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US President Joe Biden has resumed funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) after receiving a commitment from the refugee organisation to take a “zero tolerance” to Antisemitism, racism or discrimination.
A U.S. official stated this week that UNRWA has “made clear their rock-solid commitments to the United States on the issues of transparency, accountability, and neutrality in all its operations. And what neutrality means in the context of the United Nations is zero tolerance for racism, discrimination, and Antisemitism”.
UNRWA has also pledged to ensure that its funds will not be transferred to individuals engaged in terror or used to support terror. UNRWA has for years faced criticism for mismanagement and its use of the Palestinian Authority’s school curriculum which features Antisemitic and violent content.
President Donald Trump ended assistance to UNRWA in 2018, on the grounds that the agency – which uniquely in the world counts all descendants of original refugees from 1948 to also be refugees – perpetuated the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The $135 million donation brings the total US contribution to the agency to $313.8 million for 2021, which is close to the annual $360 million it had received before the Trump administration cut US funding.
Israel’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Ambassador to the United States, Gilad Erdan, criticised the announcement: “I have expressed my disappointment and objection to the decision to renew UNRWA’s funding without first ensuring that certain reforms, including stopping the incitement and removing Antisemitic content from its educational curriculum, are carried out”.
