SWC: Donor Nations Led by US Should Follow Switzerland’s Lead on UNRWA

December 13, 2023

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is commending the lower chamber of the Swiss legislature who voted on Tuesday morning to cut funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) as concerns have mounted over the group’s conduct in the Gaza Strip.

The decision sees Switzerland move to cut some $21 million in annual funding from UNRWA. Switzerland was the ninth-biggest donor.

Yesterday, at a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, an SWC senior official urged Secretary Blinken not to reinvest in UNRWA. “Donor nations should follow Switzerland’s lead. It is the core part of the problem, not the solution. Palestinians must be helped to set up their own educational institutions and close UNRWA permanently and end the refugee status for five generations of Palestinians,” stated Rabbi Abraham Cooper, SWC Associate Dean and Global Social Action Director.

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The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization. It holds consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS, and the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO).