Schakowsky Introduces Bill to Fund Terror-linked UNRWA; J Street Supports

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and other “progressive” Democrats have introduced legislation to restore U.S. funding to the terror-linked United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) despite the fact that several of its employees participated in the Hamas terror attack against Israel on October 7.

The legislation, called the “UNRWA Funding Emergency Restoration Act of 2024,” is almost certain to fail, meaning it is only a symbolic gesture, but a bizarre one.

Then-President Donald Trump cut funding to UNRWA in 2018 amid concerns that it encourages conflict, because it indoctrinates Palestinian children to hate Israel and Jews, and perpetuates the idea that Israel will disappear.

President Joe Biden restored over $700 million to UNRWA after taking office.

After October 7, as evidence emerged that several UNRWA employees had taken part in the deadly terror attack, and that thousands more had cheered it on, the Biden administration suspended funding, as did several other countries.

After a faulty “investigation” that cleared UNRWA — and to which Israel objected — several countries, but not the U.S., restored funding to the agency. Subsequently, UNRWA admitted that nine of its employees may have been involved in the October 7 attack. One of them was specifically accused of abducting a dead Israeli’s body to Gaza.

Still, Schakowsky — whose district includes a large Jewish community — and her colleagues want to force the issue.

In a statement, Schakowsky and other “progressive” Democrats said (emphasis removed):

The United States has historically been one of the largest financial supporters of UNRWA, which serves nearly 6 million Palestinian refugees across the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. In March of this year, the U.S. paused UNRWA funding after the Israeli government alleged that 12 agency employees had direct involvement in Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack. Following the UN’s investigation and proactive commitments made by UNRWA toward complete accountability and reform, all countries except the U.S. have resumed their UNRWA funding, including the European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Finland, Germany, Japan, and Sweden. Approximately 1.9 million people – 9 in 10 Gazans – have been displaced at least once, and an estimated 43,580 are pregnant women. UNRWA has served as the primary humanitarian aid organization operating in Gaza, and without funding, hundreds of thousands of Gaza civilians are left vulnerable. It is estimated that over 1 million Gazans will not have enough food this month, and availability of basic hygiene items has dropped to 15%. In addition to a polio outbreak, Gazans are suffering from malnutrition and treatable diseases due to “systematic dismantling of healthcare”from bombardments on civilians. “For decades, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has been a lifeline for Palestinians, providing food, clean water, healthcare, shelter, education, and livelihoods. Today, UNRWA remains the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza as it endures ongoing war and a dire humanitarian crisis. UNRWA and the United Nations have taken swift and decisive actions to address the concerns raised by the U.S. government when it paused funding in January and our allies have all resumed funding for UNRWA. The U.S. must follow suit and resume funding for this critical humanitarian agency,” said Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. “I am proud to co-lead the UNRWA Funding Emergency Restoration Act to restore funding to UNRWA and help Gazans get the humanitarian assistance they need at a time of unprecedented crisis.”

Notably, the statement did not deny that UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7 terror attack.

The far-left, George Soros-funded J Street organization supports the legislation. J Street claims to be “pro-Israel, pro-peace,” but typically opposes Israel in Congress. In this case, it is supporting a bill that will fund a terror-linked group with the blood of Israeli civilians on its hands.

“Aid workers with ties to terrorists are abhorrent. They should always be rooted out and held to account. But they are the exception. Punishing children and an entire civilian population for the purported sins of a few is not only wrong – it’s immensely dangerous,” said J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami.

Israel has said that UNRWA will have no role in postwar Gaza and that it must be replaced by other agencies.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
Full disclosure: the author ran against Schakowsky in 2010.