I’m writing to urge my senators to oppose H.R. 8771, the Fiscal Year 2025 State, Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, which would prohibit US financial support to UNRWA through September 30, 2025.
UNRWA has been targeted with a campaign of misinformation designed to foster distrust and tarnish the reputation of the Agency. As the real facts about UNRWA continue to come to light, it has become clear that there was an unjustified rush to judgment, assuming the worst about the Agency based on unverified, unfounded claims, when the reality is quite different.
Many of UNRWA’s other major donor countries have resumed their funding of the Agency including Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the EU, and Australia. It is time for the United States to join that group!
A bill like this, that also guts US refugee programs and support for other multilateral organizations, would isolate America and create a world leadership vacuum that will be willingly filled by other actors who do not share our humanity or values. Please stand by those values of peacemaking and diplomacy, and do not block funding to such vital organizations and programs.
