A video has emerged showing children at UNWRA describing how they were taught to murder Jews. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, which runs schools teaching Palestinian children and has a workforce of about 30,000 staff, was under fire recently as reports claimed that some staff members cooperated in or celebrated the terrorist attack on Israel last October. In the newly uncovered clips, which have spread online, children taught by UNWRA are seen telling interviewers that “Stabbing and trampling Jews brings respect to the Palestinians.”
Ifat Ovadia-Luski, Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, said UNWRA educators “teach hatred of Jews and incite against the State of Israel.”
The film was recorded in 2022 in the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem, and children’s textbooks from schools inside the camp were found to contain pictures of Palestinian terrorists who have “killed Israelis” and are lauded as heroes and “role models,” according to Ovadia-Luski.
In January, Israeli intelligence services claimed that around 1,200 UNWRA staff are linked to terror groups in the region. Israel presented evidence that 12 of its employees actively participated in the October 7 attack, prompting the US State Department to pause funding for the organization.
The Israeli intelligence dossier revealed that UNWRA members are closely involved with Hamas, which carried out the attack, and other militant terror groups, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Seven of those who reportedly took part on October 7 were school teachers, and others included social workers. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said they had been identified and their employment terminated.
When news of the views and activities of some UNWRA staff hit the headlines, the US, the UK, and several other countries – including Germany, Japan, Australia, Italy, Canada, Finland, and the Netherlands – announced a cessation of funding for the agency. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini condemned the action, saying it would exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
The United States is the largest donor to UNWRA, giving $344 million in 2022.
