Larks’ claims seem pretty easy to verify, and I think you failed to address all of them.
In 1965, UNRWA changed the eligibility requirements to be a Palestinian refugee to include third-generation descendants, and in 1982, it extended it again, to include all descendants of Palestine refugee males, including legally adopted children, regardless of whether they had been granted citizenship elsewhere. This is not how refugee status is determined for basically any other group. Interestingly, under this definition, the majority of the world’s Jews would have refugee status as well (GPT-5 estimates over 99% of Jews fit this definition). I think this is pretty relevant to your objection about Israel’s Law of Return. https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/08/17/unrwa-has-changed-the-definition-of-refugee/
Israeli intelligence assesses that some 10% of all UNRWA employees in Gaza have ties to terror organizations, in addition to at least 12 employees it says were involved in the October 7 terror onslaught in southern Israel, according to a new report.
My heart goes out to the civilians in Gaza, and I hope a peaceful resolution can be found for this conflict soon. But UNRWA doesn’t seem like a high integrity organization, and I seriously doubt donating to them is the best way to help the people of Gaza.
“But UNRWA doesn’t seem like a high integrity organization, and I seriously doubt donating to them is the best way to help the people of Gaza. “
Almost none of the things you cite are relevant to whether access for UNRWA being allowed is particularly likely to reduce the hunger currently in Gaza, relative to access for other aid agencies which seems a very big part of what determines whether it is “the best way”. I actually don’t think donations to UNRWA will help because there is no chance in hell of Israel letting them in, and it would be better to try to get them to let in MSF or some other aid agency instead, but that is a separate point.
I guess you could hold that UNRWA are genuinely a major factor in keeping the conflict going, and that this means that marginal further funding for them has a non-negligible but I think that is extremely implausible: Hamas would exist with or without UNRWA, and presumably whoever the major providers of schools in Gaza are they will teach in a way roughly compatible with Hamas’ demands and current Palestinian public opinion. I expect the marginal impact of donation to UNRWA or UNRWA access to Gaza to feed people for a few days on the conflict to be zero by any mechanism other than one that goes directly through the effects of more Gazans being fed by literally any organization.
Out of interest, do you think Israel should do more to let in other aid organizations, like say MSF, than they are currently doing?
I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I’ve replied to a few of your points below.
(1) I don’t have objections to Israel’s Law of Return per se. But I wanted to raise the point that Jews who cannot trace ties back to Israel in living memory, or have converted to Judaism, receive rights and opportunities that Palestinians whose parents/grandparents were expelled do not. If ancestral ties are valid grounds for some groups, why not for others? Do you agree this is a double standard?
(2) I think it’s important to be specific and provide direct examples about “problematic and hateful” content in textbooks. As outsiders, we’re often dealing with contested histories through second-hand accounts, and when history is politicized there are always profoundly different narratives. Someone seen as a martyr or hero by one group can be viewed as a terrorist by another—much like how Nelson Mandela or John Brown were perceived differently depending on time, place, and identity. I don’t say this to excuse violence or antisemitism, but to note that perspective matters and it is hard to judge these claims without specific examples.
For example, several early Israeli political leaders were leaders of violent paramilitary groups denounced by some countries for terrorism. Menachem Begin was a leader of Irgun, and went on to become a Prime Minister of Israel and win a Nobel Peace Prize in 1978. Yitzhak Shamir was a leader of Lehi (the Stern Gang), which killed more than 100 Palestinians in Deir Yassin, and went on to become a Prime Minister of Israel. It is not hard for me to imagine that they are honored in some narratives as founders and leaders, and criticized harshly in other narratives for violent acts against civilians. I’d be interested to know how these figures are discussed in Israeli curricula—just as I’d like to see concrete examples from Palestinian curricula—but I don’t have firsthand knowledge of how either side teaches these histories. I would welcome suggestions on where I can find more information about this, including primary sources.
(4) When aid is restricted by blockades and movement limits, looting and diversion often increase; when aid flows more freely (like during the ceasefires) diversion tends to decrease. Even if some aid is stolen by Hamas, that’s not a moral or legal reason to deprive civilians of food and medicine. Cutting off aid risks constituting collective punishment, which is illegal under international law. In principle, do you believe humanitarian aid should be withheld from any civilian population if there’s a risk some might be diverted to an armed group? Or does the obligation to prevent mass civilian death take precedence?
(6) I cannot access the full article, but no civilians of any nationality should ever be taken hostage or subjected to collective punishment for the actions of their government or ruling group. The destruction of hospitals and medical facilities by the IDF, and the collapse of medical access in Gaza, affects both hostages and Palestinian civilians. Attacks on healthcare facilities should stop immediately.
While I understand concerns over education content and potential affiliation of UN staff, these problems seem secondary to the immediate crisis on the ground. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children have been out of school for two years, most homes, schools and hospitals have been destroyed, and now the entire population is facing catastrophic hunger—while the supplies to save them are just miles away. Currently only UNRWA has the staff on the ground to distribute it at the scale needed. If there were a viable path for NGOs to surge aid according to humanitarian principles, without UN/UNRWA involvement, I would support that. The immediate humanitarian emergency must take precedence.
Larks’ claims seem pretty easy to verify, and I think you failed to address all of them.
