Whose side are they on?
Far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) expressed outrage Monday over the Biden administration’s suspension of funding to a UN agency whose workers participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack against Israel — while a top White House spokesman argued the organization “does important work” across the Middle East.
“Cutting off support to @UNRWA – the primary source of humanitarian aid to 2 million+ Gazans – is unacceptable,” Ocasio-Cortez, who reps parts of the Bronx and Queens, posted on X in response to the Biden administration’s Friday move against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
“Among an organization of 13,000 UN aid workers, risking the starvation of millions over grave allegations of 12 is indefensible,” she added. “The US should restore aid immediately.”
Meanwhile, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told NBC’s “Today” show that “UNRWA does important work across the region, certainly in Gaza.
“They have helped save thousands of lives, and we shouldn’t impugn the good work of a whole agency because of the terrible, just terrible allegations lobbied against just a small number of their employees,” Kirby added.
Around the same time Ocasio-Cortez and Kirby made their statements, the Wall Street Journal reported that Israeli intelligence indicated not only that 12 UNRWA employees played an active role in the Hamas assault that killed an estimated 1,200 people — but that around 10% of the agency’s staff have links to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, while half of the 12,000-strong cohort have close relatives who belong to either group.
Of those involved in the Oct. 7 attack, six reportedly took part in the assault itself while others coordinated logistics — including procuring weapons. Two took part in abducting Israelis, while two more were tracked to sites where civilian massacres took place.
Former President Donald Trump’s administration halted funding for UNRWA in 2018, but President Biden restored it when he took office in early 2021.
From that point, the US has sent at least $730 million to the group, despite evidence that it employs educators who foment hatred of Israel.
Seven of the 12 UNRWA employees involved in the attack were primary or secondary school teachers, according to the Israeli intel dossier.
AOC was slammed by critics on Twitter, with podcast host Noam Blum asking: “How many police departments did you call to defund over a handful of highly publicized incidents?”
“AOC coming out strong in favor of the U.S. funding an organization that employs 1,200 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists, in case there was any doubt remaining about where she stands on the issue,” Newsweek opinion editor Batya Ungar-Sargon said.
“Respectfully Congresswoman, it’s way more than ’12.’ Read the reporting today in the WSJ & the NYT. Support for Hamas is pervasive throughout the @UNRWA. And has been for years. The organization needs to be disbanded,” said former US Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.).
“It’s just 12 UNRWA ‘aid workers’ who murdered & kidnapped Israelis. Don’t we all have 12 colleagues who murder & kidnap?” asked human rights lawyer Hillel Neuer sarcastically. “It’s just 1,200 UNRWA staff who are also Hamas & Islamic Jihad operatives. It’s just 3,000 UNRWA teachers whose chat group celebrated the October 7 massacre.”
“Defending a UN agency that employs 1,200 terrorists is just an incredible hill to die on,” added former IDF Staff Sgt. Eitan Fischberger.
“We’re two tweets away from AOC demanding sending military support to Hamas,” said another user. “Hell, in a way, this is that tweet.”
A rep for Ocasio-Cortez did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
