Dear Mr. Ambassador: Why is Canada funding anti-Semitism?

To: Marc- André Blanchard Canadian Ambassador to the UN

Dear Ambassador Blanchard,

I understand that you plan to visit Israel next week and the West Bank as well. In light of the long overdue attention focused recently on UNRWA — the UN’s Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees — a key client in your portfolio, I presume you are popping into the region to better understand the relevant issues.

As you know, just over a year ago, in November 2016, Canada’s Minister of International Development, MarieClaude Bibeau, announced that Canada would renew its funding of UNRWA to the tune of $25 million, to be allocated to Palestinian health, social services and education (UNRWA operates hundreds of schools in the Mideast).

Curiously, the $25 million was actually transferred to UNRWA a week before the donation was disclosed publicly. In the time between the payout and announcement, officials in Ottawa scrambled to draft a flurry of documents explaining the dramatic policy change.

That’s understandable. There is substantial evidence regarding UNRWA staff ties to Hamas and other unsavoury groups; reams of highly credible information ( much of which has been reported by NGOs and the media) alleging that donations to UNRWA and the Palestinian Authority have been used to support incitement to violence against Israelis. There was and is ample evidence of UNRWA staff using social media to spread antiSemitism and incite terror attacks. Quite sensibly, Ottawa was concerned that Canada’s newfound generosity toward UNRWA might raise uncomfortable questions.

UN Watch, a Geneva-based watchdog NGO, obtained some of the government’s planning documents to deal with the allegations. It also learned that some early drafts were even passed to UNRWA seeking feedback.

When announcing the $25-million gift, Minister Bibeau said “there will be enhanced due diligence applied to UNRWA funding … a very robust oversight and reporting framework, which includes regular site visits and strong anti- terrorism provisions.” However, UN Watch reported in April 2017 that the documents it received regarding this funding “glossed over specific allegations against UNRWA, claiming that they were unfounded or had been addressed, without explaining why or how.”

In the past two years, UN Watch has documented instances on Facebook of more than 60 teachers self-identifying as employees of UNRWA’s educational program who openly incite hatred against Jews and Israelis (many cases documented following Canada’s funding). As you can imagine, such conduct and views flagrantly violate the foundational requirement that all UN employees be neutral and not advocate political programs.

Furthermore, t here is ample evidence regarding entrenched incitement in Palestinian school curricula used by UNRWA, in which Israel and its citizens are demonized and delegitimized. Some textbooks exalt terrorists as “martyrs.” Often, maps of Israel in textbooks get erased and replaced with Palestine. Obviously this entrenched institutional conduct clearly does not promote peaceful co-existence, which is a founding principle of UNRWA.

All this explains why your colleague Nikki Haley, the U. S. ambassador to the UN, announced yesterday that America had decided to withhold $ 65 million of its $ 330- million annual contribution to UNRWA. Ambassador Haley reminded everyone this week that “there’s a new sheriff in town” and that it’s high time that UNRWA was held to minimal standards of accountability.

Last week, when I learned you would be visiting the region, I requested from Global Affairs Canada that they pro- vide me with a copy of the much-lauded “oversight and reporting framework” developed and applied to assess and oversee UNRWA’s activities using Canadian funds. I have yet to receive the framework. Instead I received a vague, platitudinous narrative explaining that there is regular contact between Canadian officials in the region and UNRWA, often daily I was told.

On Tuesday, Global Affairs confirmed that Canadian funds have been applied by UNRWA to hire someone to monitor staff conduct and review school curricula to ensure they meet appropriate standards. In other words, it would seem that UNRWA is getting money from Canada to police itself. With respect, Ambassador Blanchard, that is not proper oversight.

I have spoken recently with many experts who have devoted their professional careers to assessing UNRWA operations and effectiveness. All report that UNRWA does not allow any third- party oversight of its curriculum, aside from “government officials” where the school is located ( so, for example, Hamas authorities in Gaza, or Palestinian Authority officials in the West Bank).

This is consistent with what Global Affairs confirmed for me on Tuesday, that Canada conducts no independent review of UNRWA. We are, actually, funding UNRWA staff to self-assess — which is precisely the problem. Canada’s claim to ensuring neutrality and fairness is severely compromised as a result.

I am certain you are familiar with the UN Charter, in particular Article 101( 3), which requires that all UN staff uphold the highest standards of integrity, a quality that includes fairness and impartiality. This “neutrality” standard is reiterated in staff regulations for UNRWA and UN staff and is publicized on the UNRWA website. Yet, the evidence is blindingly clear that UNRWA has not lived up to this standard.

While I hope you enjoy your visit in Israel and the West Bank, and Canadians are no doubt looking forward to hearing of your findings and observations, I close with one question many of us would most like answered: Why are Canadian funds are being used to foment anti-Israel and anti-Semitic hatred? Yours truly, Vivian Bercovici

Vivian Bercovici was Canada’s ambassador to Israel from 2014 to 2016. She lives in Tel Aviv.