The organization has come to symbolize not hope for peace but the rage of a schoolyard bully.
by James Wilson, WESTERN JOURNALISM
American taxpayers contribute $400 million yearly to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine. The funds buy school textbooks for Palestinian children. The textbooks — supplied for all ages — call the founding of modern Israel a disaster of biblical proportions and look forward to the “end of days” when Muslims will eliminate Jews from the Earth. They are shot through and through with incitements to extermination Israelis in particular and Jews in general. Hitler would be proud of his spiritual children.
The issue is not whether Palestinians are entitled to teach their children whatever they wish, however disgusting that may be to civilized people. The issue is co-opting people who do not share these views to fund them. The vast majority of Americans are repulsed by the hate with which these books and their teachers indoctrinate the children under their control.
There are now several initiatives navigating Congress; some would defund the U.N. altogether while others would do so until and unless the organization backs off its most egregious anti-Israel activities.
The notion of defunding the United Nations has been around since the 1950s. It has gained and lost traction over the years, depending on how outrageous this or that U.N. act is perceived and by how many people.
Until recently, its popularity was limited to fringe groups within the American public, but it is now an idea whose time has come.
The United States gives not millions but billions each year to the United Nations.
We are the most generous supporters of UNICEF, the U.N.’s educational and relief agency that just declared — against all logic, history, archaeology and anthropology — that Jews have no connection to Jerusalem, its Temple Mount or any other sacred sites in their homeland of four thousand years.
The money we give to UNWRA funds more than textbooks; the agency has been exposed multiple times for storing Hamas weapons in its Gaza facilities.
America provides the free use of prime Manhattan real estate and the buildings we built on it to house the U.N.; we supply one-quarter of the budget for this collage of some 200 nations who collectively supply the remainder.
The simple math is we give roughly 70 times the average assessment.
The trigger for this latest move is the incredible Security Council Resolution 2334, which declares Israel in illegal occupation of Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem. The Obama administration instructed its ambassador to abstain from the vote, allowing the measure to pass on a 14-0 vote. The resolution cites features of the Geneva Convention that do not even exist — I read it — as its justification. It ignores the fact that Israel simply retook land it had owned for millennia after those who occupied it at that time attacked Israel.
A month earlier, the General Assembly adopted six resolutions condemning Israel and claiming, like UNICEF, it had no historic ties — again defying logic, history and science — to lands claimed by Palestinians.
America’s current government — administration and Congress — is signaling it has had enough.
I am a proud supporter of Israel, as are most Americans. However, Israel’s interests are not — standing alone — sufficient grounds to defund the United Nations. The long history of a U.N. living rent-free on land belonging to a nation of whom a majority find U.N. values repugnant and U.N. behavior arrogant beyond belief is more than sufficient grounds.
The American Congress and its new administration are coming to this stance for the first time. They see the United Nations turning a blind eye to honor killings and using children for soldiers and wives against their will at the same time they allow one party to a conflict to store weapons in U.N. facilities while denouncing the other side for protecting its borders and civilian population. They see that body catering to military dictators and totalitarian theocracies while ganging up on the only democratically elected government — the jury is still out on Iraq — in the Middle East.
The U.N. was conceived in great promise as a guarantor of peace on Earth. Unfortunately for the believers in a secularized peace, the organization has come to symbolize not hope for peace but the rage of the biggest bully on the schoolyard.
The lesson to be learned is that the sole guarantor of peace on Earth is the One who gave His life to procure it. It is imperative that humankind understand there is no peace on our own terms; alternatives are idols that lead only to the chaos we currently see. Let us sacrifice our sacred cows — our idols — today, beginning with the United Nations.
The views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by the owners of this website.
@ David Bedein:
Too many conditions and the UN already is controlled by the SuShi Islamists who will temporize, procrastinate and CHEAT. Remember that Saddam corrupted the whole UN with the willing participation of the Europeans!!! Just cancel the support for UNRWA and move the Sunnis of IL to UNHCR! The EU NGOs and the SuShi can always offer their financial support to the “Pal”.
It is extremely likely that Hamas with the support of Iran & Qatar will reject anything that bring security to Israel.
A US-Russia entente is necessary in spite of the US left pseudo-intellectual fascism.
All that UNRWA is good for is to perpetuate the esistence of the so-called Palestinian refugees and incite their hatred of Israel, and to feed their dream of eventual return. No other refugees in the world have had or have such a benefit – including the Jews who were forced out of Arab lands with only the shirts on their backs. The USA should cease funding that terrorist-producing organization. While they are at it, the USA should also stop funding UNESCO, an organization that is delegitmizing Israel. However, the USA MUST maintain its position on the Security Council to be in a position to do what that S.O.B. Hussein Obama DIDN’T do, so whatever funding is required to maintain its general and S.C. status as a member is an absolute necessity.
The U.N. a useless organization – Issues Non-binding resolutions with no legal standing
In a Democratic legal system if you have decision that you think is erroneous or unjust you can appeal that decision and many times it is reversed.
