Congressman Sherman Applauds U.S. Suspension of UNRWA Funding

WASHINGTON, DC -- On January 26th, the U.S. State Department placed a temporary hold on funding for The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) following allegations that 12 UNRWA employees were involved in Hamas's October 7th terrorist attack on Israel.

In response, Congressman Brad Sherman (CA-32), senior Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Co-Chair of the House Israel Allies Caucus, issued the following statement:

"I applaud President Joe Biden's decision to suspend UNRWA funding and review evidence that 12 UNRWA employees participated in the October 7th massacre. Sadly, given UNRWA's track record, this news is hardly surprising. UNRWA's curriculum, practices and core values need a serious overhaul.

Given UNRWA's continued refusal to address pro-terror content in its curriculum, this news is sadly not surprising. This November, the House passed my bill to conduct a long-overdue series of U.S. reviews of violent, pro-terror, and antisemitic content in UNRWA education.

This isn't the first time UNRWA staff have been exposed as terrorists. In 2017, UNRWA acknowledged the falsehood of its previous denials and fired its Gaza union head after he was revealed as part of Hamas leadership.

A month prior, an UNRWA staffer was discovered to be Hamas politburo. In 2023, dozens of UNRWA teachers and staff were revealed to regularly praise Hamas and Hitler on social media. Yet UNRWA claims these staff are not teaching a pro-terror curriculum."