Israel's Halt On Aid To Gaza Is A Violation Of The Ceasefire

I’m a proud Jewish American who helps fundraise for Palestinian refugees. My faith — and international law — demand an immediate resumption of aid in Gaza.

By Mara Kronenfeld, OtherWords

Israel’s assault on Gaza, with backing from the United States, has created one of the worst humanitarian crises on the planet. Now Israel is violating a hard-won ceasefire deal by refusing to admit all aid into Gaza.

The Israeli government also passed legislation recently to outlaw UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. This is an outrageous violation of international law that will only lead to more suffering.

UNRWA was established by the United Nations in 1949 to alleviate the “the conditions of starvation and distress” of more than 750,000 Palestine refugees forcibly displaced by the establishment of Israel in 1948. It was intended to be temporary, pending “a just and durable solution to their plight.”

But in the stubborn absence of a political solution, UNRWA has continued to help Palestinian refugees over the last 75 years. Today, Israel’s ban on UNRWA threatens to cripple the humanitarian response in Gaza. It will deprive millions of Palestine refugees of essential food assistance, along with education and health care.

In Gaza, Israel’s deliberate weaponization of starvation has left 345,000 people facing catastrophic food insecurity. Over 90 percent of children aged 6-23 months, along with pregnant and breastfeeding women, are facing “severe food poverty.” Innocent people, including children, continue to die from hunger and malnutrition by being denied the most basic assistance: food.

I’m the executive director of the UNRWA USA National Committee — and a proud Jewish American.

My grandfather escaped Nazi Germany while his sister and her family were murdered for being Jewish. My family knows firsthand what it’s like when the suffering and deaths of some innocents are mourned and not others — and how that’s contributed to a world in which innocents can be killed en masse and we are silenced into not objecting.