The Trump Administration has announced that it will be cutting all U.S. funding to the United Nations agency charged with caring for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East). The UNRWA provides over 5 million Palestinian refugees with a wide variety of social services, including education, food aid, housing, and medical care. As of 2017, the US was the largest contributor to the UNRWA by providing approximately $364 million, a third of the total budget.
The comprehensive cuts to funding are the result of, according to the Trump Administration, a need to curb “inadequate fiscal practices and the UNRWA’s endlessly and exponentially expanding community of entitled beneficiaries”, though they did express concern for the well-being of innocent Palestinian children, among others. Despite concerns over the UNRWA, the lack of a comprehensive peace plan and Israeli concerns over possible unrest in Gaza and the West Bank - as reports have surfaced that schools could close within weeks due to a lack of funding - will likely lead to a greater humanitarian crisis.
As Christians, we affirm the dignity of all human beings made in the image of God. We believe vulnerable people should be protected, not harmed.
Voicing our concern for the poor and vulnerable will let the Trump Administration that faith communities in the United States care deeply for the wellbeing of Palestinian refugees, and that the dismantling of the UNRWA would only further exacerbate a worsening humanitarian crisis.
Ask the Trump Administration to continue to fund the UNRWA & support Palestinian refugees!
Read a Backgrounder or return to the Office of Social Justice website.