Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), representing over 2,500 traditional, Orthodox rabbis in American public policy, welcomed today’s decision by the Israeli Knesset to ban UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, from operations in Israel and official meetings with state officials. CJV called upon United States  and European officials to reverse their objections to Israel’s move.

CJV President Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld issued the following statement:

For years, UNRWA has functioned as the United Nations’ terror organization. It has paid salaries to terrorists, permitted Hamas to use school buildings as weapons depots and command centers, and employed teachers to glorify terrorism, demonize Israelis, and incite antisemitism. Each of these occurred too often and in too diverse circumstances for officials to claim they did not know and did not condone these activities.

United States officials, like all decent Americans, should welcome and endorse Israel’s decision to reject the organization despite—or perhaps because of—its affiliation with the antisemitic United Nations. It is not Israel’s fault that there is no credible agency operating in Gaza devoid of deep ties to hatred and violence, and support for terror serves no humanitarian cause. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken should be working to fill the gap rather than threatening Israel with consequences for its morally correct decision.

Image credit: Roman Deckert on Wikimedia