Murky waters of charity

The United Nations has acknowledged that employees of its permanent refugee organization for Palestinians (UNRWA) supported Hamas and participated in the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel. Should tax-exempt groups supporting Unrwa be held responsible for funding the atrocities?

That’s the subject of a lawsuit that accuses a Washington, D.C.-based charity of providing material support for terrorism through its donations to UNRWA. UNRWA USA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt charity that describes its mission as “support for the humanitarian work” of Unrwa through “fundraising, advocacy, and community engagement in the United States.” The group is Unrwa’s largest private donor, with $3.8 million in donations in 2022 and $5 million in 2021.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in Delaware federal court on behalf of Oct. 7 survivors, says the charity’s work amounts to terrorist financing in violation of federal law. The plaintiffs say the 501(c)3 has been aware of UNRWA’s connections with Hamas’s terrorist activities and yet continued its donations. The suit says Unrwa USA knowingly “aids, abets and provides material support for those activities under the guise of humanitarian assistance.”

In January, the U.S. and other countries announced they were pausing funding to UNRWA while allegations of employees’ involvement on Oct. 7 are investigated. On Jan. 29, Unrwa USA said it was “horrified” by the allegations but that instead of pulling back on aid it would be “redoubling.” On March 1 the group said it supports the investigation by the United Nations and would “resume financial support to UNRWA upon appropriate resolution.”

Under the 2016 Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, civil litigants are granted the “broadest possible basis” to seek relief against “persons, entities, and foreign countries” that have provided material support for terrorism, the lawsuit says. The evidence of participation by its employees in the Oct. 7 attacks suggests that Unrwa was deeply infiltrated by Hamas.

UNRWA USA describes itself as working “hand in hand” with UNRWA, and UNRWA’s ties to Hamas have been public knowledge since long before Oct. 7. In 2004 then-UNRWA commissioner Peter Hansen said that he was “sure that there are Hamas members on the Unrwa payroll, and I don’t see that as a crime.”

Unrwa USA says on its website that educating Palestinian children is one of its priorities, but UNRWA’s educational infrastructure in Gaza has been a locus of terrorist sympathizers. In a Telegram chat describing itself as an “interactive group for all education workers at the International Relief Agency ‘UNRWA’ — Gaza Region,” participants celebrated the Oct. 7 massacre, according to U.N. Watch.

We reached out to UNRWA USA for comment but the communications director said she was “unable to address specifics” and shared the group’s March 1 statement above.

The lawsuit isn’t over tax status, but the Internal Revenue Service might also review the exemptions of 501(c)3 charities that are contributing to groups tied to terrorist activity. Someone in Congress might ask the IRS.