weedat, former Director of UNRWA’s Professional Development and Curriculum Department. He noted that both Haniya and Dr. Talal Naji, secretary-general of the General Headquarters of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, are both former UNRWA educators.
It is clear to both parties supporting and opposing UNRWA’s role in Gaza’s education system that something has to change in Gaza.
“The way forward for education in Gaza after the bombing ceases will be to rebuild and repair damaged and destroyed schools and provide completely safe passage for students and teachers to resume classes,” Barber said. he said. “The United States and other international actors should do everything in their power and devote their available resources and influence to force Israel to loosen its oppressive and humiliating grip on Palestinians in and around Gaza.”
