Why we’re taking the feds to court
CIJA and Hamas victims’ families suing over UNRWA funding
On April 4, Canadian families of Hamas victims and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) launched a legal challenge of the federal government’s decision to resume funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), following revelations that some of its staff provided material support for the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel.
Responding to revelations of the agency’s involvement, on Jan. 26, International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen announced the suspension of Canadian funding to UNRWA, while it “undertakes a thorough investigation into these allegations.”
That investigation has yet to be completed. However, on March 8, Hussen announced that the government was restoring funding to UNRWA, regardless of the outcome and without holding the agency accountable for the participation of its staff in the mass torture, rape and massacre of men, women and children.
That was the wrong decision, and we are challenging it in court.
It is important to make one thing clear: we do not oppose humanitarian aid to Gaza. We are fully aware of, and concerned by, the tragic circumstances many Gazan civilians are facing due to the conflict initiated by Hamas on Oct. 7.
What we do oppose is Canadian humanitarian aid going through UNRWA, particularly when there are other reputable agencies to do this work, such as the Canadian International Development Agency, the World Food Program and the United Nations Office for Project Services.
Canadians do not want their hard-earned money to go to an agency that is supporting Hamas, a terrorist organization under Canadian law. With this application now officially submitted, it would be inappropriate for the Government of Canada to continue to transfer Canadian tax dollars to UNRWA until a decision is rendered.
UNRWA has faced serious allegations of corruption and collaboration with Hamas terrorism for years, and has faced little to no accountability. This cannot continue. The evidence of UNRWA’S support for, and participation in, the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust is clear. And in a post-oct. 7 world, to deny reality or to remain silent in the face of these facts is complicity.
According to the Wall Street Journal, intelligence reports revealed that at least 12 UNRWA employees had connections to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and approximately 10 per cent of UNRWA staff in Gaza have ties to Islamist militant groups. Further confirming this participation, one of the hostages released from Gaza during November’s humanitarian pause revealed that he was held for nearly 50 days in an attic by a UNRWA teacher.
UN Watch has documented a multitude of cases of UNRWA staff and teachers indoctrinating Palestinian children to extremist hate by glorifying terrorism, praising Hamas, advocating for the killing of Jews and other abhorrent activities that contravene the values of the United Nations.
NGO Monitor has also been documenting UNRWA’S complicity in terrorist crimes, noting the agency’s “failure ... to safeguard its aid from diversion by Hamas, as well as its intense involvement in (anti-israel) political advocacy,” and its inability to ensure that its teachers and staff are not involved in Hamas terrorism.
This is in addition to the discovery of terror tunnels and caches of rockets at UNRWA facilities. A Hamas command centre was even found under UNRWA’S headquarters in Gaza.
This is what our Canadian tax dollars have been funding. And this is what, on March 8, Minister Hussen determined worthy to continue funding.
Filed in Federal Court on April 4, CIJA submitted an application seeking judicial review of Minister Hussen’s decision to resume funding for UNRWA. Under Canadian law, funding can only be advanced to organizations that respect Canadian values and international human rights standards. UNRWA does not meet this criteria.
It is also a decision that flies in the face of Canada’s designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization. Given UNRWA’S well-documented links to Hamas, by resuming Canadian funding to UNRWA, the government is in violation of its own anti-terrorism legislation. Both reasons make Hussen’s decision patently unreasonable.
Urgent aid is needed for Palestinians now — and it will continue to be needed when the war ends — but UNRWA is not the answer. It cannot be trusted to distribute aid, it is a physical proxy for Hamas and it uses its access to children to ensure the next generation is so fuelled by Jew-hatred and anti-israel sentiment that peace will never be possible.
There is no viable post-conflict scenario where UNRWA can play a constructive role. UNRWA is part of the problem, not the solution — something our American allies showed they understand when they halted funding to UNRWA until 2025.
To help bring about a solution to the conflict, Canada must not continue to contribute to organizations that help spread hate and support terrorism. And that’s why we are taking the federal government to court.
TO REMAIN SILENT IN THE FACE OF THESE FACTS IS COMPLICITY.