Washington, D.C.- Today, the House passed H.R. 3266, a bill co-led by Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (NY-21) demanding that the U.S. State Department conduct necessary oversight on the educational materials created by the Palestinian Authority (PA) and used by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). UNRWA’s U.S. taxpayer funded educational materials promote violent, antisemitic attacks and are used to indoctrinate children in Gaza and the West Bank.
In 2018, the Trump Administration decreased funding to UNRWA due to accusations that funds were going to Iranian-backed proxies in Gaza and the West Bank to promote terrorism and employ educators that regularly call for the eradication of the State of Israel and celebrate violence against Israelis. The Biden Administration reversed this decision and American taxpayers are once again the number one sponsor of UNRWA. The Biden Administration’s decision to reinstate funding without any guardrails has enabled Hamas to continue to attack Israel.
“In the wake of the continued Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel, this legislation is a crucial first step to address the appalling and unacceptable inclusion of antisemitic rhetoric in the curriculum used by United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) schools across the West Bank and Gaza. It's been long documented that textbooks funded by UNRWA have helped incubate the hatred of the Jewish people and demonize Israel,” stated Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. “Following the barbaric attacks carried out by Hamas, it has never been more clear that UNRWA successfully indoctrinated students throughout Gaza. This critical, bipartisan legislation will ensure oversight and accountability so that U.S. taxpayer dollars do not continue to fund antisemitic curricula. I am proud to see my legislation being passed on the House Floor to stop the funding of antisemitic curriculum which has encouraged such brutality against our greatest ally, Israel.”
This legislation would:
- Establish Congress’ position that the Palestinian Authority has not sufficiently eliminated inciteful and violent content from their educational curricula.
- Require the State Department to report to Congress on the PA’s curricula, including textbooks and other instructional materials used in schools throughout the West Bank.
- Require the State Department to report on educational materials used in schools run by Hamas, the Iranian-backed terror group that controls Gaza, or by UNRWA, the U.N. agency dedicated to serving Palestinians.
- Require the State Department reports to include a determination on whether educational materials encourage violence or intolerance toward other countries or ethnic groups. Reports will also detail steps taken by the U.S. to encourage peace and tolerance in Palestinian education.
