Tuesday, September 18th 2018
Author: Meg Skinner, Advocacy Chair UNA-Dane County
The Wisconsin State Journal deserves credit for giving front-page coverage to the Trump administration’s punitive moves against the Palestinian people in its 9/11/18 edition. Too often smokescreens of tweets and leaks obscure government actions, but what the Trump administration has done during the past month is truly alarming. Shuttering the PLO diplomatic mission in Washington DC, an office critical to any future negotiations aimed at a permanent solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is just the latest outrage.
Two earlier actions, the cancelling by the State Department of $200 million in congressionally authorized aid projects slated for the West Bank and Gaza, and cutting $25 million in aid to Palestinian hospitals in East Jerusalem, have a clear impact on beleaguered Palestinians.
But the Dane County Chapter of the United Nations Association of the USA condemns most strongly the severing of the US contribution to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
UNRWA serves some 5.4 million refugees. It helps 2.1 million Palestinians in the West Bank – including East Jerusalem, and Gaza, 2 million others in Jordan, 560,000 in Syria, and 450,000 in Lebanon, with education, healthcare, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, protection and microfinance.
Since 1949, the United States has provided about a third of UNRWA’s budget, in 2017 that amounted to $364 million out of a $1.1 billion budget. In January, Trump reduced the US contribution for 2018 to $60 million, and three weeks ago cut all funding to UNRWA
Congressman Mark Pocan and several other congressmen issued a strongly worded statement condemning these actions, but Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson have yet to respond. Pocan wrote “By cutting these important aid programs, the Trump administration will only exacerbate tensions between the Israelis and Palestinians, while further diminishing opportunities for lasting peace.… The Administration’s decision …. is just another signal to Israelis, Palestinians, and the American people that they are not serious about engaging in the difficult diplomatic work it takes to achieve a lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. . . . We urge the Trump Administration to put the lives of the Israeli and Palestinian people above politics.”
What can Wisconsin residents do to reverse these funding cuts? Contribute to UNRWA directly at <unrwa.org>, and/or write or call Senators Baldwin and Johnson to join Mark Pocan in urging the Trump administration to restore vitally needed aid to UNRWA, State Department funding of congressionally authorized projects in the West Bank and Gaza, and East Jerusalem hospitals.
For those who prefer to work on the micro-level, a contribution toward a water purification and desalination unit at a newly-constructed UN Boys Preparatory School would potentially give 3,250 students and their families access to clean water. Madison-Rafah Sister City Project, First Unitarian Society, Madison Jewish Voice for Peace, and Congregation Shaarei Shamayim aim to raise $16,000 by December 31 for the project. Tax deductible contributions can be sent payable to MRSCP, ear-marked “water” @ MRSCP, P.O. Box 5214, Madison, WI 53705.
Author: Meg Skinner, Advocacy Chair UNA-Dane County
The Wisconsin State Journal deserves credit for giving front-page coverage to the Trump administration’s punitive moves against the Palestinian people in its 9/11/18 edition. Too often smokescreens of tweets and leaks obscure government actions, but what the Trump administration has done during the past month is truly alarming. Shuttering the PLO diplomatic mission in Washington DC, an office critical to any future negotiations aimed at a permanent solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is just the latest outrage.
Two earlier actions, the cancelling by the State Department of $200 million in congressionally authorized aid projects slated for the West Bank and Gaza, and cutting $25 million in aid to Palestinian hospitals in East Jerusalem, have a clear impact on beleaguered Palestinians.
But the Dane County Chapter of the United Nations Association of the USA condemns most strongly the severing of the US contribution to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
UNRWA serves some 5.4 million refugees. It helps 2.1 million Palestinians in the West Bank – including East Jerusalem, and Gaza, 2 million others in Jordan, 560,000 in Syria, and 450,000 in Lebanon, with education, healthcare, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, protection and microfinance.
Since 1949, the United States has provided about a third of UNRWA’s budget, in 2017 that amounted to $364 million out of a $1.1 billion budget. In January, Trump reduced the US contribution for 2018 to $60 million, and three weeks ago cut all funding to UNRWA
Congressman Mark Pocan and several other congressmen issued a strongly worded statement condemning these actions, but Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson have yet to respond. Pocan wrote “By cutting these important aid programs, the Trump administration will only exacerbate tensions between the Israelis and Palestinians, while further diminishing opportunities for lasting peace.… The Administration’s decision …. is just another signal to Israelis, Palestinians, and the American people that they are not serious about engaging in the difficult diplomatic work it takes to achieve a lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. . . . We urge the Trump Administration to put the lives of the Israeli and Palestinian people above politics.”
What can Wisconsin residents do to reverse these funding cuts? Contribute to UNRWA directly at <unrwa.org>, and/or write or call Senators Baldwin and Johnson to join Mark Pocan in urging the Trump administration to restore vitally needed aid to UNRWA, State Department funding of congressionally authorized projects in the West Bank and Gaza, and East Jerusalem hospitals.
For those who prefer to work on the micro-level, a contribution toward a water purification and desalination unit at a newly-constructed UN Boys Preparatory School would potentially give 3,250 students and their families access to clean water. Madison-Rafah Sister City Project, First Unitarian Society, Madison Jewish Voice for Peace, and Congregation Shaarei Shamayim aim to raise $16,000 by December 31 for the project. Tax deductible contributions can be sent payable to MRSCP, ear-marked “water” @ MRSCP, P.O. Box 5214, Madison, WI 53705.
