Marsha Blackburn Demands Answers Regarding UNRWA Controversy

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is demanding answers regarding U.S. funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) following allegations that one of the organization’s teachers helped hold an Israeli hostage.

“Hey everybody, here’s a letter that I’ve sent over to the U.N. and to UNRWA,” Blackburn said in a video posted to X, holding up the letter.

“You know, that’s that U.N. Relief and Works Committee that is there for the Palestinian people. We’ve heard these news reports of a U.N. employee who was holding one of the children that was a hostage,” Blackburn said, deeming it “completely unacceptable,” particularly given that the U.N. is largely funded with U.S. taxpayer dollars.

“So from the U.N. and our ambassador there and from UNRWA, from their head, we’re asking some questions. We want to know if this individual was either a current or a former U.N. employee. We want to know if this has been thoroughly investigated,” she pressed.

“And if they have investigated it, what did they find? And has this incident been reviewed by the U.N.?” she asked, demanding answers to the six questions listed.

“We want these answers. The U.N. and UNWRA owes it to you — the U.S. taxpayer — to come clean on this situation,” the Tennessee senator added.

Ultimately, Blackburn said the U.S. should not give “one more penny” to the organization if it is effectively aiding Hamas terrorists.

If U.S. taxpayer dollars are funding @UNRWA’s efforts to aid Hamas, then the American people deserve to know.

Not one more penny to this corrupt organization. pic.twitter.com/iMDI9DiG5Y

— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) December 5, 2023

Blackburn is not the only lawmaker making this demand, either. Speaking on NewsNation’s Dan Abrams Live, Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) blasted the U.N. for seemingly not taking the report — that a teacher with the organization helped keep an Israeli hostage — seriously.

“I find it…incredible that when you have this type of reporting, the U.N. immediately tries to label it as misinformation and demands it just go away rather than taking it as a credible report from a known credible reporter with a credible news source and looking into it,” Waltz said, blasting the U.N.

WATCH — Waltz: UNRWA Must Be Defunded; It Hasn’t Cared About Charges that Its Teacher Helped Hold an Israeli Hostage

He continued:

We hope they’re going to look into it. At the end of the day, I think, as you’re alluding, this is a long history of antisemitism and obvious pro-Hamas leanings from the U.N. in Gaza. It’s one of the reasons, one of the key reasons that Republicans in the House just voted in our funding bill for the State Department foreign aid to cut UNRWA…from — at least the U.S.’s portion of the funding for it, and to cut it out, because not only do we have these types of allegations, but also, their teaching, the other types of support they provide, are blatantly known to be anti-Israel and antisemitic.

When confronted about these reports, Thomas White, the director of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Affairs in Gaza, did not address them specifically.

“So, what I can speak to is our aid,” he said during an appearance on CNN International’s One World.

“Essentially, the aid that UNRWA is bringing in goes directly into the hands of the refugees. So, on any given day here, we are distributing over 50,000 bags of flour to families so that they can provide for themselves,” he continued.

“Look, our trucks are not bringing in rockets. Our trucks are bringing in wheat flour. They’re bringing in supplies that help families eke out a very basic existence. We have a very clear system of accountability,” he claimed.

WATCH — UNRWA Official on Charges that Teacher Held an Israeli Hostage: We Keep Good Track of Flour

Notably, the campaign of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) told Breitbart News in October that, as president, he would not support the U.S. funding UNRWA despite voting against congressional measures that would have done that in the past. His campaign clarified that fact, explaining that both measures cited were omnibus bills, which DeSantis typically voted against.