The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, better known as UNRWA, provides health care and education for more than five million displaced Palestinians in the Middle East. But UNRWA has been in the news a lot in the last few years, as several of its employees and teachers have been accused of sharing violent or disturbing antisemitic and anti-Israel content online.
This week, UN Watch, an organization based in Geneva, released a new report alleging 22 UNRWA teachers, principals and staff members have posted content on Facebook that glorifies terrorism, quotes Hitler or erases Israel from maps. UN Watch has released several similar reports in the past, finding more than 100 such cases since 2015.
Despite these claims, Canada is still on track to donate more than $90 million to UNRWA over the next three years.
Hillel Neuer, the Canadian-born executive director of UN Watch, joins to discuss his organization’s latest report and what he expects from the Canadian government.
What we talked about:
- Read the 60-page report, Beyond the Textbooks, at unwatch.org
- See examples of the antisemitic content UN Watch found at facebook.com/unwatch
- Learn more about UNWRA at unrwa.org
The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.