UNRWA USA (separate from UNRA) sent out a letter requesting donations to help Palestinians after the recent conflict with Israel. The letter described the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza, blaming “55 hours of intense airstrikes” by the IDF. The letter claimed that ten children were killed in these airstrikes. It should be noted that video evidence proved without a doubt that more civilian deaths in Gaza were the result of Islamic Jihad rockets falling inside Gaza.
The appeal was sent and signed by UNRWA USA’s “Director of Philanthropy,” Hani Almadhoun who added that the conflict in Gaza had caused him a personal loss. He noted that he had learned of the death of a 26-year-old relative, the “victim of the unprovoked attacks”, from media reports.
Elder of Ziyon, a pro-Israel blogger, noted a report on the Palestinian news site, Pal Today. The news report posted an announcement by the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine, showing 12 of its terrorist members killed in the recent conflict. The report described them as “mujahideen”, an Arabic term that refers to people who engage in jihad, a holy war in the name of Islam. In this case, they died while fighting “the Zionist entity.
The article praised them as “shahid”, martyrs in a holy war.
“The blood of the martyrs will remain a shining lamp for the mujahideen towards the path of pride and dignity, the path of Jerusalem and the liberated Al-Aqsa,” the article wrote, calling on others to “follow the same path by moving forward in the path of resistance until the liberation of all of our beloved Palestine.”
There were only two 26-year-old men killed in Gaza. One Al Quds Brigade “martyr” listed was 26-year-old Mohamed Ahmed Abdel-Fattah Al-Madhoun, coincidentally the same age as the relative of the UNRWA USA’s relative and bearing the same last name as the UNRWA USA representative.
If the relative referenced by Hani Almadhoun was indeed the Al Quds Brigade terrorist, this means that UNRWA USA is raising money by invoking the deaths of Islamic Jihad terrorists. It would also mean that a UNRWA official has a close relative in Islamic Jihad who he does not decry. In any case, raising money based on false accusations against Israel could be libelous and is absolutely reprehensible.
“UNRWA-USA raises some $4 million annually,’ Elder of Ziyon wrote. “Is anyone checking where that money goes?”
DISCLAIMER: This article is not making any definitive accusations against UNRWA USA or its officials. This article is noting facts and calls on UNRWA to address these facts.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: The editorial staff would like to thank Elder of Ziyon. He does amazing work at calling attention to anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. He monitors Arab media and frequently calls attention to information that is of vital interest.
