{"id":2211151,"date":"2024-04-02T07:30:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-02T11:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/defunding-unrwa-is-a-good-start-but-we-should-scrutinize-all-foreign-aid\/"},"modified":"2024-04-02T07:30:35","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T11:30:35","slug":"defunding-unrwa-is-a-good-start-but-we-should-scrutinize-all-foreign-aid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/defunding-unrwa-is-a-good-start-but-we-should-scrutinize-all-foreign-aid\/","title":{"rendered":"Cutting funds to UNRWA is a positive step, yet we must also review all international assistance"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdefunding-unrwa-is-a-good-start-but-we-should-scrutinize-all-foreign-aid%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2211151&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article \u200cdiscusses the need to reevaluate foreign \u200baid,\u2064 focusing on the UN&#8217;s questionable activities. It sheds light \u2063on the UNRWA&#8217;s involvement in supporting criminal acts, leading to calls for defunding the agency. The piece emphasizes \u2064the importance of scrutinizing all UN spending and highlights discrepancies between free nations and oppressive regimes within the\u200b organization. The article highlights the necessity of reassessing foreign aid \u200dwith a focus on the UN&#8217;s dubious \u200bactions. It exposes UNRWA&#8217;s role in \u200dbacking criminal behavior, prompting demands to cut its funding. The importance of reviewing all UN expenditure is stressed,\u200d along with pointing out disparities between democratic countries and oppressive states in the UN system.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>What if you found out that a local charity, one to which you are currently donating money, was actually using that cash to turn around to violently rob your closest friends and neighbors, commit arson, rape, and even murder among other despicable acts? What if you found out they were undermining your family\u2019s well-being while sticking up for known lawbreakers? Wouldn\u2019t you stop giving them money?<\/p>\n<p>Of course. Any reasonable person would. It is time America started embracing the same common-sense approach in how we spend money abroad, starting with the United Nations and its various agencies.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1788999224\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-adb461c46495a2069e647f710fa1c15e fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-adb461c46495a2069e647f710fa1c15e\"><\/div>\n<p>Look at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East \u2014 more commonly known by its acronym, UNRWA. While the group <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unrwa.org\/what-we-do\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">portrays itself<\/a> as a United Nations agency meant to help refugees with \u201cprimary and vocational education, primary health care, relief and social services, infrastructure and camp improvement, microfinance and emergency response,\u201d recent events have ripped its mask off and left U.S. policymakers with a clear moral and strategic imperative: defund it.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, information surfaced alleging at least a dozen UNRWA \u201caid\u201d workers took part in the brutal Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/01\/26\/middleeast\/unrwa-fires-staff-members-october-7-attacks-intl\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Their contracts were reportedly terminated<\/a>.\u00a0Then Israeli Defense Forces found <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/hamas-command-tunnel-unrwas-headquarters-gaza-israel-says\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hamas tunnels running right underneath UNRWA\u2019s headquarters<\/a> in Gaza City. <\/p>\n<p>This comes as little surprise to some of us. Even before the current war, UNRWA\u2019s true allegiance and aims have been hiding in plain sight for years. Speaking of tunnels, a Hamas terror tunnel was discovered under\u00a0a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/israels-un-envoy-blasts-discovery-of-gaza-tunnel-under-unrwa-school\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> UNRWA school<\/a> back in 2017. UNRWA <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HillelNeuer\/status\/1712518533207171448\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">teachers<\/a> have been known for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/unrwa-places-6-staffers-on-leave-for-incitement-in-social-media-posts\/#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations%20Relief%20and,and%20the%20Hamas%20terror%20group.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">inciting violence and hatred against Jews<\/a>. The group has been publicly called out for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/unrwa-textbooks-still-include-hate-antisemitism-despite-pledge-to-remove-watchdog\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">keeping antisemitism in its textbooks<\/a> despite pledging otherwise. In fact, the U.S. State Department itself determined in a 2021 report that the group had continued to incite antisemitic violence and hatred despite a massive influx of cash to fix the issue.