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In response to findings of the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) that 9 UNRWA employees were involved in the crimes of the October 7th attacks on Israel which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,100 Israelis, the Simon Wiesenthal Center has reiterated its call for the closure of UNRWA and the creation of a new agency to provide for the humanitarian and educational needs of the Palestinian people, free from complicity in anti-Semitic activity.
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, SWC Associate Dean, and Global Social Action Director stated, “Now, the UN’s own Inspector General has acknowledged what Israel and others have long known, that UNRWA’s own staff participated in the October 7th attacks on Israel. It is long overdue that the 60+ countries that finance UNRWA defund this agency that actively foments anti-Semitic hate and violence and replace it with a new agency that can address the educational and humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people without the hate.”
Rabbi Cooper noted that OIOS only investigated nineteen UNRWA staff members, and still found 9 as having participated in the crimes of October 7th; a rate of 47%. “There is credible evidence that the moral rot of UNRWA extends to hundreds of other employees, as well as its deeply anti-Semitic and inciteful educational content. We call on those countries that still finance UNRWA to take a hard look at its toxic culture and pursue alternative vehicles for Palestinian humanitarian assistance.”
For further information, please email Michele Alkin, Director of Global Communications at malkin@wiesenthal.com or Erik Simon at esimon@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization. It holds consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS, and the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO).
