It is time to address another problem that exists in Gaza but is making less noise in mainstream media. For decades, UNRWA schools have indoctrinated Palestinians with hatred, promoting the antisemitic ideologies which are the same for Hamas as they were for Nazi Germany.
As of June 2022, there were an estimated 40.7 million people denominated as “refugees” in the world, 35.3 million of whom fall under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The remaining estimated 5.4 million are Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. They however, fall under their own exclusive refugee agency.
The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants only. UNRWA is the only refugee agency in the world that caters to third- and fourth-generation refugees (Palestinians), millions of whom have never lived in the territories they are considered refugees from.
UNRWA data says it has set up 706 schools, employs 19,725 educational staff, and works in over 320,000 medical facilities. Supposing one can ignore the fact that this agency is perpetuating Palestinian suffering by preventing the population from acclimating anywhere else, it would appear that UNRWA is trying to do honest and noble work.
The issue, however, is that UNRWA oversees a big part of Gaza’s education system, and for years, UNRWA-sanctioned textbooks contained material that encouraged and glorified terrorism.
UN Watch and IMPACT-SE published a report in March 2023 revealing that 133 UNRWA educators and staff were found to promote hate and violence on social media. Since 2015, UNRWA staff have published incitement to antisemitism and jihadi terrorism on their own Facebook pages. The report also revealed that 82 UNRWA teachers in 30 schools were involved in drafting, supervising, approving, printing, and distributing hateful material to Palestinian students.
Hamas indoctrinating next generation with hate
Hamas’s modus operandi after it took control of Gaza in 2007 was to indoctrinate the next generation of Palestinians, and with UNRWA’s help, it has been successful.
Since October 7, the true colors of UNRWA staff came out in a telegram channel with 3,000 UNRWA teachers in Gaza. The UNRWA teachers wrote messages in support of Hamas’s massacre on October 7, calling the Hamas infiltrators “heroes.” They shared images of dead or captured Israelis and called for the execution of hostages. One “teacher” even urged Gazan civilians not to move out of harm’s way following IDF warnings and instead become human shields.
UNRWA’s culpability with Hamas terrorists goes even deeper than just education and indoctrination.
Since the IDF began their ground operation in Gaza, they found Hamas’ military equipment hidden in schools. The IDF also discovered Hamas Nukhba military ballistic vests hidden in UNRWA bags in a medical clinic in Gaza. One of the hostages released from Gaza revealed that he was held for nearly 50 days in an attic by a teacher from UNRWA (a Gazan doctor held another one).
A Gazan resident told the IDF (in a published recording) that Hamas has control over UNRWA, which is how the terror group has been stealing all the supplies. “Hamas has their hands on UNRWA administration workers, and it manages UNRWA,” he alleged. “From the day they [Hamas] rose to power, they took control of everything.”
At this point, UNRWA has become fully responsible for allowing indoctrination and antisemitism to fester in Palestinian society, is actively helping Hamas terrorists and holding Israeli hostages, and has perpetuated the Palestinian refugee crisis since 1949.
UNRWA’s indoctrination curriculum has grave real-life consequences.
Public opinion polls by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey research show that the majority of Palestinians are satisfied with Hamas and its leaders, Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh. Additional research has shown that over 90% of Palestinians polled do not believe that Hamas committed the atrocities on October 7, despite the overwhelming evidence and footage that Hamas themselves recorded. The research speaks for itself, as support for Hamas has about tripled since October 7. Right now, if the Palestinians held elections, Hamas would easily win in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
In addition, Palestinian psychiatrist Eyad al-Sarraj once found that 36% of Palestinian children aspired to “die a martyr’s death.” Clinical psychologist Shafiq Masalha wrote that 12% of Palestinian children dreamed of becoming suicide bombers during the Second Intifada.
In a recent report from the Gaza Strip, the IDF’s Col. Elad Shushan, head of the 646th Brigade, stated, “There is not a UNRWA site, school, mosque, or kindergarten in which we didn’t find weapons. None.”
At this point, UNRWA is just as problematic as Hamas in Gaza, and it is the only organization in the world not held accountable for these actions. It is time the world wakes up and questions whether or not UNRWA is serving the Palestinians or making things worse for them.
The writer is a social media activist with more than 10 years of experience working for Israeli and Jewish causes and cause-based NGOs. She is co-founder and COO of Social Lite Creative, a digital marketing firm specializing in geopolitics.