This what it says on UNRWA's official homepage.

"UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) is a relief and human development agency, providing education, healthcare, social services and emergency aid to over four million refugees living in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and the Syrian Arab republic." (1)

This is what it doesn't say:

UNRWA does not say only ARAB or NON-JEWISH Palestine refugees. For one thing, it cannot as the UN Charter specifically says that:

"To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion." (2)

UNRWA does not say "refugees from Palestine," or "refugees to Palestine." It merely says " Palestine refugees."

UNRWA does not say "ONLY REFUGEES BEFORE OR AFTER A CERTAIN DATE."

UNRWA does not say "Palestinian." (The term "Palestinian" is a modern and deliberately contrived lie to trick the world into believing that Arabs/Muslims were the original "Palestinians." In fact, the Arabs/Muslims occupying Jewish Palestine adopted their lie in the mid 1960s. Before that, it was common knowledge that a "Palestinian" was usually a Jew and a resident of that area formerly known as Judea and renamed "Palestine" by the Roman conquerors as an insult to the Hebrew people.)

UNRWA's charter is a legal document. The United Nations writes legal documents in the same way everyone else does. There are no assumptions in legal documents. One cannot say "But I meant this..." What a legal document states is taken verbatim and is binding.

The UNRWA Charter consistently refers to " Palestine refugees" with absolutely no reference to their nationality, religion, race, gender, etc, again, because it cannot, due to the UN founding Charter.

Fact: There were over 900,000 Jewish refugees to Palestine from Arabs countries alone, over the past 60 years and UNRWA did not help a single one of them - in clear, flagrant and discriminatory violation of its own charter.

Fact: There were millions more Jewish refugees to Palestine from Europe and other places which UNRWA did not help.

Fact: Millions of Jews have birth certificates, marriage certificates and the like clearly stating " Palestine " as the place of issue. And the majority of these people were also refugees. UNRWA, against its own charter and the UN founding charter did not provide any aid or assistance to them, instead favoring some of the very people who made them refugees.

Fact: The US funds between 22-25% of UNRWA's budget. This means that the US is also responsible for these blatantly discriminatory practices. (3)

So what can be done?

First and foremost, UNRWA is obligated to start gearing up for the people about to be made refugees in their own land (designated by the world as " Palestine ") by the Israeli government. This means that UNRWA must aid and assist the residents of Gush Katif and the other towns in Gaza, Judea and Samaria (the West Bank ) slated for ethnic cleansing.

Second, UNRWA must take from its subsequent budgets, the monies it failed to allocate to Jewish refugees and give it to them - going all the way back to its founding. Even if it means that zero aid will be going to the Arabs/Muslims for a while. The Jewish refugees went without UNRWA aid for nearly 60 years.

Third, the US must immediately stop any and all monies to UNRWA until it changes its illegal discriminatory policies, as well as make reparations to those it discriminated against.

Fourth, any Jew who feels he or she has been discriminated against by UNRWA and its donor nations can and should file suit in civil court against UNWRA in addition to the donor nation. (Individuals wishing to file a lawsuit in US civil court should find it a fairly simple and inexpensive thing to do.)

Fifth, each and every administrator of UNRWA should be held criminally liable for deliberate and ongoing violations of the most heinous nature of UNWRA's charter.

Sixth, UNRWA itself must undergo a total overhaul to accommodate the entire group of people it discriminated against. This means replacing the current administration and field workers with people who understand and are sympathetic to Jewish causes and refugees, just as they now have such workers regarding Muslim and Arab clients.

Seventh, UNRWA must establish an office in those areas populated by the Jews they are obligated to help, just as it has done for the Arabs/Muslims.

I call on any and all Jewish advocacy groups, US and Israeli politicians, as well as any other interested parties to facilitate amending and correcting this gross and illegal injustice.

End Notes

(1) http://www.un.org/unrwa/

(2) Chapter 1, Article 1 of UN Charter: http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/

(3) "In FY 2004, the United States provided $127.4 million to UNRWA, and historically, the U.S. contribution has amounted to 22-25% of UNRWA's annual budget, the largest share of any donor nation." -- Congressman Eliot Engel, 17th District, NY
(www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ny17_engel/pr111704.html)

 
Beth Goodtree is a popular writer covering Middle East politics, national interests and also writes the occasional science and humor pieces. The article is archived at http://www.theraphi.com/bgoodtree/uthej.html

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