Fixing UNRWA: Repairing the UN's Troubled System of Aid...

[Mosby]

UNRWA -- is it part of the solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict or part of the problem?

The humanitarian aspect of the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas has cast a fresh spotlight on the presence in Gaza of the nearly sixty-year-old United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), raising important questions about why the UN still operates schools, hospitals, and clinics for "refugees" six decades after the partition of Mandatory Palestine.

UNRWA began providing assistance to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon in May 1950, in the wake of the 1947-1949 Arab-Israeli war. Since then, the organization has survived wars, coups, uprisings, and, in Gaza and the West Bank, even the creation of the first-ever Palestinian governing body -- the Palestinian Authority -- which operates in parallel with, not in place of, UNRWA institutions.

Over the course of its long history, UNRWA has rarely been the subject of comprehensive external evaluation, and virtually nothing has been written on the organization's strategy and operations by a senior staff member with knowledge of how UNRWA actually works.

This path-breaking study by James G. Lindsay, UNRWA's former general counsel, offers one of the first insider accounts of the organization. In it, Lindsay analyzes the agency's evolution over the past half century, evaluates recent criticisms of its operations, and recommends bold new policies for the U.S. government -- UNRWA's largest single-country donor -- that will help repair an aid and relief system that has strayed from its original mission.

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC04.php?CID=306

[Idealism]

1. Thats why Israel bombed the UN buildings?

They wanted to help "fix" UNRWA?

What else should we expect from a WINEP article? It is a child of AIPAC's leadership...

[Shaktimaan]

3. i sense some sarcasm there.

What else should we expect from a WINEP article? It is a child of AIPAC's leadership...

This statement has me confused though. What do you mean, "What else should we expect..."? This link was just posted on Thursday and I just started reading it, the thing is like 70 pages long. Have you even finished enough of this report yet to really disagree with it?

It was written by someone who has dedicated a significant portion of his life to helping the Palestinians. He actually retired early from the Justice Department to work for the UNRWA and he was there for nearly 10 years. You can think what you want of the WIMEP, but this guy is anything but an AIPAC shill. (The first page of the report even includes a disclaimer saying that its opinions are those of its author alone and doesn't necessarily reflect WIMEP's positions. I realize that they would have probably just not published it if they disagreed with its content, however it indicates that they did not dictate any of Lindsay's conclusions either.)

Now is there any specific criticism that you'd like to make of the report or any of Mr. Lindsay's conclusions? Surely you aren't taking issue just with the title or subject matter? I'd be pretty surprised if you thought that the UNRWA wasn't in need of some serious advice, (at the very least). The agency isn't so controversial for no reason at all, you know.

But at the very least, make sure you read the fucking thing before you slam it.

[Scurrilous]

2. American Jewish Leaders Ease Up Campaign Against United Nations

Groups Seeking To Avoid Conflict With the Obama Administration Over Palestinian Aid

<snip>

"National Jewish leaders have pulled back on their long-standing campaign against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which provides humanitarian services for Palestinian refugees — an early sign of caution in confronting a new administration, and of Congress’s determination reshape the country’s stance toward the U.N. more favorably.

The Jewish leaders’ push to reform UNWRA was once seen as a key component of their Middle East lobbying agenda. But last month, a congressional resolution calling for reforming the agency — though toned down from previous years — received a lukewarm welcome from Jewish organizations.

The administration, meanwhile, has sent out clear signals that it is supporting the agency, and that it views it as the central channel for providing aid to Palestinians. Last month, UNRWA received a $13.5 million cash boost from the Obama administration in order to help Gaza refugees rebuild after the devastation left by Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s recent military onslaught in Gaza.

More recently, UNWRA’s humanitarian efforts in Gaza came to a brief halt for reasons that seemed to undercut, at least partially, the Jewish establishment’s claim that the agency condones extremism. On February 6, UNRWA announced that it was suspending its Gaza work because Hamas — the Islamist group that rules the district and opposes Israel’s very existence — had seized 10 truckloads of aid that were to be distributed by the aid agency. The aid work was resumed February 9, after Hamas returned the stolen supplies.

The agency and its practices in the West Bank and Gaza have been a subject of continuous criticism in the Jewish community, which had widely supported previous legislative efforts to curb UNRWA’s actions and enforce stricter scrutiny on its operations.In the past, AIPAC hosted a presentation on the issue and supported efforts to take the debate over UNRWA’S work to Capitol Hill. This year, a congressional proposal on the issue is taking a more moderate approach, yet the community remains wary.

On January 28, New Jersey Democrat Steven Rothman introduced a nonbinding resolution calling for better accountability in UNRWA and ensuring that the agency does not serve terrorists either as employees or beneficiaries. As of February 10, the resolution had 11 co-sponsors, a relatively small number.

The resolution calls on the secretary of state to ensure that American funding for UNRWA does not pay salaries for terrorists. It stops short of threatening to halt American funding for the agency.

A recent study of UNRWA that is sponsored by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank generally perceived as sympathetic to Israel, found no evidence of direct involvement of employees in terrorist activity, but it criticized its screening process for such people."

more

[Vegasaurus]

4. UNRWA is partially responsible for keeping the Palesitnians in eternal misery

They are not returning to Israel.

Keeping them as refugees on the global dole does not help them.

It is high time to look at this organization and how it keeps the Palestinians as victims, instead of helping them improve their lives.