The Zionist Federation of Australia welcomes the Australian Government’s decision to temporarily pause funding to UNRWA, and calls on the government to insist on reforms before funding it is resumed.
ZFA President Jeremy Leibler said, “While we welcome Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s decision to pause funding to UNRWA, the problems with UNRWA go far deeper than a handful of its staff participating in the 7 October massacres. We are calling on the Australian Government to desist from resuming funding until UNRWA removes all glorification of terrorism from its school text books, fires all teachers that have praised terrorism, and commits to a transparent, third-party audit of all its finances.”
Mr Leibler concluded, “UNRWA knew about Hamas’ genocidal conduct but said and did nothing. All those who want a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians must hold UNRWA accountable. Australia must ensure that any further aid provided to Gaza does not end up in the hands of terrorists or its supporters.”
ZFA CEO Alon Cassuto said, “We learned within days of the 7 October massacre that at least one of the Hamas attackers had UNRWA identity papers discovered on his body. What surprises us is the length of time it took for the UN to admit this.”
Mr Cassuto continued, “UNRWA has been an obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace for decades. UNRWA’s culture is corrupt and supportive of terrorism. A Telegraph channel with over 3000 UNRWA teachers praised the 7 October massacre. UNRWA teachers and school books are on record as praising Palestinian terrorists as heroes.”