U.N. opinions and or resolutions are (non-binding) biased, unjust, arbitrary and capricious (the same apply to the ICJ – International Court of Justice).
The U.N. has issued numerous opinions and non-binding resolutions that are biased, unsubstantiated and contrary to historical and factual evidence. This U.N. collusion with corrupt and biased countries and the issuance of non-binding egregious opinions and resolution has eroded the credibility of the U.N. beyond repair.
This has raised the ire and an outcry by many nations, politicians and institutions to de-fund the U.N. and dismantle it.
It is well known that the U.N. and the ICJ can only offer and issue a non-binding advisory recommended opinions and resolutions which carry no legal standing or affect. They can only issue a non-binding recommendation and resolution and if it is accepted by all parties in writing, then their recommended opinion and resolution is applicable (Provided the parties abide by the terms). Otherwise it has no meaning, validity, and no legal standing.
Therefore, my suggestion is stop panicking and aggrandizing these biased criminal organizations. Their recommended non-binding opinion has no meaningful value.
By reacting to and citing the non-binding recommendations of this criminal organization as having any validity, you are misleading the public that the recommended opinions by these criminal organizations might have some validity, which it does not.
It is time to expose the fraud and deception by these unethical, corrupt and unjust organizations and dismantle them completely.
It will also save a substantial amount of money and resources that could be put to a better use.
YJ Draiman
P.S. The League of Nations was replaced by the United Nations, since the league did not accomplish its purpose. The U.N. has not accomplished its purpose for what it was created to perform ethically and honestly.
In today’s society the Nations of the world can function without an organization such as the U.N.
If the Nations of the world desire to establish a new International Peace organization, it must put some very specific Charter, with a caveat, that if it is not performing unbiased, ethically, honestly and justly, with respect to each member country, it will be dismantled.
A citizens committee might be set to monitor its functions to perform ethically, justly and unbiased, un-falsified, verified and substantiated factual unbiased opinions.
YJ Draiman
As someone who has researched every aspect of UNRWA policy for 29 years I would like to suggest another approach.
If the US defunds UNRWA and influences a few others to do so, our agency has learned that certain Islamic countries will simply replace the US donation with their donation.
A more effective approach is for the US to led the way with donor nations to attach stringent conditions for UNRWA to receive its annual allocation:
In that context, the donor nations could address six policy challenges, which could guide a new way of UNRWA policy reform:
1. Ask for an audit of donor funds that flow to UNRWA. This would address widespread documented reports of wasted resources, duplicity of services and the undesired flow of cash to Gaza-based terror groups, which gained control over UNRWA operations in Gaza over the past 18 years.
http://israelbehindthenews.com/unrwa-gaza-terrorist-organizations-cooperativerelationship/
11632/
2. Introduce UNHCR standards to UNRWA, to advance the resettlement of Arab refugees, after 67 years. Current UNRWA policy is that refugee resettlement would interfere with the “right of return” to Arab villages that existed before 1948.
http://israelbehindthenews.com/library/pdfs/UNRWAchartcomparison.pdf
3. Cancel the new UNRWA curriculum, which incorporate principles of Jihad, martyrdom and an “right of return” by force of arms, in UN schools which are supposed to promote the UNRWA slogan of “Peace Starts Here.”
http://israelbehindthenews.com/see-pa-textbook-incitement-foryourself-funded-by-the-us-taxpayer/14375/
4. Cease paramilitary training in all UNRWA schools. Should UNRWA, as a UN agency, not demonstrate a renewed commitment to UN principles to “peace education”?
http://israelbehindthenews.com/israel-and-jews-in-the-newest-palestinian-authority-pa-schoolbookstaught-in-pa-and-unrwa-schools-de-legitimization-demonization-advocacy-of-violent-strugglerather-than-peace-of-jihad-martyrdo/14346/
5. Insist that UNRWA dismiss employees who are affiliated with Hamas, in accordance with laws on the books in western nations, which forbid aid to any agency that employs members of a terrorist organization.
http://israelbehindthenews.com/israel-and-jews-in-the-newest-palestinian-authoritypa-schoolbooks-taught-in-pa-and-unrwa-schools-de-legitimization-demonization-advocacy-ofviolent-struggle-rather-than-peace-of-jihad-martyrdo/14346/ and
http://israelbehindthenews.com/library/pdfs/UNRWA-SCHOOLS-IN-GAZA.pdf
6. Since UNRWA has recently hired a “youth ambassador” Mohammad Assaf, to travel the world and encourage insurrection and violence, would this not be the appropriate time for donor nations to ask that UNRWA cancel that contract with a harbinger of war?
http://israelbehindthenews.com/?s=mohammad+assaf+LYRICS
The Center for Near East Policy Research seeks sponsorship to conduct UNRWA policy reform briefings at all legislative bodies that donate to UNRWA.
Now this is so true, especially the last paragraph. The UN must be defunded and the money spent on making America great again, this of course can also only be done in the terms of the last paragraph.
De-fund U.N. now!