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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do the Palestinian refugees and UNRWA affect the ordinary Israeli citizen? After all, they are in the refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, on the other side of border and security fences, guarded by Israeli soldiers.
A: The issue of refugees constitutes a huge obstacle for the peace process and leads to terror and violence directed against the citizens of Israel. Furthermore, the lack of peace creates a situation in which a significant portion of the Israeli state budget is allocated toward defense, at the expense of social clauses such as education, medical care, housing, etc., and at the expense of the citizens and their standard of living.
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Q: Is the Center for Near East Policy Research merely promoting a right-wing view that is meant mainly to slander the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA and prevent progress in the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians?
A: Not at all. The Center is not opposed to peace talks and a comprehensive political solution to the refugee issue. Rather, in a joint effort by right, center and left-wingers, is promoting discussions of the plight of the Palestinian refugees in UNRWA-administered refugee camps, as well as possible humanitarian solutions that would alleviate it. In these discussions, held in open forums with decision makers and the press, the issue of adoption of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) criteria for refugee rehabilitation worldwide is discussed.
Furthermore, the Center ascribes the highest importance to education for peace, coexistence and non-violent conflict resolution. The education in UNRWA schools and the Agency’s activities constitute a formidable impediment to instilling these values and to rapprochement and peaceful relations.
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Q: Why should the “Right of Return” interest me at all? It seems like the Palestinians will never fulfill this national ambition.
A: The “Right of Return” is much more than a national ambition or part of the Palestinian narrative. The very debate over this right and the legitimization of its discussion, as well as the cultivation of the myth surrounding it, constitute a direct danger to the Israeli public, as can be seen in various ways throughout the Center’s website: it begets terrorism and violence, and blocks progress in the peace process.
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Q: what can I do to try and bring about positive change for the Palestinian refugees and the peace process and minimize the danger to Israeli citizens ?
A: You can write your Members of Congress/Parliament, update them on the dangers posed by UNRWA’s policy and ask that they raise the issue in the foreign affairs, defense and budgetary committees, so that pressure can be brought to bear on UNRWA to carry out reforms that would diminish terrorism and hate education, provide a humanitarian solution for the refugees and increase the chances of peace in the Middle East.
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Q: What chance do I have of influencing UNRWA and bringing about reform in the agency? After all, it is a UN agency with tens of thousands of employees and a budget surpassing one billion dollars.
A: You do have the power to make a change, because you can influence elected officials in the Western donor countries (the US, EU Countries, Canada and others) that provide over 90 % of UNRWA’s budget, and, as such, wield huge influence over the agency.
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