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Tuesday, October 5, 2004
ZOA Urges US to Halt Funding to UNRWA

October 4, 2004
Contact: (212) 481-1500

Attn: NEWS EDITOR

ZOA: HALT U.S. AID TO UNRWA, U.N. AGENCY
THAT AIDS TERRORISTS AGAINST ISRAEL

NEW YORK- The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is urging the Bush
administration to halt U.S. aid to UNRWA - more than $100-million annually -
because of that U.N. agency's aid to Palestinian Arab terrorists against
Israel.

Palestinian Arab terrorists were this week videotaped loading what
appears to be a rocket into a UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency)
vehicle in Gaza. It was the latest in a long series of instances in which
UNRWA was found to be collaborating with the terrorists against Israel.

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said: "UNRWA's long record of
collaborating with the terrorists against Israel is a gross violation of its
declared purpose, to provide humanitarian aid to refugees and undermines
America's war against terror. The time has come for the U.S. to suspend its
financial assistance to UNRWA. Let the wealthy Arab oil sheikhdoms shoulder
the burden of caring for their Arab brethren in those territories."

* Hamas Members on the UNRWA Payroll: UNRWA chief Peter Hansen told
Canada's CBC Television, "I am sure that there are Hamas members on the
UNRWA payroll and I don't see that as a crime. Hamas as a political
organization does not mean that every member is a militant and we do not do
political vetting and exclude people from one persuasion as against
another." In fact, the United States, Canada, and the European Union have
declared Hamas to be a terrorist organization. (Jerusalem Post, Oct.4,
2004)

* UNRWA Employee Transported Terrorists and Weapons: An Israeli Army
report last year revealed that UNRWA employee Nahed Rashid Ahmed Atallah,
who had served as director of food supplies for refugees in the Gaza Strip,
used his UNRWA vehicle and travel documents to transport terrorists and
weapons. He also used the travel documents to travel to Syria, Egypt, and
Lebanon to receive funds and weapons from members of the terrorist Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine in those countries. (Jerusalem Post,
Oct.4, 2004)

* Leading Members of Congress: UNRWA Supports Terror: U.S.
Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA), ranking member of the House International
Relations Committee, has written: "Terrorists based in [UNRWA] refugee
camps have engaged in a systematic and deliberate campaign of
terror...Camp-based terrorist activity reportedly includes the production of
bombs, storage of weaponry and recruitment of personnel." (Washington Times,
June 29, 2002) U.S. Congressman Eric Cantor (R-VA), has said that UNRWA has
allowed its camps "to become launching pads for terrorist activity ... It is
disturbing that millions upon millions of American taxpayer dollars are
going to fund" UNRWA. (CNS News, June 11, 2002)

* UNRWA Admits It Uses Anti-Semitic Schoolbooks: In 1998, U.S.
Congressman Peter Deutsch (D-FL) and other Congressmembers pressured the
State Department to ask UNRWA to investigate evidence that Palestinian
Authority school books used in UNRWA-run schools contained anti-Semitic
statements. In response, UNRWA acknowledged that the books contained
statements such as "Treachery and disloyalty are character traits of the
Jews and one should be aware of them," but insisted that this phrase was not
offensive because it described actual "historical events." In January 1999,
the State Department confirmed to Congress that "UNRWA's review did reveal
instances of anti-Semitic characterizations and content in these
host-authority texts." UNRWA's web site boasts that "UNRWA staff
participated in the design and development of the Palestinian curriculum."
(Weekly Standard, June 3, 2002)

* AIPAC: 23 Suicide Bombers from UNRWA's Jenin Camp: A May 2002
report by AIPAC in 2002 found that "UNRWA camps have become the main
operating centers for Hamas, Islamic Jihad and PFLP, terrorist groups
responsible for the killing of hundreds of Israelis and the injuring of
thousands. Twenty-three suicide bombers, responsible for killing 57
Israelis and injuring 1,000, came from the UNRWA camp in Jenin alone.

* World Jewish Congress: UNRWA "Refugee Camps" Are Terror Bases: A
June 2003 report by the World Jewish Congress found that UNRWA-run "refugee
camps" in the territories have become "bases for the recruitment, training
and dispatching of suicide bombers and other killers." The WJC also found
that "anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incitement is prevalent in UNRWA camps."

* Israeli Intelligence Report: UNRWA camps used for terror. A report
by the Shin Bet (Israel's CIA) in 2002 found:

... "The facilities of UNRWA have been used both to hide terrorists and
aid terror activity."

... "A number of Palestinians who have been arrested say that they have
used UNRWA vehicles to plan and carry out attacks."

... "Numerous UNRWA schools were used to hide suspected terrorists."

... "An UNRWA ambulance driver arrested in July [2002] admitted that
his ambulance was used to transport ammunition between terror cells. Other
detainees admitted that UNRWA vehicles were used by terrorists on their way
to attacks." (Jerusalem Post, Dec. 11, 2002)
* * *
The Zionist Organization of America, founded in 1897, is the oldest
pro-Israel organization in the United States. The ZOA works to strengthen
U.S.-Israel relations, educates the American public and Congress about the
dangers that Israel faces, and combats anti-Israel bias in the media and on
college campuses. Its past presidents have included Supreme Court Justice
Louis Brandeis and Rabbi Dr. Abba Hillel Silver.

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