Jewish Group Sues UN Relief Agency Saying It Supports Hamas Terrorism

WILMINGTON, Del. — A Jewish advocacy group sued a United Nations relief agency Wednesday in Delaware for allegedly helping Hamas in its war with Israel and the murders of Israelis and Americans.

The National Jewish Advocacy Center says U.N. relief workers who were supposed to be helping Palestinians with food and medical care allowed Hamas to use its facilities as command centers.

The lawsuit also says the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees transferred money it raised in the United States to the Gaza Strip, where some of it fell under control of Hamas.

“Once the funds reach the Gaza Strip, UNRWA redistributes those funds to Hamas members on their payroll, some of whom are directly engaged in acts of terrorism, including, but not limited to, the Oct. 7 atrocities; to schools that are used to store Hamas’ weapons and other equipment; and to the production of educational materials that promote violence against Jews, including the destruction of the state of Israel,” according to the lawsuit.

The international organization is headquartered in Jordan. Its U.S. office is based in Washington, D.C. It is incorporated in Delaware as a nonprofit organization.

The lawsuit says Delaware’s attorney general should revoke UNRWA’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization status. The status allows the organization to receive tax deductible charitable donations.

The National Jewish Advocacy Center accuses UNRWA-USA of financing terrorism in violation of the federal Anti-Terrorism Act and the Alien Tort Statute.

The U.S. Senate voted 70-0 last month to block any additional funding to UNRWA. Seventeen other countries also cut funding to the organization.

The vote was preceded by a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing at which Richard Goldberg, an advisor to the nonprofit Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said UNRWA is no longer the refugee aid organization intended by its founders in 1949.

Instead, it “has evolved into an internationally funded, locally staffed foreign aid entitlement program that incites violence against Israel, subsidizes U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations, denies Palestinians their basic human rights, and blocks the pathways to a sustainable peace between Israel and the Palestinians,” Goldberg said.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 10 survivors of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people. The plaintiffs are American and Israeli dual nationals.

UNRWA should share blame for the attack and the emotional trauma endured by the survivors, the lawsuit says. It asks for compensation for their emotional distress.

The lawsuit is an example of the finger-pointing that has run through intensifying protests in the United States over the Gaza war in recent days.

The latest was Wednesday when Palestinian supporters blocked delivery trucks at the newspaper distribution plant for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post. They were protesting what they said was unfair reporting by The New York Times.

Four days earlier, more than 60 demonstrators against Israeli attacks in Gaza were arrested in clashes with police after they paralyzed downtown New York traffic.

UNRWA denies supporting Hamas military efforts.

Any appearance the organization endorsed terrorism resulted from a few misbehaving employees who were fired shortly afterward, UNRWA said in a statement on its website. Two others died in Gaza war fighting.

The dispute resulted from Israeli government allegations in January that 12 of UNRWA’s roughly 13,000 employees in Gaza participated in the Oct. 7 attack. An Israeli report released to the media said nearly 10% of UNRWA employees had ties to Hamas.

“Thus far, Israel has not provided evidence in writing to the U.N. to substantiate its allegations,” UNRWA said.

The allegations were a primary reason the United States and other countries ceased their financial assistance to UNRWA, which the agency says is contributing to a humanitarian crisis. 

The United Nations warned this week that widespread famine among Gaza’s 2.1 million residents is inevitable without more food assistance soon. Medical facilities report lacking the supplies and staff to care for sometimes grievously injured Gaza victims of the fighting.

The lawsuit is Lishay Lavi et al. v. UNRWA USA National Committee Inc.

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