In 1965, UNRWA changed the eligibility requirements to be a Palestinian refugee to include third-generation descendants, and in 1982, it extended it again, to include all descendants of Palestine refugee males, including legally adopted children, regardless of whether they had been granted citizenship elsewhere. This is not how refugee status is determined for basically any other group. Interestingly, under this definition, the majority of the world’s Jews would have refugee status as well (GPT-5 estimates over 99% of Jews fit this definition). I think this is pretty relevant to your objection about Israel’s Law of Return. https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/08/17/unrwa-has-changed-the-definition-of-refugee/
The European Parliament condemned “problematic and hateful contents encouraging violence, spreading antisemitism and inciting hatred in Palestinian school textbooks” and in “supplementary educational materials developed by UNRWA staff”. https://www.timesofisrael.com/european-parliament-condemns-incitement-in-palestinian-unrwa-textbooks/
The IDF discovered a sophisticated Hamas data center in tunnels directly beneath UNRWA’s Gaza headquarters in the upscale Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City. https://www.timesofisrael.com/directly-beneath-unrwas-gaza-headquarters-idf-uncovers-top-secret-hamas-data-center/
UN Watch has compiled numerous allegations of aid theft, including recorded calls with Gaza residents claiming “Hamas systematically steals equipment and food, including stealing from UNRWA warehouses” https://unwatch.org/evidence-of-unrwa-aid-to-hamas-on-and-after-october-7th/
Israeli intelligence assesses that some 10% of all UNRWA employees in Gaza have ties to terror organizations, in addition to at least 12 employees it says were involved in the October 7 terror onslaught in southern Israel, according to a new report.
British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari told British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that she was held by Hamas at UNRWA facilities in Gaza and denied medical treatment after being shot twice. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-02-02/ty-article/.premium/report-freed-hostage-emily-damari-was-held-in-unrwa-facilities-during-gaza-captivity/00000194-c57b-d533-a3b6-cd7fe68b0000
My heart goes out to the civilians in Gaza, and I hope a peaceful resolution can be found for this conflict soon. But UNRWA doesn’t seem like a high integrity organization, and I seriously doubt donating to them is the best way to help the people of Gaza.
“But UNRWA doesn’t seem like a high integrity organization, and I seriously doubt donating to them is the best way to help the people of Gaza. “
Almost none of the things you cite are relevant to whether access for UNRWA being allowed is particularly likely to reduce the hunger currently in Gaza, relative to access for other aid agencies which seems a very big part of what determines whether it is “the best way”. I actually don’t think donations to UNRWA will help because there is no chance in hell of Israel letting them in, and it would be better to try to get them to let in MSF or some other aid agency instead, but that is a separate point.
I guess you could hold that UNRWA are genuinely a major factor in keeping the conflict going, and that this means that marginal further funding for them has a non-negligible but I think that is extremely implausible: Hamas would exist with or without UNRWA, and presumably whoever the major providers of schools in Gaza are they will teach in a way roughly compatible with Hamas’ demands and current Palestinian public opinion. I expect the marginal impact of donation to UNRWA or UNRWA access to Gaza to feed people for a few days on the conflict to be zero by any mechanism other than one that goes directly through the effects of more Gazans being fed by literally any organization.
Out of interest, do you think Israel should do more to let in other aid organizations, like say MSF, than they are currently doing?
I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I’ve replied to a few of your points below.
(1) I don’t have objections to Israel’s Law of Return per se. But I wanted to raise the point that Jews who cannot trace ties back to Israel in living memory, or have converted to Judaism, receive rights and opportunities that Palestinians whose parents/grandparents were expelled do not. If ancestral ties are valid grounds for some groups, why not for others? Do you agree this is a double standard?
(2) I think it’s important to be specific and provide direct examples about “problematic and hateful” content in textbooks. As outsiders, we’re often dealing with contested histories through second-hand accounts, and when history is politicized there are always profoundly different narratives. Someone seen as a martyr or hero by one group can be viewed as a terrorist by another—much like how Nelson Mandela or John Brown were perceived differently depending on time, place, and identity. I don’t say this to excuse violence or antisemitism, but to note that perspective matters and it is hard to judge these claims without specific examples.
For example, several early Israeli political leaders were leaders of violent paramilitary groups denounced by some countries for terrorism. Menachem Begin was a leader of Irgun, and went on to become a Prime Minister of Israel and win a Nobel Peace Prize in 1978. Yitzhak Shamir was a leader of Lehi (the Stern Gang), which killed more than 100 Palestinians in Deir Yassin, and went on to become a Prime Minister of Israel. It is not hard for me to imagine that they are honored in some narratives as founders and leaders, and criticized harshly in other narratives for violent acts against civilians. I’d be interested to know how these figures are discussed in Israeli curricula—just as I’d like to see concrete examples from Palestinian curricula—but I don’t have firsthand knowledge of how either side teaches these histories. I would welcome suggestions on where I can find more information about this, including primary sources.
(4) When aid is restricted by blockades and movement limits, looting and diversion often increase; when aid flows more freely (like during the ceasefires) diversion tends to decrease. Even if some aid is stolen by Hamas, that’s not a moral or legal reason to deprive civilians of food and medicine. Cutting off aid risks constituting collective punishment, which is illegal under international law. In principle, do you believe humanitarian aid should be withheld from any civilian population if there’s a risk some might be diverted to an armed group? Or does the obligation to prevent mass civilian death take precedence?
(6) I cannot access the full article, but no civilians of any nationality should ever be taken hostage or subjected to collective punishment for the actions of their government or ruling group. The destruction of hospitals and medical facilities by the IDF, and the collapse of medical access in Gaza, affects both hostages and Palestinian civilians. Attacks on healthcare facilities should stop immediately.
While I understand concerns over education content and potential affiliation of UN staff, these problems seem secondary to the immediate crisis on the ground. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children have been out of school for two years, most homes, schools and hospitals have been destroyed, and now the entire population is facing catastrophic hunger—while the supplies to save them are just miles away. Currently only UNRWA has the staff on the ground to distribute it at the scale needed. If there were a viable path for NGOs to surge aid according to humanitarian principles, without UN/UNRWA involvement, I would support that. The immediate humanitarian emergency must take precedence.