Letter to the Editor: UNICEF fails Gaza Children
Becca Wertman responds to the immoral bis in UNICEF's work on the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Becca Wertman responds to the immoral bis in UNICEF's work on the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The well-being of children is a cornerstone of international human rights as noted in the Vienna Declaration. Unfortunately, the UN agency charged with protecting children is failing to carry out its mandate. The Palestinian branch of UNICEF funds and partners with several NGOs that are closely linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist organization.
B’Tselem’s report “Minors in Jeopardy,” was funded by UNICEF and echoes the claims of Defense for Children International – Palestine, UNICEF, Military Court Watch, and its own 2012 and 2015 reports on the subject. This practice of “copying and pasting” and the financial support provided by UNICEF demonstrate the close coordination between Palestinian, Israeli, and international non-governmental organizations in a concerted effort to falsely accuse the IDF of systematically violating the rights of Palestinian minors in order to impose sanctions against Israel.
In response to “Minors in Jeopardy,” a publication released today by B’Tselem, NGO Monitor issued the following statement:
In March 2018, the NGO umbrella group known as Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict (Watchlist) published a Policy Note urging the UN Secretary General to add Israel, Myanmar, and others to a list of “grave violators” of children’s rights. Terror groups, including Hamas and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), are not mentioned in Watchlist’s publication.
Professor Gerald Steinberg describes how international organizations are using Palestinian children such as Ahed Tamimi to wage a propaganda battle against Israel.
On January 12, 2017, the European Union Representative and the EU Heads of Mission in Jerusalem and Ramallah issued a “statement on the situation regarding Palestinian children arrested, detained and prosecuted by Israeli authorities.” The statement unsubtly implies misconduct and ill-treatment by Israeli authorities – echoing a well-coordinated NGO campaign that accuses Israel of “grave violations” against children in order to advocate for Israel’s isolation – while providing no verifiable evidence.
UNICEF spearheads a campaign to have Israel included on a UN blacklist of “grave” vio-lators of children’s rights. This political agenda is a primary facet of UNICEF’s activities relating to Israel, completely inconsistent with its mandate of “child protection” and from its guidelines for neutrality and impartiality.
Military Court Watch is an opaque organization that claims to work on issues related to ensuring children are protected under international law. In reality, MCW’s activities are part of a broader non-governmental organization (NGO) propaganda campaign that exploits concerns over children’s rights to demonize Israel. The NGO was founded and is led by Gerard Horton, who was previously involved with the Palestinian NGO Defense for Children International – Palestine, which promotes a similar agenda.
On December 15, 2017, AJ+ – part of the Al Jazeera network – posted a video on its Twitter, that was also widely disseminated in an offensive tweet by Human Rights Watch Executive Director Ken Roth, alleging that Israel “systematically harasses and abuses Palestinian kids.” The video parrots blatantly false and/or misleading claims by non-governmental organization (NGO) regarding Israel’s treatment of Palestinian minors, and goes so far as to claim that Israel has no reason to arrest minors (0:27) – regardless of the fact that some minors are perpetrators of violent terror attacks, including murder.