8,000 plaintiffs file lawsuit in District of Columbia demanding permanent defunding of UNRWA

[Elderberry]

JNS by Amelie Botbol

“UNRWA is a disaster for both Israel and the Palestinians. In fact, the Palestinians deserve a lot better than UNRWA.”

More than 8,000 plaintiffs, including 1,500 dual American-Israeli citizens and 6,500 Israelis, have filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia demanding permanent defunding of the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Robert J. Tolchin in Brooklyn and Nitsana Darshan-Leitner in Tel Aviv.

“UNRWA is a disaster for both Israel and the Palestinians. In fact, the Palestinians deserve a lot better than UNRWA. They deserve an organization that will not designate them as refugees indefinitely,” Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, founder of Shurat HaDin—Israel Law Center, an Israeli-based civil rights organization that has represented hundreds of terror victims in many lawsuits, told JNS.

“If UNRWA keeps teaching Palestinians that one day they will return to their homes in Tel Aviv, Acre and Haifa, and continue feeding the illusion of the right of return, Palestinians will never have a chance at a better life,” she added.

The U.S. is a major funder of UNRWA. In 2023 alone, U.S. support for UNRWA reached a record high of $422 million. Deprived of it, UNRWA could collapse which is the goal of the lawsuit, especially in light of UNRWA’s terror involvement.

“Twelve UNRWA workers were directly involved in Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200. They murdered Israelis. One was even filmed abducting the remains of Ayelet Samerano’s son, Jonathan,” Darshan-Leitner said.

“The IDF found rocket launchers, missiles and tunnels inside and underneath UNRWA’s facilities. They found Hamas’s servers inside UNRWA’s headquarters. This is evidence of the pivotal role that UNRWA plays in Hamas’s operations,” she added.

UNRWA’s involvement goes beyond the atrocities that took place in southwestern Israel on Oct. 7. While 10% of UNRWA’s employees are confirmed Hamas terrorists, half of the workforce identifies with Hamas, with more than 6,000 Hamas members related to UNRWA workers.

More: https://www.jns.org/8000-plaintiffs-file-lawsuit-in-district-of-columbia-demanding-permanent-defunding-of-unrwa/

[Hoodat]

It's a shame they have to file suit to get this done.  Common sense is a rarity in today's Washington.

[PeteS in CA]

Do Federal courts have this authority over Congress, short of something unconstitutional?

UNRWA should have been de-funded by Congress decades ago, when it became clear their "school" taught antisemitism and their construction materials were being used for tunnel construction.