U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) joined Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) and nineteen other colleagues in cosponsoring the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Accountability and Transparency Act which would cut United Nation’s funding over allegations of antisemitism. The legislation comes in the wake of the attacks on the people of Israel by the terrorist group Hamas.
The Trump Administration previously pulled U.S. funding from the controversial agency in 2018 over its institutional antisemitism that has included the indoctrination of Palestinian children against Israel and the U.S. and to embrace terrorism, but the Biden State Department restored the funds.
“President (Donald) Trump defunded UNRWA because of its ties to antisemites and terrorists,” said Sen. Tuberville. “Joe Biden came in and cut UNRWA a big check for nearly a billion dollars. The contrast couldn’t be clearer. Now our closest ally, Israel, is under attack by Hamas terrorists. It’s time we do what President Trump did and restrict the flow of American tax dollars to UNRWA.”
This legislation would cease U.S. contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, a successor entity, or to the U.N. regular budget for the support of UNRWA unless the Secretary of State certifies every 180 days to Congress that UNRWA meets strict accountability and transparency criteria.
The Senators assert that the UNRWA has a history of employing individuals affiliated with Hamas, an Iranian-backed, U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Additionally, UNRWA schools have been used to store Hamas weapons and promote anti-Semitic education in their textbooks.
The Biden Administration restarted funding and has thus far provided more than $682 million to UNRWA.
The UNRWA Accountability and Transparency Act would:
· Ensure that UNRWA refugees are true refugees and do not have citizenship in other countries
· Require that the U.S. withholds UNRWA contributions unless the Secretary of State certifies every 180 days that the following conditions are met:
· No UNRWA employee, consultant, contractor, etc., has ties to a foreign terrorist organization, including Hamas engaged in terrorist activity propagated or disseminated anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-Semitic material express support for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)
· No UNRWA facility has been used by a foreign terrorist organization or as a tunnel for terrorist activities
· UNRWA is subject to a comprehensive audit by an independent third party agreed to by the PA and Israel
· No UNRWA facility uses textbooks or other educational material that is anti-American, anti-Israel or anti-Semitic
· No recipient of UNRWA funds or loans is a member of a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) or engaged in terrorist activities
· UNRWA holds no accounts or other affiliation with financial institutions that the US considers to be complicit in money laundering or terrorist financing
· Does not allow the US to contribute more money to UNRWA than the highest amount contributed by a member of the League of Arab States or more than the proportion that the US contributes to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
· Requires a report by the Secretary of State on progress made
Congressman Mike Rogers (R-AL03) has gone much further, calling for the U.S. to get out of the United Nations altogether and has introduced legislation the that effect.
“The UN has repeatedly proven itself to be an utterly useless organization & the WHO lost all credibility when they chose to put public health second to the Chinese Communist Party,” Rogers said. “My legislation would withdraw the U.S. from the UN & WHO.”
Tuberville serves as a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees. He was elected to the Senate in 2020.
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