<\/p>\n<p>Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant calls the organization \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/israeli-defense-minister-dozens-unrwa-staff-took-part-hamas-oct-7-massacre\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hamas with a facelift<\/a>.\u201d Given what we know, it\u2019s hard to argue. As a result, several countries, <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/6589373\/us-suspends-funding-unrwa-hamas-staff-involvement-claims\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">including the United States<\/a>, suspended their funding in light of the controversy. Congress went a step further and defunded the agency in its most recent spending package, which is one of the few positives of that $1.2 trillion monstrosity.<\/p>\n<p>However, given the long-standing American policy of self-defeating self-sacrifice that has sustained UNRWA\u2019s funding for so long, Congress would be wise to prohibit funds from ever going to the agency again via statute.<\/p>\n<p>But while cutting off UNRWA\u2019s funding is a good start, we cannot stop there. We need to apply the same kind of scrutiny to the rest of our United Nations spending.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-e1a236653f2d1ec18cd5939772366848 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-e1a236653f2d1ec18cd5939772366848\"><\/div>\n<p>There is something obscene about an organization that treats as equals the representatives of free, rights-respecting countries and those of authoritarian or even totalitarian regimes.\u00a0What does the relatively free world in America, Europe, or Asia, have in common with the warmongers, the oppressors like Russia, China, Iran, and Cuba?\u00a0Look no further than the facts that Iran, one of the world\u2019s worst human rights abusers, currently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/irans-appointment-chair-un-rights-meeting-draws-condemnation-2023-11-02\/#:~:text=Iran's%20ambassador%20to%20the%20U.N.,rights%20council%20spokesperson%20told%20Reuters.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">heads its so-called \u201chuman rights\u201d council<\/a>. At the same time, and unsurprisingly, this council, and the UN as a whole, has <a href=\"https:\/\/unwatch.org\/database\/problems\/unhrc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">historically dedicated itself<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HillelNeuer\/status\/1744672091536818301\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">disproportionately <\/a>attacking Israel.<\/p>\n<p>And make no mistake, they would do the same to the United States if not for our veto power. <\/p>\n<p>The United States has nothing to gain, and much to lose, from lending credence and financial support to such an organization \u2014 an organization whose history and performance make it much more suited to be headquartered in Caracas or Moscow than in New York City. This is but one example of the nature of American foreign policy over the last few decades \u2014 one geared toward appeasement and self-sacrifice for the sake of our enemies, and divorced from our interests and espoused beliefs.<\/p>\n<p>America must learn to reject self-sacrifice as a basis of our foreign policy. If individual Americans want to engage in charity toward organizations or individuals in foreign lands, they are free to do so. It is not and should never be the role of the U.S. government to do so.  <\/p>\n<p>Rather, America should orient its foreign policy to a single goal: protecting American lives, property, and vital interests.\u00a0We should stand against our enemies. We should morally support our allies and protect our citizens\u2019 interests. <\/p>\n<p>In such a world, U.S. foreign aid would be a tiny fraction of what it is, and many of our troops would be home. Our enemies should fear us, all others should respect us, but Americans would be safe. Permanently defunding UNRWA will by no means achieve all of these ends, but it is a good start, and we must continue the work with all due haste.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f80a8e25b2af9046c3d97044cca31192 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f80a8e25b2af9046c3d97044cca31192\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1d4c632a2ab783e451110981193c7fe8 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1d4c632a2ab783e451110981193c7fe8\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Imagine discovering that a charity you support is using donations for criminal activities like robbery, arson, rape, and murder. What if this organization jeopardizes the safety of your loved ones and undermines your family&#8217;s welfare? Such revelations would be devastating and call for immediate action to safeguard your community and values<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3016,"featured_media":2211152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/UN_General_Assembly_bldg_flags.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2211151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/UN_General_Assembly_bldg_flags.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2211151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3016"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2211151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2211151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2211152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2211151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2211151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2211151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}